“Painting in Maine offers me the unique opportunity to gather ideas from my everyday life here on the coast and also from fond memories of growing up here,” shares artist Lyn Asselta.
Asselta is new to Maine Art Hill and is already making a huge splash. Her pastels are clear and crisp and capture the many sides of Maine.
“Maine is where, at a very early age, I first understood the power of a landscape, and now it’s the place I’ve returned to after experiencing life for many years in very different environments,” says Asselta.
For her, painting involves a significant effort to infuse even the simplest objects, maybe a rock or a tree, with as much emotion as possible.
“It’s important to find ways to understand the intrinsic connection I feel to the landscape around me and to try to recreate that connection so that someone who views my work can feel it, too,” she says. “When I paint, the connections I form in real-time, whether because I’m painting en plein air or because II’mdiscovering a place that warrants some photographic documentation or notes in my sketchbook, are often bolstered by those childhood memories of days spent playing in tide pools or climbing on rocks or laying in the grass watching big clouds float through impossibly blue skies.”
Those memories are a significant part of what makes Asselta continue to “see” this coastal world with a bit of mystery and magic, and she truly enjoys sharing that through her work.
Inclined, 24 x 36, pastel on Ampersand pastelbord, 03082023 final version
Please visit all the galleries at Maine Art Hill at 5 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk. We are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily. Asselta’s show runs until June 21. If you can’t make it to Kennebunk, check out the show virtually.
Memorial Weekend is traditionally the kick-off to summer in Maine. But, for Maine Art Hill, it marks the beginning of its Summer Show Season. And what a season it is going to be.
It all begins on Saturday, May 27, at the newly located show galleries at 5 Chase Hill Road. They open their doors for not one but two new shows. Local female artists Liz Hoag and Lyn Asselta are celebrating side by side from May 27 to June 21 with an Artists’ Reception from 5-7 pm on Saturday, May 27. Both women recreate Maine as they see it in different but beautiful ways.
Liz Hoag, who paints in acrylic, features more of the inland beauty of this area. Steams, brooks, and enchanting woods have all inspired this Portland artist. Each piece of Hoag’s work features nature and light interacting to provide a new and different perspective on the everyday surroundings of the natural world. Mother Nature often illuminates her creations in a way only a few stop notice. Hoag is one of those few.
“When I walk in the woods and look around at the quiet, there is a sense of peace. It’s not just the surrounding trees that dampen nearby civilization’s sounds, but the light and color also make the space quiet,” Hoag explains. “The warm light sifting through the trees, the colors of early morning or late afternoon, and the cool blues and browns of the path all come together to create that tranquility. At any time, even at midday, with the bright light washing away some of the colors, the balance of the forest’s trees, branches, light, and dark still creates calm.”
In that same breath, when artist Lyn Asselta ponders what inspires her, it is images of fields of Queen Anne’s Lace and old farmhouses on hills, waves crashing against rock and fog obscuring shorelines, the sun setting over golden marshes and silhouetting ancient oaks, mist on the distant hills in the morning are living in her memory with a sense of timelessness and endless possibilities.
“I have always found myself drawn to locations with a rugged, solitary strength, places with untold stories, and places where I can lose myself in the nature surrounding me,” says Asselta. “Pastel, as a medium, seems to be a perfect metaphor for my relationship to these landscapes… vibrant, expressive, exuberant, and tactile. The pastels allow me to hold a piece of color in my hand and capture the essence of the wild, untouched beauty I find in the world.”
If you are searching for a small piece of this lovely landscape these two ladies call home, visit Maine Art Hill in Kennebunk. These simultaneous shows run from May 27 to June 21 at the show galleries at 5 Chase Hill Road, with an Artists’ Reception from 5-7 pm on Saturday, May 27. Open every day at 10 am. FMI call 207-967-2803
After too many years of being unable to party with a purpose, we have brought the Maine Art Hill Block Party back with a roar. This party is swinging in the summer season and welcoming all the new and spiffy things on Maine Art Hill. However, most importantly, we are raising money for the Maine Art Hill Art Scholarship for Kennebunk High School. Yip. That is the purpose of the party. Cabbage. Moola. Serious coin. We are thrilled to tell you 100% of all ticket sales go right into the kitty to help these kiddos make their next steps a bit easier. We can do this in large part to our two sponsors, DeLeo Group Realty and Edgecomb Potters. Edgecomb Potters are opening their Maine Art Hill doors for the first season, and DeLeo Group Realty is showing off a brand new space. This is going to be one heck of a wingding.
