Opening reception: Sunday, October 18 from 1-3 p.m.
The Night Watchers began as a series of imagined guardians—quiet figures who stand at the threshold between the familiar and the unknown. Part animal, part myth, and part memory, they are protectors of dreams, stories, time, and the unseen moments that shape our lives. Although each painting carries its own narrative, together they create a world where symbolism, imagination, and personal mythology invite viewers to discover their own meanings. While these paintings may appear to have arrived unexpectedly, they are the result of a much longer journey. Throughout Lemelin’s career, he has explored many artistic traditions, learning from the painters and storytellers who inspired him.
Looking back, The Night Watchers did not emerge from nowhere; they grew from years of searching, experimenting, and gradually letting go of the expectation that his work should resemble anyone else’s. Lemelin says this series represents less a reinvention than a rediscovery, a conscious return to the visual language that feels most authentically his own. As the paintings developed, they also changed the way he approached making art. Rather than beginning with certainty, Lemelin learned to begin with curiosity. Each painting became an act of listening as much as creating, allowing intuition, observation, and the unexpected to guide the work. The process became quieter, more reflective, and more trusting.
In many ways, The Night Watchers mark a new beginning. They are the most complete expression of Lemelin’s artistic voice to date, while also opening the door to future explorations. His hope is that these guardians encourage viewers to pause for a moment, enter their stories, and perhaps recognize something of their own inner landscape reflected there.
Artist Bio
Roger J. Lemelin is a Massachusetts-based artist whose work explores storytelling through painting, printmaking, puppetry, and theatrical design. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Printmaking from Rhode Island College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Rhode Island School of Design. His continued studies include Children’s Book Illustration at RISD and a Graduate Certificate in Puppetry Arts from the University of Connecticut. After more than twenty years as a visual arts educator, Lemelin has devoted his studio practice to developing symbolic figurative paintings that blend myth, folklore, and personal narrative. Working primarily in acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media, he creates contemplative images that invite viewers into imaginative worlds inhabited by guardians, witnesses, and mysterious companions. His work has been exhibited in juried and group exhibitions throughout southern New England, including the Rhode Island Watercolor Society and HeartSpot for the Arts. In addition to painting, Lemelin creates papier-mâché sculpture, masks, and puppets, expanding the narrative world of his paintings into three-dimensional form.
