SHELBURNE FALLS — After living in eastern Massachusetts for some time, Buckland-raised Nina Coler happily returned to the region 25 years ago, making a home on 100 acres of countryside in Ashfield.
Coler describes her childhood in Buckland as idyllic, spent riding horses and roaming around town with friends.
“We always had an eye to getting back here,” Coler said.
The Buckland native is holding an art exhibition this month, “The Lay of the Land,” at the Shelburne Arts Co-op. The exhibition is composed of landscapes portraying local places including Shelburne Falls’ West End Pub and the Ashfield countryside. She seeks to capture the beauty and vitality of West County, which she sees as an especially important task as its agricultural industry is struggling.
To preserve the countryside on a personal level, the Colers’ property is self-sustaining to reduce fossil fuel emissions. The property has solar panels for electricity and grows much of her own produce on the land and in greenhouses. She also has an electric car.
“It makes makes you feel a little bit lighter, a little less guilty,” Coler said.
While Coler took up painting as a hobby as an adult, she enjoyed making art at a young age, producing countless portraits of horses, she said. These days, Coler paints prolifically, finding the medium meditative and challenging at once.
“Every painting is a new challenge,” Coler said. “It feels like a wonderful feeling when you’re done.”
Coler joined the Shelburne Arts Co-op a decade ago, and usually has about two or three works on display in the gallery. This months’ exhibition, “The Lay of the Land,” will be on display at the co-op, 26 Bridge Street, until April 29. Coler has had one exhibition there about eight years ago, and has also had two exhibitions at Elmer’s Store.
The Shelburne Arts Co-op at 26 Bridge Street is open Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The gallery is closed Tuesdays.
For more information, visit www.shelburneartscoop.com.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.