For more than twenty-five years, David Arsenault has been exploring our shared world through the creation of painted images. Inspired in his mid-30s by the work of Edward Hopper, he began to study painting with a simple goal in mind: to use shapes, dramatic lighting effects, saturated color, and strong contrast to purposefully create a palpable yet mysterious sense of mood, time and place.

Having his very own art gallery was an idea virtually from the earliest days of Arsenault’s career. Finally, in 2015, the dream became a reality, here in Rockport. David believes that an artist without inspiration on Cape Ann is an artist out of ideas. The landscape, the seascape, the buildings, the LIGHT! There is so much to see, to feel, to express. So much.

This gallery space, part of which dates to 1740,  is filled with original oil paintings and giclée prints on canvas, all depicting his way of seeing the world. And it's a working studio, where you'll regularly arrive to find the artist at his easel. But until you walk in, one thing is missing: you, and your way of seeing. After all, that’s where the conversation begins. The great thing about the arts—visual, performing, and literary—is the way in which they can potentially bring us together. Clearly expressed feelings, ideas, and concepts help us to recognize (read: re-cognize, to remember again) how much we truly have in common.