Fairfield open space art exhibit scheduled to begin Aug. 3

The scenic beauty of Fairfield”™s open space landscapes is the subject of an Aspetuck Land Trust sponsored exhibit of work by painter Gail Bell at the Fairfield University Bookstore at 1499 Post Road in Fairfield. The exhibit will open Aug. 3 with a reception open to the public from 6 to 8 p.m. 

The paintings, on display at the bookstore for the month of August, reflect Bell”™s impressions of several of the 12 land preserves across 60 acres in Fairfield owned by the land trust “for the benefit and education of the public,” according to the trust”™s mission. 

Bell, who began studying Fairfield land preserves and creating the paintings in 2017, has agreed to give a 20 percent discount to land trust members and to donate 20 percent of the exhibit”™s proceeds to benefit the group. “I fell in love with this land and I hope the paintings make others feel the same,” she said.

Since its founding in 1966, the trust”™s properties have grown to include more than 1,800 acres in 149 preserves in Fairfield, Easton, Westport, Weston and other nearby towns. It is targeting 350 acres of unprotected forest land in Weston and Wilton for acquisition. It additionally recently informed its 1,100 members of a larger strategy to create a 17,000-acre greenbelt corridor of adjoining or nearby parcels of open space in the area over the next 10 years.

“We need homes. We need roads. But we also need to be able to see the beauty of our serene New England landscape to be happy,” said the trust”™s Executive Director David Brant. “The beauty of our natural landscapes is one reason local real estate has become so desirable.”