Click play to see the creation of Lonely Buzz from Trip Park
Lonely Buzz
Mixed Media on Canvas
12 x 12 in
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Trip Park – Progress on Happy Racquet
Click play to see the creation of Happy Racquet from Trip Park
Happy Happy Racquet
Mixed Media on Canvas
16 x 36 in
$2,200
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Choice Show 2020 – Artist Insights from Donald Rainville
Below, Artist Donald Rainville gives an intimate look inside a few of the pieces in the 9th Annual Choice Art Show.
Mist of Mousam and When She Dreams
“At times I use a forest floor covered in mist. The slightly obscured pathway is a morning walk where few others venture, Mist of Mousam is a perfect example of this. The mist is a genre enhancer meant to insinuate mystery and undisturbed quiet within a scene. This is also true in When She Dreams which is intended as a vivid dream of otherworldly interaction. “
Autumn’s Lace
“Except for Autumn’s Lace, the scenes I have created are all spring or summer, but with this piece, I move beyond. It’s easy to see beauty and mystery when it’s spring, and life is emerging all around us. Having wildflowers and fields in our yard here, I am often struck by how beautiful and untouched a wild place or garden can be, even when the summer is over, and it has gone to sleep. The frosts of the evening or early morning can bring to life a whole different kind of intricate white finery covering each sleeping stem and flower with a mysterious beauty. Once again, the garden or field has a life. It’s just life. Still, it draws in and captures the eye of passers-by admiring this mysterious beauty. I intended Autumn’s Lace as a play on words. Autumn, a woman’s name and leaving it up to the viewer as to whether the lace is the Queen Anne’s Lace or the frost simulating lace on the woman’s gown. “
Betula’s Garden
“I often use birches in compositions. Celtic mythology of tree symbolism is absolutely fascinating. So many trees give aspects of masculine, feminine, standard class, or nobility. In Betula’s Garden, I once again used Betula, the Latin name for the birch family of trees, as a woman’s name as wordplay. The scene is the height of spring, and I wanted to create a forest garden, a place that was a combination of both.”
Ladies in the Night
“Ladies in the Night is another birches scene. The birches and the moon together indicate it’s a ladies-only gathering. I use them quite often because of their distinction from so many other trees in the forest. Their presence lights up any wooded scene. They are often the first trees a child notices in a walk through the woods. Every tree has its own unique qualities that native peoples all over the world have used for millennia. The birch is one of a small grouping to have such bark to stand out among all the others.”
Fun Fact From the Artist
“Just like human beings. Every single tree in all the forests of all the world has its own DNA pattern unique to itself and apart from its own kind. They are as unique, and as much each an individual as anyone of us is.”
Below are a few links to learn more about Rainville and see all of his available works.
Donald Rainville – Insights in Video
Donald Rainville- THE BLOG – Artist Insights and Stories
Julia M. Doughty – Messenger, An Artist’s Choice
For some artists choosing their “favorite” piece is the hardest part of being in the Choice Show. Artist, Julia M. Doughty managed to narrow it down, but choosing Messenger was a difficult one. “I find myself leaning toward Come Along on occasion,” laughs Doughty. “Can I have two images? Maybe it should be a dragonfly and a bee, as I speak about both?”
We decided to let her off the hook and encouraged her to talk about both.
“In my ten years as a scavenger and a found-object sculptor, I have always created sea creatures. So it came as a surprise to me this spring when I found myself attracted to and attracting dragonflies,” explains Doughty. “It began after a bit of travel while I was fulfilling the required two-week self-isolation period. I thought, what better place to self-isolate than in my studio?”
Doughty’s studio is organized chaos. It is by far one of her favorite places to be, so the isolation was not a difficult one.
“I love it in my studio. I know where everything is. There are separate areas for all of my finds,” says Doughty, “everything from stones to glass to rusty iron to copper wire and mesh. These piles have been added to for many years.”
As Doughty walked in on the first day of her isolation, she was inexplicably drawn to a rusty iron scavenged treasure that she has had for ages. Other than the day she found it, it had never spoken to her.
“I didn’t know what it had been used for but was later told it was called a ‘come-along’. As soon as I glanced at it, I knew it was going to be one of the pairs of wings for a dragonfly,” says Doughty. “It ended up being the first of six and was named Come Along. Before I knew it I was seeing dragonfly parts throughout my studio.”
There is a shift in Doughty’s work which welcomes in her history as a costume designer.
“Costume Design meets Sculpture,” laughs Doughty. “I have sewn for many years, and I am enjoying immensely, the calming wire stitching technique I am using particularly in the creation of wings.”
