This is a preview of the mini-interviews with local residents, leaders and tastemakers that will be part of the New Castle DIGEST, a monthly run-down of recent news and upcoming events debuting later this month. Each will feature a short interview, the next being with council member Suzanne Souder. Subscribe below to get the latest when it comes out!
Our Chat with Dennis Young
NC City Topics (NCT): I understand you retired from work in medicine. Are there ways in which your artistic passion affected your work in that field, and what influence, if any, does your past work have in your current art or entrepreneurship?
Dennis Young (DY): I did some painting early on while at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia but things got busy and especially with starting a practice and a family I did not pick up a paintbrush for over 30 years. My fondness for portrait and figure painting probably got some influence from the hours I spent sitting in front of patients, listening to their stories. Everyone has a story to tell even if they don't know they are telling a story. Many of my portraits tell a story that the viewer can infer.
NCT: As you likely know, the spot your Mo’zArt gallery occupies has a long history, having once been an iconic pharmacy, among other things. Are there remnants of its past iterations that you've discovered? What do you find to be the coolest details of 1 E. Second Street?
DY: I came across an old black and white photo of my building when it was Kern's Pharmacy. It was much different with windows and doors in different positions. I painted a colored rendition of it. A few months back I met a gentleman in the gallery who said he had worked as a soda jerk behind the counter. How cool! Even now I can make out a faint painted sign for Pharmacy on the front of the building over the door.
NCT: What are some of your favorite spots around New Castle?
DY: Of course there are a lot of favorite spots in HNC. One is the view of that apartment building on Delaware Street across from the library. My artist eye is drawn to that curved roofline which I yearn to paint. Only problem is that it would require me setting up my easel right in the middle of 5th and Delaware Streets. I'm not ready for that.
Another favorite is the wharf when the Kalmar Nyckel is docked with masts full up. What a defining moment in our town. It's been painted a few times. A recent favorite is in the rooms at Dwayne and Aaron's Mercury Cafe. It is the convivial meeting place for townies on Friday evenings for me.
NCT: How about favorite local events?
DY: Hmmm... I think my favorite HNC day is Day in Old New Castle. Our town opens up to the world and invites people to see us in our homes and gardens and streets and we proudly show off. The past two DIONCs have also seen many plein air artists converge on our historic area armed with paintbrushes interpreting their impressions of iconic city scenes. This has proven to be a huge hit with the artists from Delaware and surrounding states, who proclaim their love of New Castle and their intentions to return.
NCT: Turning to matters a bit more... pedestrian, do you have any thoughts on the road and pipe work affecting streets around your shop all Summer and how it is progressing?
DY: I understand that the pipe work has to be done and will benefit homeowners. I am miffed that this tearing up the roads came AFTER the Delaware Street rehab and during DIONC. Same goes for the timing of the Sheriff's house rehab fencing. On the other hand, our town has managed through other strains and storms and we're still here. As of 2022.
NCT: Before engaging, can you spot a New Castilian vs. a tourist/visitor when they're shopping in your gallery? Do they shop differently? Make different purchases?
DY: I know a lot of people in town, though not always by name and sometimes I forget faces. I often take the risk when folks enter the gallery and ask if they are visiting town. The giveaway is if they address me by name. The relief is when the response is that they are from such and such. Many are from quite a distance and I always draw a laugh when I exclaim, "Wow, I guess you really made a wrong turn!!"
I do make a few sales and there's not much difference between visitors and residents. Most of the time people just walk around the gallery and enjoy the views. The most popular paintings are the portraits. Thank you. Otherwise visitors are drawn to the paintings of Jessop's Tavern and locals smile at the oil painting of the Dairy Palace I painted while trucks were barreling down Basin Road.
NCT: Are there any New Castle institutions or organizations that you love and wish more people knew about?
DY: You do know that Cap'n Jack can be a curmudgeon, right? The organization that more people should know about is the one that has been in gestation for years and, as far as I know, still come to fruition and that is a Tourism and Development Czar whose mandate would be to energetically and creatively promote the businesses and events in New Castle and be a clearinghouse for other organizations that produce creative and commercial happenings in town. I believe such a person(s) of necessity should be given a lot of leeway to produce and steer and make decisions. I suspect that inevitably some toes would feel stepped upon. This job would not be for the faint hearted.
NCT: Lastly, what are you working on right now in the gallery? Is there a theme or subject you've been especially inspired by lately?
DY: I am currently finishing two paintings. One is a larger painting, "M" which surprisingly is NOT Marilyn. Her visage is captivating.
The other is a plein air (outdoor) painting I am doing of the former bank building at the corner of the Strand and Delaware Street. That corner balcony window has been tempting me for a few years. In this painting I am employing artistic license to open one of the doors on that balcony and paint a shadowed figure in a white dress (one of my former models) looking out to the street. To my depictions of recognizable New Castle buildings this adds that touch of the portrait whose story suggests interpretation.
The finished painting will be prominent at this month's Fourth Friday Art Loop at Mo'zArt where the theme is "CHRISTMAS IN JULY."
Thanks to New Castle artist and entrepreneur Dennis Young for taking the time to share his thoughts! Please check out his work at the links below (and, of course, at his gallery).
Mo’zArt on Facebook / Dennis on Instagram
#HistoricNewCastleDE
#DelawareArtists