Colors are Starting to Pop – Fall Pop -Up Schedule on Maine Art Hill

It’s not only the trees expecting pops of color. As our summer season winds down, our fall pop-ups begin. It is a time for new, fun, and exciting artists to celebrate cooler nights, colorful days, and beautiful art.

Scroll down to see the schedule of Pop-Ups and click the links to learn more about each.

Robin Swennes & Phil Ouellette

August 31 – September 13

The Gallery – 14 Western Ave, Kennebunk

Artist Reception Saturday, Sept 9, from 4-6 PM

Heather Fountain, Angelique Luro, and Amalia Tagaris

September 9 – 28

Shows #1 and #2 – 5 Chase Hill Rd Kennebunk

 Van Tassell Art

September 14 – 27

The Gallery – 14 Western Ave Kennebunk

James Mattison

September 29 – October 29

Gallery at The Grand – 1 Chase Hill Rd Kennebunk

 

 

Ingunn Joergensen – A Little History

 Ingunn Milla Joergensen lives in town and has found a special place in our love community. Even though she was not born here, she has chosen Maine to call home, or maybe it is more like Maine chose her.

“Growing up in the southern parts of Norway, I was that child who always spent time creating something, that is, if I wasn’t wandering around in the woods picking wildflowers,” Ingunn shares. “I remember waking up thinking, ‘Today I will make a masterpiece unlike anything anyone has ever seen.’ Then I’d venture off to my granddad’s wood workshop next door to hunt for treasures to use.”

She was allowed to explore and create through her childhood and school. “I am still grateful for all those teachers who let me go on with my ideas,” she remembers. “Frequently, they were things other than what we were assigned to do. Maybe that is why I later became an art teacher myself.”

For many years, Ingunn enjoyed teaching her students and still painting when she had the moment to steal. Then, fifteen years ago, she moved to Maine.

“What was supposed to be a two-year stay has become more permanent now – a house, a huge garden, another dog, and numerous chickens later.” Ingunn was finally in a place where she could focus solely on her work. “Quickly, I fell deeply in love with the place and its kind and friendly people,” she shares. “Each a little rugged, very resilient, and so authentic.”

The beauty of the Maine landscape, the constantly changing elements, and the ocean are a never-ending source of inspiration for all of Joergensen’s art and design work. “It is the little things that catch my attention, a piece, a fragment, a texture, a thought, a word. Sometimes taking it all in is so much, it is almost overwhelming,” Igunn shares. “One little shell tells the story of the ocean. A piece of wood tells the story of lived life. Beauty is found in the most unexpected places.”

Joergensen has met and worked with many inspiring and talented people. Her road trips around the state searching for beautiful barns to paint have led her to the most interesting conversations. She tells the story of an older gentleman and his lovely old horse farm.

“Windows were broken, roofs were sagging, and he was having difficulty keeping up. The barn swallows were cheerfully flying around while rays of sunshine streamed through the ceilings. He still had a few retired horses and much evidence of a proud life. We spent hours chatting,” says Ingunn. “A few weeks later, I returned with an invitation to my show. He saw his barn on the invitation’s cover and started to cry.”

This and many similar stories make Joergensen grateful to live and paint in Maine, yet her gratitude does not end there. She has a deep appreciation, profound thankfulness, and great humility, not only when it comes to her ability to paint but also when paintings have found their “forever homes.” All across the United States, from San Diego to Seattle, Florida to Maine, Ingunn Jorgensen’s work can be found. She may be lucky to have this life, but her talent and hard work have brought her to where she is now.

Artist Igunn Jorgensen

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FInding Inspiration – Artist Insights from Janis H. Sanders

“My paintings begin long before any paint is applied to the canvas or panel on the easel. I always begin with a question,” shares artist Janis H. Sanders.

“What do I love about Maine?”

“Is it the sun’s first glow casting myriads of colors gently, quietly across a pre-dawn yet unlit sky? Yes!”