So here are the deets…
We plan on seeing you on Friday, June 9th, to Prohibition with a Purpose. It begins at five o’clock in the evening as Chase Hill transforms into an indoor/outdoor speakeasy. Each gallery is open for wandering, dancing, eating, and drinking… it is the 20s, after all.
Once you buy your $95 ticket, you receive a password. The scan code on your ticket (mobile or print) gets you through the green door and into a wristband and sippy cup. These allow free reign over the full bars, signature cocktails offered by Strange Events, and all-you-can-eat finger foods from Kitchen Chicks and 38 West Pub. This also includes a shrimp and oyster raw bar from The Boat House and Kennebunkport Resort Collection and fresh, local lobster and crab hors d’oeuvres from Three Sea’s Fish & Lobster. Plan on a few choice flavors from the little ice cream parlor down the street, the famous Rococo proprietress Lady Lauren. All the while, you enjoy three different jazz bands and thirty-five artists. We will also be entertained by the dancers from Brooke’s Dance Center showing us how it is done throughout the evening with period style dance and music. This should be fun.
Each of our three properties features different artists, various giggle juices, plenty of lite bites, and three musical acts to make any dame happy. We encourage our guests to celebrate and don their glad rags to show off the dazzling decadence we all know as the Roaring Twenties. Big prizes for the hotsy-totsy folks who bring it. This is the Age of the Red-Hot Mamas, the Cat’s Pajamas, and the Mad Decade. Come dressed to impress and hop on a vintage machine for a commemorative photo op for you and your crew courtesy of the fellas at Motorland.
Don’t be afraid of commuting with your gang of friends; parking is limited, as you know. Also, be sure to bring a few extra coins for a perfectly prepared cigar served by the Lovely Lady Lani from Maine and Vine if you are an aficionado. Cigar Bar is a Cash Bar.
This evening is sure to be the toast of the town. So join us to raise a glass for our local young talent as they pursue their artistic dreams and celebrate summer in style.
The work of three Maine Art Hill artists is being celebrated in Week Nine of Spring Arrivals. Below you will see a thumbnail of each piece. Click to make it larger. Works from these three artists are available online and at the main gallery at 14 Western Ave in Kennebunk. Come by or call 207-967-2803. Links to their artist’s pages, where you can see all their work are at the bottom.
May 1 – Liz Hoag
“In all my work, the light is critical to the feeling. After taking photographs on walks around my neighborhood or local trails, I return to my studio,” shares artist Liz Hoag. “This is where the magic happens. Starting with a dark canvas or negative space, I build up by adding light. The result is a stained glass image that is both abstract and representational.”
Hidden Treasure Acrylic on Canvas 20×16Trickle Acrylic on Canvas 12×12
“Maine has paths, trees, branches, color, light, air, open space, and water. We have a visual peace within reach, whether looking up at trees in our suburban neighborhoods, driving down country highways, or walking trails to the lakes, streams, and sea,” says Hoag. “We can find calm and beauty along the road almost anywhere in Maine.”
MAY 3 – Ellen Granter
“I get inspiration from many sources, including the changing colors, patterns, and atmospheres of the landscape around me as my imagination’s random idea generator,” shares artist Ellen Welch Granter. “I am searching for an elegant balance of spare compositions in each painting over large fields of luminous color.”
