DCAL Featured Artists Share Reverence for Light

“Homestead” by Beverly Hart Branson.

Although they work in different media, Beverly Hart Branson and Gretchen Misselt, the Door County Art League Gallery’s artists of the week Sept. 5 – 11, share a reverence for the quality of light and shifting moods of the peninsula’s landscape and shorelines.

After 30 years of summer vacations on Washington Island and taking classes at Sievers School of Fiber Arts, Misselt, along with her husband Robert Mazibuko, made the permanent move to the island in 2005. For her it meant a return to her rural roots and inspiration to resume her work in fiber art. Pastels, however, are her favorite medium for capturing the island’s special light and aura of wilderness.

“Old Apple Tree” by Gretchen Misselt.

Branson came to Door County 50 years ago for her honeymoon and has ever since been enthralled with the county’s 360-degree vistas and quality of light. Working in oil, ink, pencil and watercolor, Branson strives to capture the moods of the seasons and cycle of the day in both realistic and imaginary compositions. She finds the “thin, clear light” of the peninsula well suited to painting with transparent watercolor. She is comfortable painting plein air or in her Treetop Studio in Sturgeon Bay.

The Door County Art League Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm. It is located in the courtyard of the Top of the Hill shops in Fish Creek. For more information visit doorcountyartleague.org.