“Is it a silver morning glimmering on the ocean with near-blinding intensity reflection across a bay? Yes!”

“Is it the deep mellifluous bass rolling roar of lobster boat motors, lobstermen checking their pots on a rocky coast in the earliest daylight while the world has yet to awake?   Yes!”

“Is it the calm lapping of midnight quiet waves kissing the shore in a lulling meditation? Yes!”

“Is it the insistent repeating cyclical sound of rolling stones at Owl’s Head with each hefty wave’s entry and exit from shore? Yes!”

“Is it the glorious shores of Rosa Rugosa in the bright refrain or rainbow-colored Lupine casting their cheer to the world? Yes!”

“Is it the choral braying of dozens of near-sunset evening cows in a meadow in late May, breaking the otherwise quiet, cool evening stillness and capturing all your attention in the sweet spring air? Yes, yes, and yes!”

So many experiences and dozens of other landscapes along the Maine coast from the amalgam of rich, visceral visual and emotional inputs provide the fodder for Sanders’s paintings.

“I am inspired by the deepest, darkest of night and the most profound quiet on Earth while standing on the sidewalk on Rt. 1 at midnight in Searsport, smiling and delighting as the occasional lone 18-wheeler, breaking that indescribable silence, rolls as unobtrusively as it can at twenty-five miles per hour through town,” laughs Sanders. “Or maybe it’s an artist at this hour across the street in her second-floor white studio, yellow-cast incandescent lights in an overhead ceiling fixture, in her linen white Victorian vaulted ceiling home, vigorously painting a large canvas, immersed from the rest of the world.”

The show opens on Saturday, August 19, at 10 AM, at Maine Art Hill at 5 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk. These two shows run for almost a month, ending September 6. If in town, please consider the Artists’ Reception on Saturday, August 19, from 5-7 PM at 5 Chase Hill Road, Kennebunk. All are welcome.


Click to see the VIRTUAL TOUR.

 

 ARTIST INSIGHTS – Janis H. Sanders.

 ALL AVAILABLE WORKS – Janis H. Sanders

 

Michele Poirier Mozzone – Artist Introduction

At Maine Art Hill, we love to help make that connection between our clients and visitors with our artists. With that, a new us artist, Michele Poirier Mozzone, has shared a bit about herself.

Mozzone was born and raised in Massachusetts. She lives and works in Rehoboth, a lovely rural town in southeastern Massachusetts. There are farm fields, cow pastures, and horse stables, yet they are a 15-minute ride from great restaurants and city life in Providence, Rhode Island. They also have a cottage in Falmouth on Cape Cod, where the family loves to gather year-round.

“Painting and drawing were always something I did – from when I could hold a crayon. Although I majored in Fine Art in college and have painted for most of my life, I began to focus intensely on my art practice in 2010 after my dad’s sudden passing,” shares Mozzone. “It was a time of creative rebirth and experimentation for me as it became painfully clear that life is uncertain, and if this was what I was meant to do, it was now or never.”

She took classes and workshops, joined art organizations, subscribed to art journals, became involved in the Providence art community, and began teaching pastel classes at the Providence Art Club and RISD Continuing Education. She also became a lover of Instagram.

“I confess I am a bit of an Instagram addict. But I have found it inspires me to discover contemporaries creating fantastic work I would never have known about,” she says. “It has allowed me to enrich my knowledge of current artists and, in many cases, to have a dialogue and be acquainted with them.” 

Mozzone also belongs to the Providence Art Club in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the second oldest art club in the country and a vibrant organization. The membership and staff are welcoming and supportive. It is an inspirational beehive of creativity.

There was little time for art in the beginning, but as we know, that didn’t last forever.

“My husband and I were fortunate that his career allowed me to stay home with our three daughters. It was hectic and challenging to do more than an occasional watercolor painting,” says Mozzone. “During those time-strapped years, my creative outlets were gardening, cooking, and selling hand-painted tees, sweatshirts, and mailboxes at Christmas craft shows!”

