Land, Life, Light

Artist Alan Fetterman’s 50th solo show is about the letter “L,” the Roman numeral for 50 and the 昀rst letter of Land, Life, and Light— the guiding themes of his work /

By Bob Waite

Thirty years ago, Alan Fetterman had decided to devote his life to art after a visit to the Louvre in Paris. In 1993 he was painting the fountain in front of the Doylestown Courthouse when the head of the Bucks County Republican Committee, Harry Fawkes, came up to Alan and said, “I want to buy that piece.” Alan says, “He bought it right off the easel.” Not long after that Frank Bianco, owner of the then prestigious Bianco Gallery in Buckingham, invited Alan to participate in a group show.

It wasn’t long before Alan began doing solo shows. Galleries invited him back and these solo shows were always well attended. He had solo shows for five consecutive years at the Bianco Gallery. He says, “Frank Bianco loved my work.” And so did a lot of other galleries. Sabine Rose, which was a gallery on Main Street in Doylestown, also showed his work in five consecutive solos.

Land, Life & Light, Alan Fetterman’s 50th solo show, is being held in the building where Alan has his studio, an 1887 edifice known as Freeman’s Hall, 181 E. Court St., which is now often used for art shows and other community events. Alan calls the venue, “a gentleman's mansion in the heart of Doylestown.” Alan’s studio is located upstairs from the gallery space where he is displaying his paintings.

“Most of the paintings, that are going to be in the show,” he says, “are relatively current. I will also have old paintings. I'll bring some out from a decade ago or maybe even longer and juxta position them to what I'm creating now versus the ones I painted then. I'm just being thankful in life. With living and age comes the awareness that gratitude is often found in nuance—the little things and the beautiful things.”

Included in the show are florals, people, landscapes, streetscapes, and Alan says, “It is all about the Bucks County vibration.”

Alan, whose following is national, and who has, so far, done 50 solo shows in 30 years says, “I am truly a Bucks County artist and the fact is that my whole life has been here where I paint the reality of life around me. I don't seek to paint a specific pallet and I don't want to suggest forms or light. I just create the energy. I try to document the energy of existence in my life and those around us. It's not hard to do in this County.”

Alan, who is a poet and musician, and a sculptor says he has truly embraced all the creative efforts in the arts. A thoughtful man, whose background is in academic philosophy, saw that art and the energy that he has given to it for decades were to be put into his 50th show, but COVID hit and the show was put off. Although Alan never stopped painting, he had time to reflect on his 30 years as a painter, making this truly a landmark show for Alan, for Doylestown and for Bucks County art.

Alan Fetterman’s 50th solo art show, Land, Life, and Light, opens on two consecutive weekends: Fri. Nov. 4th 6 p.m. to 9; Sat. Nov. 5th 5 p.m. to 9; Sunday Nov 6th 1 p.m. to 4 . And Friday Nov. 11th 6 p.m. to 9; Saturday Nov 12th 5 p.m. to 9; Sunday Nov. 13th 1 p.m. to 4. 215.345.7769; www.alanfetterman.com.