Featured Artist

We don’t have to tell you, Dear Reader, that life is challenging.

Even in the relatively bucolic Berkshires and Hudson Valley, challenges abound.

Fortunately, we here in this part of the world are resourceful and resilient and ready to not only make the best of whatever our situation is, but to help others do the same.

One particular (and quite literal!) example of this ability to rise from the ashes is artist Aaron Meshon (www.aaronmeshon.com). Raised in the “Pretzel Belt” of Pennsylvania, Meshon grew up with and surrounded by artists.

“My Mom and aunt were both amazing painters,” Meshon recalls, citing such maternal influences as Paul Cézanne and Edward Hopper. “We drew together after school almost every day!”

Outside the house, the artistic influences continued. “I grew up very close to the Wyeth Compound in Chadd’s Ford, PA,” Meshon notes, “so I was always exposed to traditional American illustration.”

Perhaps it is no wonder that Meshon ended up living near the historic home of the “bookend” American bookmaker, Norman Rockwell.

How he got here, however, is far from a fairy tale. When his apartment building in Brooklyn was decimated by fire in 2019, Meshon lost nearly everything (save his wife and beloved pet dog, Chubu, an illustration of which had already garnered Meshon one of his many international awards).

While many others might have abandoned any connections to the life that was destroyed, Meshon put the thousands of pieces of art that were lost in the fire behind him and began creating new ones.

“Somehow we eventually made lemonade from the lemons,” he muses.

Lemon and Lime

While this comment might seem to be no more than a glib rationalization for some, for Meshon, it is again profoundly apt, as images of citrus have become a signature series of his work and a means of engaging with people around the world.

Having started as a corporate commission, Meshon’s tangy duo have expanded into an ever-growing set of inspired and inspirational images that, as he puts it, “represent unexpected joy.”

When he first came to the Berkshires after the fire in Brooklyn, stickers of his lemon and lime characters were among Meshon’s only artistic possessions. Yet they were enough to get him reconnected and restarted with the creative community. “People gravitated towards them,” he recalls gratefully, noting how many people claim to see themselves in the pair and eagerly look forward to see where Lemon and Lime will pop up next.

When asked what he thinks they have so much appeal (a-peel?), the award-winning illustrator (who has been recognized with such acclaimed acclamations as the 2014 Ezra Jacks Keats Honor Book Award, a 2020 American Illustration Award and 3 x 3 International Illustration Award, and multiple exhibitions with the Society of Illustrators), observes that, despite the fact that “Lime is lazy because lemons float and limes sink…. Lemon loves lime even though lime is not perfect and lazy,” and together, they represent “pure content and peace.”

The Berkshires, a special force

Despite the tragedy that pushed him to move to Great Barrington, Meshon has been able to find similar contentment and peace here, thanks in great part to his fellow creatives at Railroad Street Collective (www.railroadstcollective.com).

“I had no idea it would become as special of a place in my life as it has,” he admits, thanking “fearless leader” Kris Kanter especially for making the space “such a welcoming place for all of us to grow as artists and business people.”

Speaking of enthused entrepreneurs, Meshon’s wife, Ayako, recently joined the creative culture by opening her own Japanese food business (www.ayakitojapanesekitchen.com) that has already become a popular staple at area farmer’s markets.

“The Berkshires really has this special force where people can still take chances and grow creatively and personally,” Meshon observes.
In addition to sharing his own creations through such international media as The Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Sony, Scholastic, and Simon and Schuster (who published his book on international baseball, Take Me Out to the Yakyu). Meshon also shares his creative spark with others as a teacher and lecturer at various art schools and institutes, including The School of Visual Arts in New York.

“Don’t tell anyone that I am the winner in that equation,” he says, maintaining that he actually gets more from working with students than he could ever give. “I am so inspired by the fresh ideas, hope, and youth many of the students have…. They…show me there are so many ways to tackle and solve the same problem…and that is really powerful to see!”