Dolnikowski's acrylics are on display in Lancaster

By Charlene Arsenault

There's no shortage of painters in New England doing landscapes. The style, however beautiful (in many cases), is also very popular.

Gregory Dolnikowski wanted to set himself apart. He, too, started out painting realistically-styled landscapes, but quickly sought a way to stand out — and did this quite by accident when a local person caught his work on eBay.

"There were many people," he says, "renovating houses and condos who wanted custom abstract art to decorate their walls. I am very happy to create abstract art to the size, shape and color that a client desires. It gives me the warm fuzzies to see my custom art hanging in just the right space to enliven someone's home. People love what I do with color and texture. They often call it ‘high-energy art.'"

This high-energy art is shown in the form of The Familiar and the Abstract currently on view at the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster through April 30. Displaying a collection of art in bright happy colors, he's particularly fond of the Cape Cod sky, ocean and sunset as subjects.

Dolnikowski gravitates toward the particular medium because he finds it so colorful and versatile. Often, he dilutes the paints with water to make them appear to be watercolors. Undiluted, they can resemble oils. Sometimes he trowels the acrylics so thickly, that they create interesting textures when they have dried. Plus, acrylics are practical.

"Since I do a lot of commissioned art," says Dolnikowski, "I often am working to a deadline. Acrylics help me to meet deadlines because they dry to a hard waterproof finish overnight. Watercolors, by comparison, are easily damaged and oils can take months to dry."

With a PhD in chemistry, Dolnikowski manages a mass spectrometry lab at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. A scientist, he researches things such as how foods have profound effects on health. He isn't necessarily the kind of guy you'd think of as brushing out sweeping ocean waves on a canvas. But for Dolnikowski, the two create a perfect balance.

"I find my scientific career to be very satisfying," says Dolnikowski, "because part of my personality loves the complex, exacting work. Art brings out a completely different side of my personality — the free-flowing, exuberant side." o