Capturing and celebrating the colors of Maine is one of the prime desires of a New England artist. It is both a skill and a talent artists Claire Bigbee, Ingunn Joergensen and John LeCours share.
This talented trio is featured for three weeks at Shows on Maine Art Hill opening September 1. The artists will attend an opening reception at 10 Chase Hill on Saturday, September 1 from 5 – 7 PM.
When three artists together are grouped together, there needs to be a sense of cohesiveness, a thread that weaves through and connects. For this show, it is color.
Natalie Lane, the gallery’s director, says, “This upcoming show has three of Maine Art Hill’s newest artists. Even when painting different subjects these very talented artists have extraordinarily compatible color palettes. It seemed a very natural pairing of talent. This show is going to be stunning.”
For John LeCours, his soft, almost smokey palette is one of his trademarks. LeCours is an oil painter who paints in the tradition of JMW Turner and James Abbott MacNeil Whistler.
“My central aim in painting is to create beautiful imagery. My creative process centers on a direct and intuitive response to nature and its elements.” LeCours explains. “I hope to evoke a response in the viewer to these experiences.”
Claire Bigbee feels much the same way. Even though she paints in both oil and acrylic, her colors and dreamy palette enhance what Mother Nature has created. There is a sense of energy.
“While the composition and light may attract me to a scene, it is the free use of color and expression that I love,” shares Bigbee. “The sky is vast, and the pregnant clouds shadow the marsh and river. It is breathtaking and mysterious, and leaves me wordless.”
For Bigbee, everything is interconnected and has a genuine feeling of oneness. Friend and artist Ingunn Joergensen often mentions that same connectedness with nature, her work, and her audience.
Joergensen shares, “I still try to recreate my impressions in a simple, and hopefully to the viewer, peaceful and contemplative way. I do not strive to recreate the landscape in a photo correct way, but rather the emotions it brings out. The transparency or translucency of it.”
Joergensen is one of Kennebunkport’s own and another oil painter. She is well known for her barns and stark landscapes. They will undoubtedly have a part in this show, yet be prepared to embrace her color, as well.
“I see many things just for their color. Not so much in shape or line but in patches of color. That may come as a surprise to many as I am known for a rather neutral palette in my work,” says Joergensen. “This spring and summer I spent many hours alongside the Kennebunk River just observing the constant change of colors, deep indigo turning into a rich turquoise or the brightest of blue fading into a mellow purple right before my eyes.”
No matter which style is favored, this show is sure to exhibit the dynamic color palette of Maine.
The artists look forward to discussing their work and process at the opening, September 1. Shows on Maine Art Hill is at 10 Chase Hill Road. Open daily, 10 AM to 5 PM. FMI maine-art.com or 967-0049.
Click here to see the entire collection of work in this show as well as the virtual tour.
To see more work or read more about each artist, click the links below.
STORIES AND INSIGHTS
ARTIST PAGES