Laura Lerman, chair of Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, said, “Wherever you went, he was there.”

She was talking about Newtown Bee photographer, educator, and painter, Bill Glass, of course.

Glass has been an instrumental member of the community through his dedication to art and photography.

“He was [always] recording. And he has become part of Newtown’s history, so how exciting would it be to see his interpretation,” Lerman said.

Glass currently has 38 pieces of art on display at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street. Anyone who is interested in viewing his work can visit at any time, as long as it falls between the hours of 8 am-4:30 pm Monday-Friday.

“I was totally unaware of the painting that he does,” Lerman added. As Glass was running up and down the corridor, Lerman said that the bare walls “are awful…I am so used to having art here.”

She said that Newtown has one of the only municipal art galleries in Fairfield County and it costs nothing to view the work. She added that the building is accessible to everyone.

Glass’ View

Glass described himself as “symmetry-oriented” as he was hanging his several pieces in the Municipal Center. Glass has spent the last 55 years as an artist, saying that as a kid he “never colored inside the lines.”

His paintings represent that, as he focuses on a tonalist style.

“The tonalists, they just give suggestions of images as opposed to being real specific,” Glass explained about his paintings. He added that none of his paintings are based on real places.

Glass said that he is an early riser and enjoys spending the mornings in his backyard garden or out by the ocean if he is on vacation.

“As the sun’s coming up, the light’s beautiful. It’s just shining on a pond or a lake. All those paintings…they’re all made up in my head, but I have that backdrop of being at the ocean so often that I can kind of picture it. What I try to do with it is to create a sound,” Glass explained.

He said he tries to capture breaking waves at the ocean or gentle, lapping water on a lake. People have told Glass that they can “hear” the painting when they look at it, which Glass thinks is a “hoot.”

Glass’ inspiration comes from nature. He said he loves being in nature and thinks “there is no greater inspiration” than the natural world. His paintings and his photographs are all inspired greatly by nature.

He said that he likes the tonalistic style his paintings take because it serves as an “antithesis” to his photographs.

Glass explained, “When I do my photography, what you see is what you get. It’s perfectly sharp and realistic, so this tends to be the antithesis to that. These are just suggestions, so it gives me kind of yin and yang.”

Glass hopes that his paintings can give people some “respite for a while.” He said that his work is meant to be very serene and peaceful to remind people of the beauty of Newtown. He is offering a discount on his photographs for all Newtown residents, workers, and anyone who works/volunteers for a charitable organization tied to the town.

These 38 pieces will be on display through July 31, with a formal opening reception on Sunday, July 13, 2-4 pm also at the Municipal Center.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.