Duncan Greenlee has been drawing cartoons for The Highlander newspaper since 1986, painted calendar pages for Laurel from 2002 to 2009, and has made his living as a landscaper for even longer. That’s a lot of hats for one person – and a lot of accumulated opinions about people, places, things, and ideas. Which is exactly what he’s named his current exhibit at the Albert Carlton‑Cashiers Community Library, running through August 9.
Those hoping to meet the artist in person can attend a reception at the library on Saturday, July 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. Come with questions. He’ll have answers.
The show pulls from a full career: watercolors, acrylics, and pen‑and‑ink work spanning landscapes, animals, community portraits, and whatever far corners of his imagination he hasn’t gotten to yet. “I love to paint out of my imagination,” Greenlee says. “I have a wild and crazy imagination.” Early works are included to trace how the style has shifted and deepened over four decades, alongside seasonal paintings from his long run with Laurel and a substantial collection of Christmas posters. The range moves from contemplative to outright comic, and the color is anything but timid. If you think you know what a library show looks like, this one may recalibrate your expectations.
A second exhibit, opening November 1 and continuing through January 2027, will focus specifically on Greenlee’s holiday, Christmas, and winter‑themed works.
Greenlee grew up in Gates Mills, Ohio, and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art, the visual arts conservatory in Cleveland, where he studied illustration – “telling a story with pictures,” as he puts it – before also earning a degree in English from Cornell. He started spending summers in Highlands in 1979 and eventually just stayed, which will surprise no one who has spent any time on the Plateau in July.
The natural world is central to everything he makes: “I love the natural world, and I want to see it preserved. I love the colors I see in nature.” His cartoons are community cheerleading rendered in pen-and–ink, finding humor and heart in Plateau life. His paintings reach for something quieter, “a moment of serenity and happiness,” and a reflection of the beauty and heritage of this particular place.
He comes from an artistic family: his father was an industrial designer, and several of his father’s works appear in the exhibit alongside Duncan’s own, lending the show an unexpected generational dimension. Animals show up throughout as well, prominently and joyfully. So does a lifetime of civic engagement.
Greenlee is a charter member and past president of Mountaintop Rotary and is passionate about fighting poverty in the community. He has been instrumental in expanding the club’s annual toy drive and coat drive, both conducted in partnership with the Emergency Council, and has donated poster work to charitable causes for years.
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