The Willow Perch 24×24Branch Gossip 24 x 24Blue Jay Oak 36 x 36
“When observing everyday subjects such as shells, I try to notice the small spaces between them and the abstract patterns created by their characteristic colors,” says Granter
May 5 – Alex Dunwoodie
“I’m painting what I love, what grabs my attention and makes me pause. Mornings and evenings are particularly inspirational because colors can be intensified, and light can make the ordinary interesting,” shares artist Alex Dunwoodie. “Boats, whether for work or play, merge with the seascape. And coastal trees stand out like resolute figures, and I appreciate their determination.”
Blue Sky Reflected 12 x 12 Oil on BoardCedar – The Spirit Flies Forth 16×16 Oil on Board
Beach Roses and Daisies at Twilight 30×10 Oil on Board
“In the waterworks, I want to convey the sensation of water, light, and motion,” Dunwoodie shares. “I want to depict a time of day, a sensation, and a moment.”
Click the links below to see all these pieces and other work from these talented artists.
The work of two Maine Art Hill artists arrives for Week Eight of Spring Arrivals. Below you will see a thumbnail of each piece. Click to make it larger. Works from these two artists are available online and at the main gallery at 14 Western Ave in Kennebunk. Come by or call 207-967-2803. Links to their artist’s pages, where you can see all their work are at the bottom.
APRIL 24 – Claire Bigbee
“Capturing the beauty and power of the grand scenery of Maine on canvas is my inspiration. As a plein air painter, the infinite beauty of nature has always been my subject since moving to Maine when I was 12,” shares artist Claire Bigbee. “Being alone with nature and observing the scenery is calming and gives me peace. Painting is a wordless expression when trying to represent what meets my eye looking at a view. An invisible presence surrounds me while observing the landscape in a field. I can feel that presence or spirit voice watching the wind swaying through the marsh grass on a brisk fall day.”
Beach Plum Farm Salt Marsh 12×12 Oil
Whispering Sky Over Ogunquit Beach 30×40 Oil
“The salt marsh sparrows swooped and dived in rhythm with the wind. It’s a real dance and a breathtaking experience to watch. Those magical moments when all the hustle and bustle in life disappears and what’s left is truly wonderful,” says Bigbee. “In those quiet moments, I feel the creator orchestrating all the beauty surrounding me. As a co-creator of that beauty, I try to capture those moments in time and space. The dancing clouds and forever changing moods of the Maine skies. The fleeting light streaks across the beach or marshes and pastoral views. Those “wow” moments are when the landscape lights up and says look at me! It’s my first impression, my feelings from a view I aim to capture on canvas and make timeless.”
April 27 Janis H. Sanders
“Why is it that looking at old photos, the older they are, the younger you look?” laughs Janis Sanders when discussing creating new work. The relationship between painting and photography is tight—the more unique the artwork, the older the artist, and the more experience and skill we see come through in paint.”
Dawn Light, Oil on Cradled Panel, 20″ X 20″
“There is nothing to lose when living in the moment,” says Sanders. “I am liberated to put my best self into the path and story told in each new painting. It is like a story of the written word expressed in paint, in two-dimensional and near three-dimensional forms.”.”
Click the links below to see all these pieces and other work from these talented artists.
The work of three Maine Art Hill artists arrives for Week Seven of Spring Arrivals. Below you will see a thumbnail of each piece. Click to make it larger. Works from these three artists are available online and at the main gallery at 14 Western Ave in Kennebunk. Come by or call 207-967-2803. Links to their artist’s pages, where you can see all their work are at the bottom.
April 17 – Jill Matthews
“I have been creating art on some level for as long as I can remember,” shares artist Jill Matthews. “Life has led me in various directions, but one thing that has always remained a constant is my love for art and involving myself in the creative process.”
Emerald Peeler 36×48
“As with anything, art is a process, and my recent work represents how it has evolved. One of the hardest things as an artist is to find a voice in your work,” says Matthews. “I spent a long time focusing on replicating things I saw rather than truly seeing them through an artistic eye. My work now is based on an initial idea or vision. I will still use some references in the process, but my most successful moments in painting happen when I lose that security and the work are from within. Adding, editing, allowing color interaction, letting the painting take its direction… that’s when I truly emerge as an artist.”
