“When I was thinking about this new body of work, two things stood out initially. First, I was painting newer versions of much older, more abstracted pieces,” shares artist Craig Mooney. “Second, sometime after at least a decade of my work tightening up, I’m loosening up again. Course brush strokes, less definition, a build-up of surfaces. It is fresh again.”
After the year we all have endured everyone else is also ready for something fresh. For his summer 2021 show aptly called SKY, Mooney has certainly brought us to a place and time we remember and want to find again.
“Horizons, vistas, and even cloud formations, these parts of nature drift above the sea and over buildings. Yet, they are still affixed to the earth, grounded,” explains Mooney. “To me, each is our personal lighthouses, our own beacons.”
In some paintings, he expresses the boat in the storm or the steadfast lighthouse on an outcropping of rock. Beautiful, yes. Meaningful, absolutely.
“These days the thematic elemental nature of the lighthouse means so much more,” Mooney says. “The perseverance through storms- the beacon of hope- the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The themes explored in this latest series of works were undoubtedly impacted by the events of the past year or so.”
Mooney is also creating images that bring sanctuary, the idyll. “I love the implication of gentle breezes with inconspicuous clouds drifting on by or the quiet shore with a dory at rest,” he says. “These are representing a return to a time of normalcy.”
At the end of the day, he is looking to give people a place to go for a bit of peace.
“It’s that feeling found when spending time with a painting, then suddenly it captures you. It holds on, and you are there, even if only for a while. It’s more than just seeing it. It’s feeling it.”
The pieces above are from Mooney’s 2021 Summer Show. Below are more details regarding the show itself.
This show runs from Saturday, August 14, to Thursday, September 2. Shows on Maine Art Hill opens at 10 AM every day. Don’t forget the Artist Reception from 5 PM to 7 PM opening day at 10 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk. Both Margaret Gerding and Craig Mooney will be in attendance. FMI call 207-967-0049 or visit www.maine-art.com/shows.
To see the show in its entirety, including the 360-degree virtual tour, click here.
Preview opens Wednesday, July 21. Virtual Tour is available on the evening of Friday, August 13.