So now that there is free time, yes, artists have free time, she fills her cup with Mother Nature and friends.

“I love spending time with my friends and family – my husband and I have three daughters and two great sons-in-law. We spend a lot of wonderful family time on Cape Cod,” she shares. “Yet my perennial flower garden has always been another interest-bordering-on-obsession for me and a source of replenishment when I’m feeling spent.”

Mozzone’s show opened on Saturday, August 19, at Maine Art Hill at 5 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk, ending on September 6. We are open every day at 10 AM. All are welcome.

Click to see the PREVIEW on August 16

Click to see the VIRTUAL TOUR on  August 18

 

 ARTIST INSIGHTS  – Michele Poirier Mozzone.

ALL AVAILABLE WORKS –Michele Poirier Mozzone.

Discovering the Landscape – Insights from Artist Ingunn Joergensen

Artist Ingunn Joergensen has a distinct style and often a different subject matter. She wanted to do something a little more for her summer show at Maine Art Hill.

“In this show, I have explored different landscapes, a subject I love,” says Joergensen.

The new landscapes also come with a pop of color which even Mother Nature would approve of. The peaceful and serene scapes hold swatches of blues and greens and teals that grab the eye and hold interest.

“Color. It is truly how I see many things, not so much in shapes or lines but in patches,” says Joergensen. “This may surprise many, as I am known for a somewhat neutral palette in my work.”

As someone who spends much of her time outside, landscapes are a natural choice. This spring and summer, Joergensen spent many hours alongside the Kennebunk River observing the constant change of colors. 

“I watched how deep indigo turns into a rich turquoise or the brightest of blue fades into a soft purple,” she says. “I have so many favorite spots right here in my immediate surroundings. Whether it is the woods, rivers, marshes, or by the ocean, it is here.”

Even though Joergensen does not strive to recreate the landscape in a photo-correct way, she certainly captures it. 

“Instead of photorealism, I rather focus on the emotion the landscape brings out, the transparency or translucency of it,” she says. “I try to recreate my impressions in a simple, and hopefully to the viewer, peaceful and contemplative way.”   

For those of you who love Joergensen’s Barn Series, have no fear. There are several works from her Barn Series and a few other themes in the show.

“I could not entirely let go of my passion for barns in this show,” shares Joergensen. “They are more of a shelter or a homestead safely rooted or grounded. A sense of belonging to something deeper.”

Click to see the VIRTUAL TOUR. 

You can click to read more about Joergensen.

You can click to see Joergensen’s entire collection.

Sometimes There is Just No Comparison – Artists Janis H. Sanders and Michele Poirier Mozzone

JANIS H. SANDERS

 MICHELE POIRIER MOZZONE

August 19 – September 6

Artist Receptions August 1

9,  5-7 PM

5 Chase Hill Rd. Kennebunk, Maine 04043

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” With two side-by-side show galleries and two opening shows happening on the same weekend, nothing could be more accurate.

On Saturday, August 19, at 10 AM, Maine Art Hill opens two shows. Figurative artist Michele Poirier Mozzone and landscape artist Janis H. Sanders. Two separate shows under one roof. These two shows run for almost a month, ending September 6. If in town, please consider the Artists’ Reception on Saturday, August 19, from 5-7 PM at 5 Chase Hill Road, Kennebunk. All are welcome.

Both artists work in oils, but this is where the similarities end and the fun begins.

Michele Poirier Mozzone is new to Maine Art Hill but is figuratively making quite the splash. In her works, she pairs her dual interests of 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,” shares Mozzone. “As a vehicle for life, cleansing, change, renewal, and death, water lends meaning to the work. I find this unique atmosphere extraordinary.”

Struck by the ribbons of sunlight and distortions affecting her daughter through the moving water, Mozzone became keenly aware of catching this lovely, brief moment with her before it flickered by. 

“I grabbed the camera and took numerous photos of her in the water in hopes of finding inspiration for a new painting,” explains Mozzone.  “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 to this day.”