APRIL 20 – Ryan Kohler
“Representational painting is still the root of what I’m trying to achieve, but the fun lies in finding ways to describe my subjects through expressive gestures and varied mark-making,” shares artist Ryan Kohler. “Recently, mixed media and collage have become significant elements of my work. Bits of colored paper, maps, album covers, posters, and found materials are collaged to the surface of my paintings, adding an extra physical presence to my work and enriching the viewing experience.”
How To Get There 36×48
Gum Boot 16 x 14
“Collaging has become an important process for me, forcing me to think abstractly and slowing me down more than the painting process would, yielding more interesting and thoughtful decisions,” says Kohler. “I sometimes describe it as like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, but I get to make my pieces, and they don’t have to fit precisely. Charmingly incorrect is the result that I typically shoot for, rather than literal and precise. There comes the point where too much detail and obvious overstatement become detrimental to the power of a painting. Letting edges blur and being ambiguous with brushwork leads to more exciting results. While painting, I constantly think about this and try to walk away from them when they are in an evocative and unpredictable state. ”
APRIL 7 – Bethany Harper Williams
“By simplifying the landscape, I aim to capture a memory without the details of representation. The expanse of nature, be it the sky, beach, or water, allows abstracting of the elements through expressive brushstrokes, subtle textures, and simple forms,” shares artist Bethany Harper Williams.
A Pink Bikini Day 30-x-30 Oil
Warm Skies 20 x 20 Oil
“Layers of unexpected shapes, patterns, and colors create a visual composite of energy and calm, taking the viewer away from the reality of the image and triggering a personal memory, a moment in time,” Williams says. “A low horizon line or the playful placement of simple figures brings context to the expressive composition of color and texture.”
Click the links below to see all these pieces and other work from these talented artists.
The new work of three Maine Art Hill photographers is available for Week Six of Spring Arrivals. Below you will see a thumbnail of each new piece. Click to make it larger. Works from these three photographers are available online and at the PHOTOGRAPHY gallery at 5 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk. Signed prints are on high-quality metal, available in various sizes, and drop-shipped to your address for free this week only. Come by or call 207-967-2803. Links to their artist pages, where you can see all their work, are at the bottom.
April 10 – Natalya DeSena
A visual explorer and avid adventurer, Natalya seeks to share what inspires her most through her landscape prints. She strives to capture the natural beauty of mother nature in Maine and afar. Natalya brings serenity, wonderment, and adventure into your home and life through these artfully curated photographs.
NYCSpring Point Light House
Natalya’s natural and organic photography style focuses on genuine emotion and light. When she’s not capturing the beauty of nature, she’s photographing weddings and families throughout New England. She was born and raised in New York City, and her family moved to Maine in 2002. She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and moved back to Maine in 2015. She lives in South Portland, Maine, with her husband and three dogs.
APRIL 13 – Bob Pecchia
“My primary focus has been on landscape, seascape, and cityscape images. It is not only the taking of the photographs I find so intriguing and rewarding, but perhaps more so are the discoveries one makes in the process,” shares photographer Bob Pecchia. “There is the continuous searching, the visiting, and revisiting of scenes. Then there is looking for when the best lighting may be, weather conditions, or which seasons may be more suitable for a particular scene. While some situations may present themselves relatively quickly, it can take years to get that one image you were hoping to capture.”
Dinghies
Looking Out
Tranquility, Black and White
Tranquility, Color
“Along the way, I also found myself getting into wildlife photography, something I never really considered an interest, but it has become an extremely enjoyable part of what I do,” says Pecchia. “A challenge to one’s patience for sure, but the exposure to this natural world around us is priceless.”
APRIL 14 – Gabe Schiff-Verre
Gabe is a Maine native and has been photographing scenes from New England and around the world for over 20 years. Through an emphasis on rich detail, dynamic color, and light, Gabe brings the viewers’ awareness to the suspended beauty of our Earth.
