ART TALKS at The Artistic Forum

This view, from the front gallery looks into some of the other
gallery rooms at the new Winstanley-Roark Fine Arts gallery.

Husband and wife, Bob and Anita Roark, owners and resident artists of the newly relocated Winstanley-Roark Fine Arts, in scenic Dennis, Massachusetts are most sanguine about relocating and reopening their gallery in a new town after investing the past several years of their lives establishing a name and location for themselves in another, Brewster.

“Unlike other businesses,” says Anita, philosophically about the move, “art is so individualized there really is no competition. If a buyer wants a Bob Roark painting they will shop where they find Bob Roark”. The same, she says, applies to meeting the demand for the work of other artists featured in their gallery. Because of this, she says, the move was not viewed as an inconvenience or burden. The decision to relocate was driven by the desire to expand the display area and the need to add more showroom space to accommodate that

expansion. Anita says that once the need for more space became evident, the decision to grow was natural, and Dennis, she adds, was a natural choice - a choice she says that has proven to be both wise and gratifying beyond their hopes. “Dennis has become a center for art itself,” says Anita, with clear satisfaction as she walks through the finished gallery, noting the graciousness and assistance of both town officials and local businesses during the relocation process. “It’s a great location, right on Rte. 6A, in the center of Dennis, easily located, not favoring one end of the Cape or the other.”

As for the physical effort of moving hundreds of paintings and myriad office supplies into a building in serious need of repair, what might be problematic for others, turned out to be a mixed blessing for the Roarks. A mixed blessing, one should note, that grew out of months of meticulous preparation and Herculean effort by a handful of friends who, while Bob painted and continued to manage the gallery in Brewster, joined with Anita and her son, Devon, to convert a run-down turn-of-the-century two story Cape Codder, formerly an antique store, formerly a candy store, into a 2,300 square foot modern fine art gallery with all the amenities and more.

“Moving was a painstaking effort and a lot of hard work. There were times when I sat there and looked around and said: I think we bit off more than we can chew. Now” she says, with clear satisfaction over the outcome of the finished work, “I find myself sitting back and saying that it turned out just the way I envisioned it. A lot of people tell me now that they never would have seen this gallery turning out as beautifully as it did. But is has and we’re thrilled with it.”

The bright and airy showrooms visitors see today, located on two floors, house the masterful artwork of sixteen established artists, locally grown and selected from around the country. This number may grow to twenty Anita says, but not much more. “I think you can have too much of a good thing. Too many artists could actually end up detracting from the openness of the gallery.”

The completed gallery features, in addition to ample viewing and showroom space, a unique “living room” viewing area on the second floor, complete with a fireplace, in front of which is a Victorian couch, coffee table and chairs. This area was designed specifically for visitors who ask to see a specific piece hung by the fireplace to get a sense of what the painting will look like in a “home” setting. The gallery also includes a unique convenience, a room where children can play while their parents browse.

Because both Bob and Anita are usually on premises, visitors have the opportunity to talk with the owners regarding painting and photography and just about anything else that interests those who stop by. Indeed, it isn’t long after entering that one

A view from the upstairs viewing room.

realizes that both Bob and Anita are genuine and gracious hosts who will gladly make themselves available to answer questions and chat. Bob, who is usually sitting at his easel located in the second floor gallery area, and Anita who runs the showroom from the first floor, exude obvious delight in what they do, and this warmth is unmistakably part of the gallery’s lure.

Another benefit of the new location, in addition to the sincerity of its owners, is the fact that the gallery is convenient to restaurants and specialty shops, a great marketing attraction for people who want to make their visit to the town a pleasant, daylong experience. Indeed, as with most galleries on the

Looking from the sitting room into Bob's studio.

Cape, especially during summer months, Winstanley-Roark invites the public to attend free summer champagne receptions for visiting artists. The receptions, which run alternating Saturday evenings between 5 and 8 PM, give visitors the opportunity to mingle with others interested in art and to meet and view the work of specific artists whose work is featured during the summer shows. The atmosphere is always casual and friendly. The Grand Opening Group Show, starting with a champagne reception at 5 PM on Saturday, July 13^th, will feature the works of all gallery artists, new and old.