At the gallery next door, artist Janis H. Sanders fills the walls with sunlight, blue sky, and other wonders. 

“I try to convey this sense of place, of The American Place. Whether it is a farm pasture field with a working barn or a lobster shack along a wharf at the rugged rocky coast of Maine,” says Sanders. “Sometimes it is just a fish shack, weathered, that now serves as a summer residence.”

Sanders tries to convey that moment of joy and presence through the scenes in his paintings. Without intention for nostalgia or sentimentality, he realizes those elements are inherent in those ancient subjects, giving our imaginations a bit of free reign to roam like the clouds.

“The blank white canvas is nothin’. The freedom is in the paint, the application, the expression,” says Sanders. “My pictorial or visual intent is to show the range and intensity of what I see and perceive in Maine. One painting at a time, in a unified panoply panorama across time.”

The show opens on Saturday, August 19, at 10 AM, at Maine Art Hill at 5 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk. These two shows run for almost a month, ending September 6. If in town, please consider the Artists’ Reception on Saturday, August 19, from 5-7 PM at 5 Chase Hill Road, Kennebunk. All are welcome.

Click for the VIRTUAL TOURS

Janis H. Sanders

Michele Poirier Mozzone

 

CLICK FOR ARTIST INSIGHTS

Janis H. Sanders.

Michele Poirier Mozzone.

 

CLICK FOR ALL AVAILABLE WORKS

Janis H. Sanders.

Michele Poirier Mozzone.

 

 

 

Artist Insights from Ingunn Milla Joergensen

INGUNN MILLA JOERGENSEN

August 5 – 30

Gallery at the Grand

1 Chase Hill Rd. Kennebunk, Maine 04043

When we asked local artist Ingunn Milla Joergensen about the inspiration behind specific pieces she created for her 2023 Solo Summer Show, she shared insights we wanted to share.

On florals…

“When I don’t paint, I garden. I probably garden more than I paint,” laughs Joergensen. “Plants, trees, flowers are the core of my existence. I decided it was time to merge these two passions. These little ones of geraniums are from my greenhouse.”

Maine is beautiful and resilient, stoic, and maybe a bit of an introvert. Her seasons and landscapes are rhythms in a poem.”

big house,

little house,

back house,

barn…

 

On a Meadow

“From a young age, I have been obsessed with meadows,” shares Joergensen. “From an open field filled with grasses and flowers fluttering in the warm wind to the morning mist or even the afternoon sunshine, these flowers were my earliest friends.”

 

A bit of poetic inspiration.

A Dawn

Without  a sound, night slips away,

And day begins spreading across the sky in the East…..

overhead, a last dim star

drops down to fall asleep in the hair of a tall tree.

~Bert Meyer, 1947

On Fragments

“I find that beauty often lies within the unfinished, the fragments, the hints…a space where there is still room to wonder and imagine…”

 

On Golden Days… 

A certain calmness

in the atmosphere

Like a grasp of air

before a first kiss

~ Ali, from the poem As the Sun Wakes

 

 

“I think Mary Oliver sums up my life as an artist,” says Joergensen.

Instructions for living a life…

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.       

                ~ Mary Oliver, from the poem Sometimes

Click to see the VIRTUAL TOUR. 

You can click to read more about Joergensen.

You can click to see Joergensen’s entire collection.

Why Just Paint? – Artist Insights from Ryan Kohler

RYAN KOHLER

July 22 – August 16

5 Chase Hill Rd. Kennebunk, Maine 04043

When asked when a painting is ready for collage is a tough one for artist Ryan Kohler. Ideally, a painting has to be perfect before collage even comes on the scene.

“I am still a painter at heart,” explains Kohler. “I spend a lot of time painting the initial colors, making sure my value structure and color design are as good as possible. I respond to a piece of work a great deal while putting paint on canvas. Some paintings want to be more painterly and loose, and others more graphic.”

Either way, they have to be the best they can be before Kohler starts to add anything more. Shortcuts in the painting process are not an option.