Acadia AboveSynchronicityWall of LightStarlight
His images are a constant reminder that, amidst the raging storm of life, solitude can be found in the eye of the natural world. Most recently, Gabe has been pointing a camera up at the night sky, furthering the exploration of these quietly powerful spaces and our place among them.
Click the links below to see all these pieces and other work from these talented artists.
The work of three Maine Art Hill artists arrives for Week Five of Spring Arrivals. Below you will see a thumbnail of each piece. Click to make it larger. Works from these three artists are available online and at the main gallery at 14 Western Ave in Kennebunk. Come by or call 207-967-2803. Links to their artist’s pages, where you can see all their work are at the bottom.
April 3 – David Witbeck
“Having been a photographer for almost three decades, it’s a joy to be free of the bonds of objective reality,” says artist David Witbeck. “While photographs may occasionally trigger an idea, I never paint from them. Instead, I prefer to bend, stretch and twist things any which way they’ll make an interesting composition. My paintings are completely made-up. They are meant to be iconic rather than descriptive, creating a feeling, an emotional response, with somewhat generic symbols rather than accurately cataloging the particulars of an identifiable person, place, or thing.”
Sherm 12×12 Oil on Panel
Frank 12×12 Oil on Panel
Annie 12×12 Oil on Panel
Keeper 12×12 Oil on Panel
“A blank canvas is where I make the world as it ‘should’ be. Of course, my places and things have analogs in reality, but specifically, they exist only in my mind and on the canvas,” says Witbeck. “They are irreverent fantasies of love of boats and the seacoast, respect and admiration for people who wrest a living from saltwater, and maybe just a little bit of envy or disappointment of never having been one of them. They come from years of observation, a good amount of imagination, and just a smidgeon of experience.”
APRIL 6 – Margaret Gerding
“My goal has remained constant throughout my career: to capture a single moment,” says artist Margaret Gerding. “As an artist, my job is to observe as much as to create. With every second that passes, light changes, colors adjust, and the slightest physical shift occurs in nature. Each piece is based on a real place, a moment I have experienced and been inspired by.”
Marginal Way 20×20 Oil on Canvas
Bridle Path Kennebunk 14×14 Oil on Panel
Acadia 14×14 Oil on Panel
“There is something unique about being alone with nature—a quiet that connects me. Only this solitude, outside or in the studio, allows me to let the landscape reveal itself. Living in Kennebunkport, I am immersed daily in the area of my greatest inspiration,” says Gerding.”It is a place where nature provides a lifetime of exploration and study. Where the fog can roll in at any moment and change the landscape. The greens of the marsh shift over to the warm ochre of autumn.”
APRIL 7 – Alex Dunwoodie
“I’m painting what I love, what grabs my attention and makes me pause. Mornings and evenings are particularly inspirational because colors can be intensified, and light can make the ordinary interesting,” shares artist Alex Dunwoodie. “Boats, whether for work or play, merge with the seascape. And coastal trees stand out like resolute figures, and I appreciate their determination.”
Sailboat 16×16 Oil on Board
Cedar – The Spirit Flies Forth 16×16 Oil on Board
Beach Roses and Daisies at Twilight 30×10 Oil on Board
“In the waterworks, I want to convey the sensation of water, light, and motion,” Dunwoodie shares. “I want to depict a time of day, a sensation, and a moment.”
Click the links below to see all these pieces and other work from these talented artists.
The brilliant colors of Claire Bigbee’s work are a perfect way to wrap up the 2023 Summer Show Season on Maine Art Hill.
Capturing the beauty and power of the grand scenery of Maine on canvas is Bigbee’s inspiration. As a plein air painter, the infinite beauty of nature has always been her subject since moving to Maine when she was 12.
“Being alone with nature and observing the scenery is calming and gives me peace. Painting is a wordless expression when trying to represent what meets my eye looking at a view. Yet, an invisible presence surrounds me when I am alone in a field observing the landscape,” shares Bigbee. “I can feel that presence or spirit voice watching the wind swaying through the marsh grass on a brisk fall day. The salt marsh sparrows swooping and diving in rhythm with the wind. It’s an authentic dance and a breathtaking experience to watch. Those magical moments when all the hustle and bustle in life disappears and what’s left is genuinely remarkable.”
