Where There's Hope There's Art

The Union of Maine Visual Artists is Maine's largest single visual art organization in the state with over 350 members in three regional chapters. This year there's a big member show coming up at Freeport Square Gallery called, "Where There's Hope There's Art", which opens on May 19 and runs through Memorial Day weekend. So far there are 40 artists from all three chapters in the show.

As the show organizer I am very excited to bring you a few of the works that are in this tremendous exhibition. These talented artists prove beyond a doubt that the creative spirit is alive and well here in Maine. These artists have given permission to use their images for PR..so you get a sneak preview of coming attractions. The work you see here is by, Maria Castellano-Usery of Brunswick, Ken Sahr of Northeast Harbor, and Nicole Herz. There are photographers, sculptors and mixed media artists as well.

All art will be for sale and there's an artist reception(party ..and yes, you can come) on May 24 at the gallery between 4-6 p.m..

There will be another show update on this blog one more time before the show begins.

By the way...Board Members of this organization have spent the past several years producing seven documentaries called the Maine Masters Series which explore the lives and work of significant Maine artists such as Dahlov Ipcar(my favorite), Stephan Pace and Alan Magee to name a few. There are several more documentaries in production stages as well. The UMVA recently received a grant from the Maine Arts Commission to send DVDs of the documentaries to all 185 school systems in the state. The films have been shown nationwide on PBS too. To find out more about the UMVA go to

http://www.umvaonline.org/ and http://www.mainemasters.com/

Winter Inlet-Cliff Island

It's time to get into the show season again and there some great opportunities coming up.
Freeport Square Gallery is hosting an exhibit called 10" x 10" for all paintings or 3D pieces that are 10" or smaller. This is one of four 5" x 7" paintings going into the show.
I found this inlet on a trip to Cliff Island a few years ago. It was December and the summer people were gone and the locals were no where to be seen so I had the place to myself. The dirt road winds down to a lovely curved beach on the back of the island. Ice hadn't gripped the bay yet but I knew it was coming.
When I was a kid my family lived on Casco Bay. It was so cold one winter that most of the Bay froze and people could walk across the ice to some of the islands..(not Cliff though..it's more than ten miles out). There was a beach at the end of our road and I remember climbing over the icebergs that were piled up everywhere..some were a foot thick. That day a group of boys from the neighborhood headed out toward one of the islands and made it back to tell the tale. This winter reminds me of that time. This is Casein 5 x 7..(sorry about the reflection).
There are over 35 artists in the show..come if you can.. it runs for three weeks, with opening reception on Sunday.
I have a one person show at The Freeport Cabaret coming up soon. More on that later...

CHOICES

Well now.... As I mentioned in a recent blog I was waiting to see which painting had been chosen for an upcoming show. This is the one Bruce Brown picked out of the three I submitted for the Freeport Creative Arts show now on exhibit. Mr. Brown is the former director for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, Maine and he graciously agreed to help us out with our first group exhibition. Many thanks to him. The show runs through July 27 at the Freeport Square Gallery and is quite impressive. There is a wide variety of painting styles and genre along with some very fine crafts, sculptures and photographs....46 pieces in all and everything is for sale.
Please stop by if you're in the area shopping and help support local artists. The gallery is just two blocks north of L.L. Bean on Main Street and is open 7 days a week.
This is pastel and titled "Evans Notch-Gilead"...wish I could've been a fly on the wall....

Summer Art Scene-Freeport Square Gallery

The summer art scene in Maine is very exciting and July is a busy time. My work will be in two shows that open within the next 12 days. The painting 'Midnight Auto' was accepted into the Pastel Painters of Maine 9th International Show at the Chocolate Church, 798 Washington Street in Bath, and the second is an exciting show curated by Bruce Brown of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art out of Rockport. Mr. Brown will be choosing one piece of artwork out of three submitted by each member of the newly formed Freeport(Maine)Creative Arts Initiative. This fledgling organization was started less than a year ago and has expanded to a whopping membership of over 80. FCA is an energetic and eclectic mix of local artists who are painters, sculptors, photographers, potters, musicians and writers. Obviously not all will be in this show but it will be very interesting to see which pieces submitted end up in the exhibit. I'm curious about which of mine was chosen.
Freeport Square Gallery, 140 Main St, Freeport is Maine's newest and largest gallery in the state with over 6,000 square feet of exhibit space in the former Copeland Furniture building. Kathleen Meade, the founding member and chair of FCA, along with five other members have partnered with art minded businesses to start this exciting private venture. The FCA show will have the first shot in the new gallery and opens July 13 with an artist reception and runs through 27th. Given the FCA activity and the new gallery in town Freeport is sure to make it's mark on the Maine art scene. As an artist who's lived in this area for over 30 years all I can say is it's about time!
The PPoM show in Bath opens with an artist reception on July 10 at 4 p.m. followed by a painting demo with Signature PSA member Doug Dawson who will present the awards. Dawson's work is atmospheric with a specialty in nocturnals(my favorite). He will conduct a plein aire workshop in Wiscasset the following weekend.
All work in both shows is for sale.
For more info
www.pastelpaintersofmaine.com
www.freeportusa.com
This is a pencil study of a Childe Hassam summery painting...appropriate I think.