“I’m trying to be extra cautious about remembering where my light source is coming from. This mattered less to me in years past, but now it has become so important,” says Kohler.  “My subject matter continues to be the things I find most interesting regarding shape and color. Umbrellas, crosswalks, yellow cabs, duck boots, beach gulls, harbor boats and deer.”

In the end, both pieces of his artistic puzzle are important. One does not succeed without the other.

Kohler’s 2023 Solo Summer Show is on Maine Art Hill at 5 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk until August 16. It is a must-visit if you have not seen Kohler’s work in person. His collage-like process is fascinating and worth a trip to Kennebunk.

Click to see the VIRTUAL TOUR. 

 

To see all available work from Ryan Kohler, click the link below.

Ryan Kohler –  ARTIST PAGE

To read more insights from Ryan Kohler, click the link below.

Ryan Kohler – INSIGHTS AND STORIES

Ryan also has a collection of videos.

Ryan Kohler –  VIDEOS

Two Sides of the Same Story – Artist Insights from Ingunn Milla Joergensen

INGUNN MILLA JOERGENSEN

August 5 – 30

Gallery at the Grand

1 Chase Hill Rd. Kennebunk, Maine 04043

“A barn in a meadow, to me, it doesn’t get much better,” shares local artist Ingunn Milla Joergensen.

When looking at Joergensen’s newest work, you will see her traditional barns with their geometric lines and shadows often accompanied by a metal leaf horizon. They create a clean, calmness in any room. However, in this show, you will also find her warm, muted barns that give a subtle sense of home. For Joergensen, “They are two sides of the same story.”

On barns…

“I enjoy revisiting this motif. It almost becomes a form of meditation,” explains Joergensen. “I get lost in tones, values, and layers of pigments. Adding color, then washing off and letting the pigments blend together.”

The barns have their own rhythm. They are grounded to the earth, protective of their contents, timeless, calm, and mysterious.

“Since I live so close to the ocean and spend much time there, some of my structures become boathouses,” explains Joergensen. “It’s an ever-changing scenario out there…the same, but different.” 

On landscapes…

“I  spend a great deal of time outside in the forest or where the ocean meets the horizon.  I love the wet, marshy areas,” she says. “They are always changing colors and atmosphere, wide and open with the ocean in the distance.”

When you add the landscapes and the bars together…this is when the magic happens, and the story is complete.

 

Click to see the VIRTUAL TOUR. 

Click to read more about Joergensen.

Click to see Joergensen’s entire collection.

What’s in a Name – Artist Insights from Ryan Kohler

RYAN KOHLER

July 22 – August 16

5 Chase Hill Rd. Kennebunk, Maine 04043

What’s in a name? Or a title? For Maine artist RYAN KOHLER, it’s all about color.

“For my titles, I’ve been naming each painting after a color,” explains Kohler. “Each is spelled out somewhere on each painting. The text is even printed on a piece of paper that color, like a paint swatch.”

Wandering into the gallery, not only are you captured by color and subject, you immediately lean in to see the detail. Upon learning of his titling process, it’s an added hunt for the small pieces Kohler has “hidden” in each piece.  The work above is called Cocoon. Below, Storm.

 

“I picked words for the titles that are appropriate to the painting in some way based on the subject matter, colors, and shapes,” shares Kohler. “Although I admit, it is sometimes in an abstract way.”

Abstract or not, Kohler has found yet another way to make his stunning artwork even more interesting. Indigo is featured below.

“I look forward to finishing each painting to find a color that fits; then I cut it out. Each is hidden on the surface somewhere,” says Kohler.  “It’s a fun game. Can you find all the titles?”

Click to see the VIRTUAL TOUR. 

 

Click the link below to see all of Ryan Kohler’s available work.

Ryan Kohler –  ARTIST PAGE

To read more insights from Ryan Kohler, click the link below.

Ryan Kohler – INSIGHTS AND STORIES

Ryan also has a collection of videos, including Secretly.

Ryan Kohler –  VIDEOS