“In those quiet moments, I feel the creator orchestrating all the beauty surrounding me. As a co-creator of that beauty, I try to capture those moments in time and space. The dancing clouds and forever changing moods of the Maine skies,” says Bigbee. “The fleeting light streaks across the beach or marshes and pastoral views. Those “wow” moments are when the landscape lights up and says look at me! It’s my first impression, my feelings from a perspective I aim to capture on canvas and make timeless.”
If you can’t wait until September, please come in or call to see our present collection of Bigbee’s work. You can also click the links below to see them virtually and to learn more about her process.
The work of three Maine Art Hill artists arrive for Week Four of Spring Arrivals. Below you will see a thumbnail of each piece. Click to make it larger. Works from these three artists are available online and at the main gallery at 14 Western Ave in Kennebunk. Come by or call 207-967-2803. Links to their artist’s pages, where you can see all their work are at the bottom.
MARCH 27 – Ingunn Milla Joergensen
Joergensen works in layers, adding paint, scraping off, and often mixing the colors directly on the canvas. Being extremely tactile, she often paints with her bare hands.
Dapples of Color and Light 36 x 36 Oil with Gold Leaf on CanvasSpring Barns 36×36 Oil and Metal Leaf on Canvas
“I find that I simplify more and more. This is because so much clutter and noise surround us – I can breathe by paring down to the bare essentials,” shares Joergensen. “The spaces in between…where nothing happens, are almost more important. It puts the rest into perspective. I am working towards my paintings being a mental pause for the viewer. If I suggest half the story, the rest is up to them. I spend a lot of time meditating. Therefore, approaching the same subject over and over becomes like meditative prose. Every time I try to get closer to the subject’s essence, or the soul.”
MARCH 30 – Michele Poirier Mozzone
One exceptionally beautiful afternoon at the pool in 2011, I was struck by the ribbons of sunlight and distortions affecting my daughter through the moving water. I was also keenly aware of catching this lovely, brief moment with her before it flicks by. So I grabbed the camera and took numerous photos of her in the water to find inspiration for a new painting. I have drawn and painted all my life, but that was the beginning of the Fractured Light series, an exploration that excites and fascinates me today.
The Lookout 20×20 Oil Canvas
In these works, I pair my dual interests in figurative imagery and colorful abstraction to create paintings that capture the unique feeling and distinct associations of the body suspended in water and time. This series allows me to paint what I love – the figure – while exploring areas of fluid distortion that exist naturally in turbulent, sunlight-drenched water. Water lends meaning to the work as a vehicle for life, cleansing, change, renewal, and death. I find this unique atmosphere extraordinary.
MARCH 31 – David Jacobson
David Jacobson makes hand-blown and kiln-formed glass utilizing contemporary designs based on the Venetian tradition. In addition, Jacobson makes brightly colored functional objects, such as bowls, glasses, vases, platters, and sculptural forms.
Hot Formed Bird -Chartreuse Teal 2.5×7.75×2 GlassHot Formed Bird – Burnt Orange 2.25x9x2.25 Glass
Hot Formed Bird -Chartreuse Blue 3.75×8.25×2
+ We are offering Free Delivery and Installation (within 100 miles of Maine Art Hill) for Reflections by David Jacobson
Reflections 40x 36×36 in. Murrini Glass with Wood Pedestal
Reflections is made up of two kiln formed white glass cane pieces resting on a square piece of black glass with a white wooden base. Due to its fragility, this piece cannot be shipped so we are happy to deliver and install for free within 100 miles of Maine Art Hill.
“I employ contemporary colors with classical forms to create a unique expression in each piece. Texture and vibrant color combinations are vital; my pieces are meant to be touched, explored, and viewed. For me, making glass is an honor.”
Click the links below to see all these pieces and other work from these talented artists.
