Throughout January, Gallery on Main's "Artist of the Month" series features mixed-media works by Natalia Pas of Roselle Park, New Jersey.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception at Gallery on Main on Saturday, January 6, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Natalia Pas draws inspiration from her beloved birthplace, a small village in rural Poland. Her brilliantly colorful landscape paintings honor the natural terrains she frolicked across as a child. Formally trained, with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts and Art Education, her work inspires viewers to rejoice in the splendor of the earth, with diverse imagery that allows each piece to highlight the eternal beauty of nature or capture whispers from ephemeral dreamscapes.

Natalia has a unique technique of using embroidery on painted canvas that stems from a long tradition of woman decorating their homes with ornate embroidery. The use of hand embroidered flowers and animals in Poland gives homage to the pride of the land that people own and farm. This connection to nature and hard work is connected in the tedious embroidery that is portrayed in the landscapes.