Cape Provides Holland with Artistic Inspiration
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Jeffrey Bilezikian, new owner of the Jim Holland Pops by the Sea commemorative painting, which he bid on and won at the AFCC’s Spring Soirée in June
im Holland’s parents had been retired and living on Cape Cod for more than a decade when he decided to follow them and pursue his art career full-time in 1995. Born in Schenectady, New York, Holland was drawn to the Cape for the reason that many are — its unparalleled beauty, which has served as a backdrop for the majority of his stunning works. As to why the Cape is a central figure in his paintings, he explains it this way: “I think it started with just the light at the shore… It is so open the light is so unimpeded. The landscape is open and I just love the play of the light near the water.” So it should come as no surprise that those two elements — light and water — play an important role in Holland’s Pops by the Sea commemorative painting, “A Summer Air” which depicts a cello resting gently against a white chair, both sitting on the grass against the backdrop of the ocean. The piece included another favorite subject of Holland’s — a chair. “I’ve always been a fan of the architectural element of chair and lights hitting chairs,” he says. “I’ve done dozens of paintings of light hitting lifeguard chairs and chairs in my house so I wanted to add something that would bring a musical motif. When the cello came in, they worked perfectly together… They suggest the musician is there and tie you into the motif of the concert.”
Prior to embarking on the project, Holland had no idea that this year’s guest conductor, Dermot Mulroney, is a cellist and will play the instrument at the 33rd annual Pops. Perhaps it is karma that led Holland to be chosen as this year’s Pops by the Sea commemorative artist. Julie Wake, AFCC executive director, prefers to look at it another way. “Jim’s talent speaks for itself,” she says. “That’s why he was a perfect choice for the Pops. He added a layer of beauty and simplicity to this year’s work which serves as a reminder that we all are lucky to live in such an awe-inspiring place where creativity can flourish.” Holland, she says, is a perfect example of that. A graphic designer by trade, he graduated from Dutchess Community College and worked for an ad agency as an art director for 15 years before he made the jump from the corporate world to the creative one. Over the past 30 years, he has embraced the life of a painter on Cape Cod — he lives in Brewster with filmmaker Allison Argo — where his work is constantly evolving as he looks for new ways to portray the beauty of this place he proudly calls home. “This is where my subject matter tends to be,” he says. “Although I’ve done paintings of other parts of the Northeast, I live here so this is where the bulk of my inspiration comes from.”
Jim Holland’s work can be viewed online at www.jimholland-art.com and can be found in person at Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet, North Water Gallery in Edgartown, and Powers Gallery in Acton.
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Pops by the Sea 2018