Anita says one of the goals of the gallery is to dispel the notion that art is only for the art literate. As with their former gallery in Brewster, she wants people to come in, look around and enjoy the sight of dozens of works of original art. Art is to be enjoyed, she says, and visitors to the gallery shouldn’t feel the least intimidated or under pressure to buy. “I want people to experience the joys and wonders of art. The satisfaction of owning an original work of art is second to none,” she adds. “When you sit down after working all day long, there is nothing quite like enjoying an original painting. It can be inspiring and it can motivate you to continue whatever you do in life.”

As for casual browsers, she says, they are an important part of the mix and are encouraged to visit and learn more about art because “art is to be viewed. That is the first step in becoming an art lover. That’s what art is for. Art is there to make you appreciate life; it makes you think about the beauty of the world around you and your place in it.”

For those interested in purchasing or commissioning a work, the gallery offers a generous in-house payment plan that makes owning original works of art both easy, affordable and accessible to the average buyer. While prices in the gallery vary, most works can be purchased from between $2,000 and $5,000.

Looking back and looking forward:

Even though today Winstanley-Roark Fine Arts is an established gallery and its owners are savvy to the business, their start was far more modest and serves as a model for others who hope one day to make the transformation from artists to gallery owner themselves. While selling their work through established galleries in the late eighties ─ Bob sold through Trees Place in Orleans, and Anita had created a niche for her remarkable photographs in Provincetown ─ they decided to open a frame shop from the basement of their home in Brewster to supplement their income. It was more a convenience than necessity. Early customers, usually other artists, were drawn to their frame shop based on word of mouth, direct mailing and the Yellow Pages. Although their marketing plan was limited, the fact that other artists knew Bob and Anita to be framers and artists themselves, helped the business grow. Indeed, it grew to the point that the volume of business justified making the leap to full time shop owners.

In 1990 they opened Winstanley-Roark Fine Arts in Brewster. “The first years, it was just mine and Bob’s work that we showed,” Anita says, adding, “We did the framing for about four years and added two or three other artists as we went along.” They soon discovered, however, that while framing was profitable, when done in their home, it was also expensive when done from a storefront, and not as profitable or rewarding as producing their own works of art and selling them to an audience of followers that grew steadily.

By their fifth year they had begun attracting new artists. The move to full time gallery owners and in-house artists paid off. Both Bob and Anita now show exclusively at their own gallery in Dennis. Anita runs the day-to-day business, while continuing to photograph and maintain the gallery’s informative web page (www.masterfulart.com), and Bob paints. Those artists who have been with them from the beginning are still with them, and the addition of new talent that will be introduced this summer, has added to the anticipation and excitement of everyone who visits.>

To the Roarks, the growth of their professional lives as well as their business acumen as gallery owners came naturally and with an effort that was more nurtured than forced on them. It’s a business both Bob and Anita clearly enjoy; in a field they both love, surrounded by people they like and admire. Winstanley-Roark Fine Arts is not just candy to the eye; it is truly food for the soul.

Winstanley-Roark Fine Art's 2002 Show Schedule:

· Grand Opening, Group Show.
Saturday, July 13, 2002, 5 - 8 PM. The show, featuring all artists, will run through July 21, 2002

· Denise Kelly and George Marks, Jr.
Saturday, July 27, 2002, 5- 8 PM. The show will run through August 4, 2002

· Daniel Brown and Joseph Genova.
Saturday, August 10, 2002, 5 - 8 PM. The show will run through August 18, 2002.

· Robert K. Roark and James Rogers.
Saturday, August 24, 2002, 5 - 8 PM. The show will run through September 1, 2002.

· Loretta Cuda and Cynthia Worthen Vascak. Saturday, September 7, 2002. The show will run through September 15, 2002.

· Masterpieces for All Seasons Annual Exhibition. Festive holiday show featuring new works by all gallery artists. Saturday, November 30, 2002, 4 - 7 PM. The show will run through December 22, 2002.