In a book that spans coasts and decades, a Brandywine Valley impressionist plein-air painter is giving readers a look at the places that have defined her career. The self-titled “Jacalyn Beam,” released in May and set for a more formal launch and signing this fall, gathers a curated selection of Beam’s work from this area and the California coast.

This is Beam’s first book devoted solely to her paintings. “I’ve been in four other books and multiple magazines,” Beam explains. “But it’s always been as a chapter and not as a monograph.”

Rather than attempting a complete retrospective, the artist sent approximately 200 images to a designer known as “a leader in the field of publishing art books,” Beam says. From there, Beam stepped back and let the expert decide. “That’s not my area of expertise,” she says. “Sometimes in our lives, we have to let others who have the expertise help.” The designer selected and arranged roughly 85 images, about a third of which have already earned national awards in juried shows.

The book ranges from Brandywine Valley’s scenery to the dramatic light of Carmel, California, where Beam maintains a gallery on the Monterey Peninsula. The Brandywine Valley, however, remains at the heart of her vision. “My favorite places to paint are everywhere in the Brandywine Valley,” she says, ticking off “rolling landscapes, the streams, the historic homes, the broad open fields” as constant sources of inspiration.

Along with the paintings, the book has a forward written by Amanda Burdan, senior curator of the Brandywine Museum of Art. Commentaries include those by Lorelei Gabel, owner of Carmel Fine Art Gallery; Molly Giordano, executive director of Delaware Art Museum; and Chris Strand, executive director of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.

Published by Brilliant Graphics, the volume is meant to serve as both a keepsake for Beam’s family and friends and a record for clients and collectors. “I think it was time that I put together a compilation of my paintings,” she says, noting that the work also “documents our region” as it changes over time.

The book is available at Brandywine Museum of Art and Delaware Art Museum and at Jacalyn Beam’s website. A book launch will be held at Delaware Art Museum on October 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

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