We didn’t invent outdoor music in the Berkshires, but it’s usually much sweeter here. Tanglewood is the most elegant option and some of us will go there several times each summer. But music lovers with a little ingenuity and a willingness to drive a few miles can find great concerts just about every night in July and August, most of them outdoors and free!

The very best option for free outdoor music lovers is The Clark Art Institute, which provides free events on the South Lawn every Tuesday evening during the month of July. This summer you can drag your blankets and chairs to 225 South Street in “Village Beautiful” (Williamstown) for bluegrass, soul, folk, and even a Beatles tribute band. Go to www.clarkart.edu for details. Arrive earlier than the 6pm start and you can tour the galleries and the spectacular grounds.

elody Lea Lamb’s vibrant, detailed, lifelike miniature paintings of woodland animals and whimsical fairies (as well as a wide array of other creatures great and small) capture the vitality and essence of her subjects. Working mainly with a combination of rich-toned colored pencils, India ink, and acrylic, Melody’s love of art, animals, and nature is evident (see our cover art this issue below).

Rebecca Guay’s (pronounced “Gay”) paintings and illustrations have been called romantic, vivid, rich and elegant in color, and powerful in design and line. She has a strikingly classical, feminine style that favors the use of acryla-gouache and oil.

Born and raised in eastern Massachusetts, Rebecca began her art career in 1992 after graduating from Pratt Institute in New York City with a degree in illustration. Since then she has established a broad career in art/illustration. Her clients include DC, Vertigo, Marvel, and Dark Horse Comics, Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro (MtG), MTV Animation, Lucas Film, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, Houghton Mifflin, Barefoot Books, and more. Additionally, Rebecca’s illustrations and personal paintings are in museums and private collections around the world, including the American Museum of Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in NYC.