NBT Bank’s latest Wall of Art installation at NBT headquarters in downtown Norwich features artwork created by New Berlin painter Carl Houghton. (Photo by Tyler Murphy)

NORWICH – NBT Bank’s latest Wall of Art installation at NBT headquarters in downtown Norwich features artwork created by Carl Houghton.

While Houghton, a New Berlin native, is a prolific painter, he is also colorblind.

But he doesn’t let that get in the way of his creative talents. “The creative process is a mixture of struggle and opportunity for any artist; my specific disability has been a source of frustration, but also a chance for me to stretch myself beyond the comfort zone of my own physiology,” he said. “My voice as an artist has come from surrendering myself to a process that focuses on balance and unity, capturing my inspiration in as few brushstrokes as possible.”

Houghton’s lifetime of painting and experience help him transform blank canvases into art. “I work from still life setups, photographs, magazine subjects, pure fantasy and have learned from other artists, especially Chagall, Turner, Van Gogh and the Hudson River School painters. I enjoy taking an inspiration and making it my own, sometimes by working only in palette knife or placing different colors around on the canvas to work up from differing perspectives.”

“Carl Houghton has been an important part of Chenango Arts Council for a long time, both in our gallery and as an instructor in our classroom,” said Chenango Arts Council Executive Director Alecia O’Neill. “I am always in awe of his beautiful paintings.”

Houghton’s artwork will be on display until the end of January 2024.

The mission of the Chenango Arts Council is to connect the arts to our communities to enrich quality of life. Art is one of the most powerful and useful tools for communicating, expressing, as well as connecting other people to one another or to a central message that seeks to be expressed. Chenango Arts Council strives to help those who seek venues to perform, spaces to exhibit, room to create, and people to share the passion of the Fine Arts.

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NBT Bank offers personal banking, business banking and wealth management services from locations in seven states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut. The bank and its parent company, NBT Bancorp Inc., are headquartered in Norwich, NY. NBT Bancorp had assets of $13.83 billion as of September 30, 2023 and is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol NBTB. More information about NBT is available online at www.nbtbank.com. Member FDIC.

– Information from NBT