Exhibit at Peterborough Town Library Fundraises for Food Pantry

Earl Schofield is unveiling his latest collection of paintings in the Peterborough Town Library's Community Art Gallery. His show, "Encaustic Landscapes," is on display until the end of February. These works offer the viewer a deeply personal and spiritual exploration of the human experience, the passage of time and our interconnectedness with the natural world. A reception will be held on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 5 to 7 p.m. and Schofield will give a presentation on his artistic process during the reception at 6 p.m. Half of all the proceeds from the sales of Schofield's paintings during the exhibition will be donated to the Peterborough Food Pantry. Schofield approaches painting as a form of spiritual communion, with each brushstroke serving as a prayer and each piece functioning as an act of worship. "Paintings are… a way to connect with the larger universe while celebrating and sharing that connection," Schofield explains. Schofield creates his paintings with encaustic (layering colored wax). The wax itself serves as a metaphor for humanity: delicate yet resilient, capable of endless variation and adaptable to change. "Like people and societies, the wax can be fragile but, if cared for, can be extremely enduring," Schofield reflects. This layering process is also a metaphor for experience and the passage of time, with each layer representing the generations before us and the "flaws" in the work mirroring the imperfections that make us strong and beautiful, akin to the bark of an ancient tree or the wisdom of an elder. About the artist: Earl Schofield has taught visual art at the Dublin School for the last 23 years. He lives with his two children, a cat and three dogs. Schofield works primarily in encaustic but has recently been reunited with his first love, watercolor. He can run a chain saw, accessorize a prom dress, loves fast cars, cooks and cleans, shoots halfway decently, has a Doc Martens collection, is incredibly vain about his amazing hair and has been with the same hairdresser since 2002. He has shown work all over New England and nationally. His work is in two museums, a bunch of banks, hospitals and an even bigger bunch of super lucky peoples' individual collections globally. He currently has absolutely zero representation and blames it entirely on George Bush and the financial collapse of 2002. He is pretty sure none of this will make you want to buy a painting if you didn't want one already. About the PTL Community Art Gallery: The Peterborough Town Library Community Art Gallery is a regional public art space which provides exhibition opportunities for students, emerging artists and the community. The PTL Community Art Gallery Committee works to create positive experiences that promote learning and growth for artists and develop meaningful connections between the artist and the community. All are welcome to view the exhibition during regular library hours. Peterborough Town Library is located at 2 Concord Street in Peterborough, and is open Monday through Saturday. For more information on this program or any of our services, please visit PeterboroughTownLibrary.org or call (603) 924-8040.