Being curious, Doughty began to research the symbolism behind dragonflies. It wasn’t a surprise to learn they symbolized our ability to overcome times of hardship. They often remind us to take time to reconnect with our own strength, courage, and happiness.
“They signify hope, change, and love. They can be powerful, graceful spiritual guides. They show us how to navigate life’s storms with confidence and ease,” Doughty says with a smile. “They only live for seven months, so they remind us to live life fully present. Living amid the Covid-19 pandemic, I think the dragonfly is the perfect spirit animal from which to draw comfort.
The subsequent dragonflies in this show are named: Damsel, Rise, Messenger, and Grit and Grace. In the end, Messenger was Doughty’s Artist Choice, but it was Come Along that started the whole thing.
“My new body of work comprises five dragonflies and one honeybee, entitled Awakening. I am moving towards bees and other insects,” says Doughty. “The bee symbolizes brightness and harmony in the community, as well as new life and awakening. They bring me joy. I understand how hard their plight has been as a result of our activity, hence climate change, on the earth. There is also symbolism as to how we rebuild our communities, jobs, and lives on the other side of the pandemic.”
Below are several links to learn more about Doughty and see all of her available works.
Julia M. Doughty – Artist Page
Julia M. Doughty- THE BLOG – Artist Insights and Stories
Donald Rainville – An Artist Choice, Serving the Light
Serving the Light uses a bit of ancient Celtic symbolism, which I love. Evergreens were seen as a sign of eternity. This is why we decorate with them during the holidays or winter solstice. The scene is one of early morning in a vibrant spring, with the first light of the rising sun. All ancient cultures, including the Celts, saw the morning rising sun as a powerful symbol of life renewal.
The angelic figure is seen bowing reverently before the birch. Birch trees in Celtic symbolism, as well as many cultures, are an embodiment of the feminine. The birch tree has many life-giving properties, both practical and medicinal. All life comes through the feminine and thus the angel visiting our mortal realm is expressing its respect to the life-giving force the birch holds.
Serving the Light is also symbolic of the theme. It directly expresses the idea of life force of spirit in the natural world, in this case, a forest. Most every ancient culture of our society sees the earth, and nature itself, as a feminine orientation of life force. Most of our world’s “eldest” cultures believe our physical world and a non-physical world exist in tandem or partnership with each other. Most often, our interactions are subliminal: a dream, a feeling or intuition, a moment of Deja Vu, or another unexplainable happening. These strikingly stay with us, sometimes for years. We don’t often talk about these things except with our closest friends. Still, for many people, they are distinct happenings that hint at something greater than ourselves.
Below are a few links to learn more about Rainville and see all of his available works.
Donald Rainville – Insights in Video
Donald Rainville- THE BLOG – Artist Insights and Stories
Karen Bruson – An Artist Choice, Bayside Bunch
Hi, and welcome to my basement home studio. I never paint in this space. I’m only painting here since I’m sheltering in place. I usually paint in a studio space I share with seven other artists. I thrive in that creative environment where we cross-pollinate ideas, information, and companionship. It’s highly motivating for me. But I’m very comfortable here and fortunate to have this space. I’m usually much messier, but I haven’t had enough time to really destroy the place.
On the wall are some of the paintings going into the Choice Show. This one, Bayside Bunch, is my Artist’s Choice. I’m pleased with the simplification or abstraction of the figures. I really have fun painting crowds of people on the beach. I join in on a family Ogunquit vacation every summer, and that is where I get most of my subject matter. The beaches are always so crazy busy with splashes of color everywhere, and I so connect with the noisy vibration and overstimulation of it all.
But in regards to painting, I usually start with a small study, like this 8×8, and if I’m lucky enough to succeed with that, I paint a larger version. I generally don’t run into any trouble until my second brushstroke, then the struggle begins. I set a high standard for myself, and I’m always trying to reach that, always striving to be the best painter I can be. I can be hard on myself.
I often start on a black ground like this one currently in progress on my easel. I love it when the background peeks through in the end. It creates unity.
I’m referred to as a colorist. The world is a colorful place, so why not play with that.
Click to see all of her available works
Susan Tobey White – An Artist Choice, Rhythm in Red and Dancing
According to the artist, Susan Tobey White dance is part of Maine. In history, as well as now. *
“I live in Belfast, where the downtown is made up of old brick buildings. I have been in most of them. Meeting and dance halls are often found on the second floor and even a ballroom in one,” explains White. “I have heard stories of dances in these spaces long ago. Before TV, social gatherings and dances were what happened. When we first moved to Maine, it was very common to drive a distance to go to a dance.”
Even still, she is often asked, “Why dance? This is Maine. Where are your lighthouses and lobster boats?”**
Her instinct is to always answer that art is about emotion, no matter where you live.
