Special Features...The Area Guide Gallery

Six Among Many: A sampling of the range and professionalism of the area art community.

Jules Schaeffer, Belle Mead, NJ

Finding inspiration in what's been discarded, Jules Schaeffer creates fine art out of society's scraps. His sculptures and assemblages are made of such things as old faucets, springs, wooden boxes and water pumps. His work has been shown at the Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Lawrence, NJ, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Morpeth Gallery in Hopewell, NJ, the Arts Council in Princeton, NJ, and Atelier Fine Art Gallery in Frenchtown, NJ. He won first prize at the 1860 House in Montgomery, NJ, in a group show. His print, Bird in a Reef, is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. His work can be seen in the Atelier Fine Art Gallery in Frenchtown, NJ, and the public is welcome at his studio, call 908-431-4222 to arrange a visit.

Bernard Ungerleider, Lambertville, PA

With the eye of an impressionist, Bernard Ungerleider worships light with paint. After a career as a mechanical engineer, he turned to art, finding inspiration at the Art Students League in New York and studying in Italy from 1972 to 1975 under noted landscape painter Roberto Maione. Since 1969, he has painted landscapes and portraits in the Delaware Valley and seascapes in New England, always looking to break down light into its most gorgeous components. He's won praise at numerous one-man shows in the east, and his work is in many private and corporate collections here and in Europe. His work is displayed in the Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ.

Taylor Oughton, Jamison, PA

After starting out as an illustrator with the First Marines in WW II, Taylor Oughton studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art on the GI Bill. He has received over 40 awards from The Artists Guild of the Delaware Valley, the Art Directors Clubs of Philadelphia and New Jersey, the Society of Animal Artists, and the New York Society of Illustrators for his outdoor paintings and screen prints. He has illustrated stories or covers for Readers' Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, Holiday, Sports Afield, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life and Cosmopolitan. His paintings can be seen in the Michelyn Galleries, Ltd. in New Britain, PA, the Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ and the Rhinehart-Fisher Gallery in Trenton, NJ.

Linda Faith Cane, New Hope, PA

Linda Faith Cane has had several incarnations as an artist. She formerly painted under her maiden name of Whitehouse and exhibited in numerous juried shows then. In 1979, she stopped painting for five years. During that time, she developed an art therapy program for Lakeside Alternative School and gave birth to her daughter, Kristin. Her work from 1984 to 1997 was inspired by her daughter and by travels to Nepal, Peru and the American Southwest. She's provided posters for the Philadelphia Opera Company and billboards for Los Angeles firms. Other clients include the Weekly Reader Corporation, Harcourt Brace, Latina Magazine and the  NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group. She can be reached at 215-297-5618.

Leslie Ross Stephens, Pittstown, NJ

Leslie Ross Stephens' painting displays a passion for the effects of light and weather and a reverence for the land and its creatures. Her love of art was instilled by her mother, Jean Ross, an artist and instructor at the Ridgewood Art Institute and the Somerset Art Association. Ms. Stephens' aunt, Ruth Howell of Salem, South Carolina, and cousin, Marcia Fusaro of Snowmass, Colorado, also are professional artists. She twice received the Special Patron's Award at the Phillips' Mill Art Exhibition and also has received the Bianco Foundation's Patron's Award at Bianco Gallery. Her work is shown at the Riverside Studio in Pottersville, NJ, and Riverbank Arts in Stockton, NJ.

Shelley Thorstensen, Lambertville, NJ

Art is an international language for Shelley Thorstensen, as her recent trip to Fukuoka, Japan as a guest lecturer at the Keisho Art Association's Annual Summer School attests. Ms. Thorstensen teaches at the Moore College of Art and Design, and in Japan her prints are shown at the Miyabi Gallery. She has a master's in fine art from the Tyler School of Art, and she received the F. Lammot Belin Art Scholarship award for 1992-93. Her work is in collections from Rutgers University in Camden, NJ, to the Oregon Institute Print Center in Portland, OR. Her art is on view at Riverrun Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, and Riverbank Arts, Stockton, NJ.