For the month of August local Westfield resident and artist, Trenton Lutes, will be featured in a solo show entitled “Old Ideas/New Directions” at the Conneaut Arts Center in Conneaut, Ohio. The show’s opening reception will be on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. and all are welcome to attend. Lutes will be available during the opening to answer any questions regarding his past and present works that will be on display.

“Old Ideas/New Direct-ions is a brief retrospective of my work from my college days up to current,” Lutes states. “The title seemed appropriate as my most recent works, my acrylic paint skins with photographic transfers, pull from ideas and pieces that I created in my early days as an artist. Those ‘old ideas’ have been combined with my recent endeavors to create something completely new and different, ‘new directions’ if you will. As always these new works focus on my love of nature and the peace and tranquility that she imparts to us all.”

Lutes attended Hartwick College in Oneonta, where he graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in fine art and concentrations in painting, sculpture and glassblowing.

“I really wanted to take full advantage of my time at college. There were so many things I hadn’t been exposed to in high school, art-wise, that I overloaded (took extra classes above and beyond the required credits) every semester so that I could fit it all in,” mentions Lutes. “Aside from my core concentrations I was also able to take courses in printmaking, papermaking, photography and ceramics.”

Since graduation he has continued to create works of art and now lives in his hometown of Westfield with his wife, their three dogs and his cat.

Lutes’ works have been shown both locally and regionally from Jamestown, to Chardon, Ohio and range from photography to abstract realist paintings to much more abstract works.

If you are unable to attend the opening of the “Old Ideas/New Direct-ions” solo show you can still catch a few of Lutes’ works at several local galleries.

He is currently part of two North Shore Arts Alliance group shows. The first, at Sensory Winery & Gallery in Ripley, is titled “Dreams of Summer” and will be on display through Sunday, Aug. 14 and includes three works by Lutes.

The second, at the Octagon Gallery located in the Patterson Library in Westfield, is titled “North Shore Arts Alliance Members Exhibit” and will be on display through Aug. 8 and also includes three works by Lutes.

He will also be included in another show at the Octagon Gallery titled “Urban Grit” that will run from Aug. 12 through Sept. 9 with an opening reception on Friday, Aug. 12 from 7-9 p.m.

The Conneaut Arts Center is located at 1025 Buffalo Street in Conneaut, Ohio. The Center is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with special events booked on the weekends.