A Café That Celebrates Connecticut Artists
At Belle Vie Café, food and creativity go hand in hand. We love filling our cozy Guilford space with the color, texture, and energy of local Connecticut artists, giving guests something beautiful to enjoy while they sip, chat, or unwind.
Each season, we feature a new rotation of artwork, carefully selected to reflect the warmth and spirit of our community. You’ll find paintings, photography, and mixed-media pieces displayed throughout both floors, from the sunny upstairs loft to the inviting downstairs nook.
It’s our way of supporting the artists who make the Connecticut shoreline such a vibrant place to live and visit.
Featured Artist: Steven Plaziak
The Belle Vie Café Loft Gallery is proud to present “Guilford – Our Town”, a collection of paintings by longtime Guilford resident Steven Plaziak, on view through April 15.
Steven has called Guilford, Connecticut home for more than thirty years. The town’s shoreline, historic architecture, open farmland, and shifting seasonal light continue to inspire his work. This exhibition celebrates familiar landmarks and landscapes, including February Thaw, Medad Stone Tavern, and Barns at Long Hill Farm — each capturing fleeting moments of color, atmosphere, and quiet beauty.
For Steven, every painting begins in his sketchbook. Through quick value studies, he develops a visual roadmap before moving into paint. Working in watercolor, oil, and gouache, he explores how each medium reveals something different — though light remains his constant focus. As he describes it, he is always “chasing light — how it shapes the atmosphere and brings the ordinary to life.”
Steven is an Elected Artist of the Lyme Art Association and a member of the Shoreline Arts Trail. His oil painting Meandering Marsh, Vineyard Point recently received First Prize in the Guilford Art League’s 77th Annual Juried Exhibition.