“I started my dance series as a ‘heart to hand’ experience,” explains White. “ It was completely a response to having a space of my own to create where I blast music and paint…without thought.”
The actual story is when White first opened her studio, she was overcome with the need to make money, not an uncommon frustration at times with artists. “I was working on a tedious watercolor of colorful a blueberry field. I became frustrated with some tiny lines I was creating.”
Then with a mental head shake, she began to question what she was doing? She deserved this beautiful studio, she earned it. She should be celebrating, not struggling.
“I taped a large 36×48 watercolor paper to the wall. I put on some good-to-move-to tunes and started painting,” tells White. “A large, full hipped woman appeared….totally unplanned. I stepped back. ‘Where did she come from?’ I started adding details and patterns using color intuitively.”
White was teaching elementary art at the time, so bright colors and patterns were part of her visual vocabulary.
“As I became comfortable drawing these people, I started to really study color through the application of glazes,” she explains. “Years later, my process is similar, though of course not exactly the same either.”
That magical from ‘heart to hand’ doesn’t always happen every time she paints. Although she has learned to help the process by what she calls ‘ Honoring the Accidents.’
“I often pour or loosely brush, overlays of transparent colors without thought. Using multiple layers until I see the figures. The painting builds from there,” White says. “Sometimes, I may have an idea, but not always. After that, I manipulate the process.”
What does a toddler do when they hear music? They wiggle and move. It’s what we all do. I like to put a brush in my hand…with hopes that magical from ‘heart to hand’ moment will appear.
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A note on Susan Tobey White’s Artist Choice – Rhythm in Red.
SIDE NOTES…
*There was the Red Barn in Monroe, the Blue Goose In Northport, another one in Liberty and, of course, the Grange and other community halls. Dance is now an integral part of our community with our street dances and contra dances.
** I also paint Maine scenes. We live in a beautiful area I need to capture it in my world. I am currently focused on painting a series of Lobstering Women of Maine, which was on display at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport during their 2019 season.
Click to see all of her available works in the
9th Annual Choice Art Show
Heather Blanton’s Special Surfers – Artist Choice for 9th Annual Choice Show 2020
“Special Surfers is an aerial view of my vision of Gooch’s Beach in Kennebunk. I tried to show the fun by doing a birds-eye view of this amazing event,” shares Heather Blanton. “I wanted a piece that was Kennebunk centric as Maine Art Hill is really a Maine core gallery. It was my hope to bring a special part of Maine into a piece for the Choice Show.”
Special Surfers holds a very special place in the heart of many folks not only in the Kennebunk but around New England. With a boatload of volunteers and normally over 300 participants, Special Surfers allows a special kind of human to experience surfing and the ocean in a way they never could before. See the links below to find out more about Special Surfers and volunteer if you can.
“I have been a volunteer for this event for the last two years,” says Trisha Winslow from Maine Art Hill. “There are no words to describe it, you must experience it to understand the impact.”
Blanton happens to be at the gallery right before one of the three Special Surfer events last summer. Winslow shared the concept and then later many details and photos. “It’s impossible not to hear about this organization and not get excited,” says Blanton.
This piece, however, is more about energy than actual sports. When a viewer leans in, the details of each surfboard, holding a special surfer, surrounded by the support of the volunteers. “I feel as if I am trying to convey the spirit of the event taking place rather than an actual representative image,” explains Blanton. “I like lines and geometry and playing with symmetry and asymmetrical balance.”
To learn more about Heather Blanton use the links below
About Special Surfers
WHO IS CONSIDERED A SPECIAL SURFER?
Any child or young adult that has special needs (physical, mental, or emotional) is welcome to come. Please consult with your doctor if you have any concerns. If you feel like your child or young adult is a good candidate, bring us your special SuperSurfer!
All This Is Ours – Artist Insights in Video from Ryan Kohler, Artist Choice
Maine artist Ryan Kohler shares his thoughts on All This Is Ours, his Artist Choice, and a new piece for the 9th Annual Choice Art Show on Maine Art Hill in Kennebunk, Maine.
Below are several links to learn more about Kohler and see all of his available works.
Ryan Kohler – Videos of Stories and Insights.
Ryan Kohler- THE BLOG – Artist Insights and Stories
Blues Traveler by Dina Gardner – The Process – A Video
“I love the forgiveness of pastels. They are my favorite medium.”
Dina Gardner shares how her work begins as well as some insight on Blues Traveler, a new work for the 9th Annual Choice Art Show.
Below are several links to learn more about Gardner and see all of her available works.
Dina Gardner – Videos of Stories and Insights.