By Rochelle Craig | Photos Courtesy of Myles Cavanaugh and Christian Gianelli

Myles Cavanaugh has lived in the Bucks County area nearly his entire life, passing the same bucolic farmhouses, fields and bridges on his daily bike rides. And through the years, he’s learned a little bit about inspiration. It can strike anywhere. Even in the familiar. And when Cavanaugh sees the seemingly common in a fresh light, he knows he’s found a subject for a new painting – even if an explanation defies him. “Something just hits me,” he says.

Visitors to the Silverman Gallery in Buckingham, where Cavanaugh shares a permanent space with three other notable Bucks County artists, will undoubtedly recognize the local scenes he captures. But perhaps more importantly, they identify Cavanaugh’s work by the stillness and peacefulness that permeate his canvases. “With all the turmoil in the news these days,” he says, “I’m trying to create something calming that people would want to live with in their homes.”

Raised in an artistic family that both encouraged and helped develop Cavanaugh’s burgeoning creative pursuits, he began painting, printmaking and experimenting with lost-wax casting using the family’s wood stove at the age of 15. In 1992, Cavanaugh pursued a formal art education at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. And during his freshman year, Cavanaugh made a life- long commitment to his chosen path. “When I was a teenager, I didn’t really know how challenging it would be to really be an artist,” he admits. “After a semester or two, I felt comfortable knowing what I’d be up against.”

In the earliest stages of the young working artist’s career, Cavanaugh rented out storefronts and a local fire- house, installing temporary lighting to self-produce his own exhibitions. He also set aside time to travel, studying and painting extensively in Spain and other European locales. And while Cavanaugh’s globetrotting provided an education all its own, the place where he first established his artistic legs has provided Cavanaugh his most dependable muse. “People really value the painters who were here before,” he says. “It’s one of the things people love about living here.”

“I try to create something calming that people would want to live with in their homes.” – Myles Cavanaugh

Inspired by the artistic heritage of the area, Cavanaugh’s work will take center stage when his solo exhibition opens on Dec. 3. Appropriately titled Places and Times to Remember: A Collection of Classic American and Bucks County Scenes, he has begun work on 20 new paintings, attempting to capture the inherent splendor of the Delaware Valley. “When I was preparing for the exhibit, I knew I wanted to work on a collection of paintings that reflect the beauty and feeling of the area,” Cavanaugh explains. “I was very inspired to paint August Evening and Colors of Autumn. I sought out the most elevated and visually unobstructed vistas I could find. I love seeing the area from a high vantage point, the rolling hills and towns nestled in the valleys.”

And while landscapes play an important role in Cavanaugh’s coming show, the painter is also busy exploring other themes. “I tried to capture some of the romance and nostalgia of our area with Weathered Barns and American Roadside,” he says. “I love to see remnants of a bygone era slowly growing old. It reminds me of a time when life was a little slower. I hope that others will see the beauty I saw when creating these works. I hope that they too feel a sense of emotion in what they see.”

Looking toward the future, Cavanaugh, who lives on a picturesque Lambertville road with his wife, two-year-old daughter and a baby boy born this July, says it’s been more difficult recently to balance his time between family and art. But the changes in his routine speak to the relaxing tone of his newest work: “I’m more focused now that I have to sort of steal away time to paint or get out. But when I get the time to work, I’m much more relaxed. I take it all with a calmer approach.”

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