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October is here. The leaves are starting to change, the air is growing cooler, and Margaret Gerding has once again delivered a stunning body of work to Maine Art. Though Margaret is known for her marshes and seascapes, she, like so many Mainers, has found a love of the trees in this part of the state – especially the birches.

“I try to capture the beauty of branches. The strong autumn light is so intense by the coast,” says Gerding. “The negative spaces and patterns required me to look at shapes differently. It becomes a puzzle I have to put together.” Gerding knows her brush strokes must mix, mingle and change with each gust of wind. “The colors and light dapple not only the birch trunks, but even spaces between,” she says.

As realistic a painter as Gerding is, she truly enjoys some artistic license when it comes to her trees. “In painting the birches, the sketchbook and reference materials become less important,” says Gerding.  “The colors take on a life of their own.” These works still hold her traditional realistic view. Yet, the fine papery bark of the birch reflects both the color in the foliage and the autumn light thus producing a truly etherial scene.

Gerding will admit these trees sometimes became challenging. “I wanted to make them hold vibrant colors, but still read as birches,” says Gerding. This is an example of the continuous push and pull between what the eye sees and what the artist interprets. Regardless, what Margaret has created is magic, so grab your sweater and come visit the Kennebunks this fall. There is beauty to be found both inside and out.

Maine Art Paintings and Sculpture is open every day from 10am – 6pm, and Friday and Saturday until 7pm. After Columbus Day, hours will change to 10 – 5 daily.

Stop in for a visit or view Margaret Gerding’s work online at http://www.maine-art.com/paintings/Margaret_Gerding/43752/.

You can also read more about Gerding and her work on our blog at A Look Inside Margaret Gerding and Maine Art.

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“The more I paint, the more knowledge is etched into my movements. Every painting is a stepping stone to the next work. Every mistake teaches.” ~ Margaret Gerding

Margaret Gerding may be new to Maine Art Paintings and Sculpture, but she has been painting for thirty-two years. It is in her blood. Even after graduating from UMass, Dartmouth with a printmaking degree, she still found her passion in paint. Most of her work is oil and canvas, but there are a variety of ways Margaret keeps her artistic juices flowing.

“I experiment to keep fresh. I have worked in encaustic and pastels in order to give myself a change. I even quilt,” says Gerding. “Yet, when all is said and done, and it comes to being inspired, I could not be the painter I am without painting directly outdoors.”

Whether she is out on the Bridle Path in Kennebunk with students or pulled over on the side of the road, Margaret is sketching. “It’s a quick way to capture the moment instead of bringing out the whole canvas,” she says. “I still bring out canvases sometimes, but I always have a sketch pad with me.”

These sketches become her inspiration for studio works. Once a painting begins, the pencils get tucked away. Gerding is a firm believer in not sketching directly on her canvases.  She will use anything to make a mark with paint though. With rags and pallet knives, and even her hands which are usually covered in color, the outline for each piece is laid out.

“My finished work is very smooth, but it certainly is not in the beginning of my process. I often start with a big house brush to block out my ideas. Large strokes mark up a painting in its early stages,” says Gerding. “The work has a very abstract look. For me, it needs to work in its simplest form. If I can’t get the composition and color and tone to work in three elements, I begin again.”

Margaret has taken some artistic license as she explores southern Maine through her work. Yet there is no doubt that she has captured the beauty of this area. Please come and see for yourself.

Margaret Gerding’s show is at Maine Art Paintings and Sculpture at 14 Western Avenue in Kennebunk until September 22. Her new work fills the first floor of the gallery. We are open every day from 10am – 6pm, and Friday and Saturday until 7pm.

Stop in for a visit or view the show online at www.maine-art.com/shows.

You can also read more about Gerding and her work on our blog at A Look Inside Margaret Gerding and Maine Art.

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At a young age, artist Margaret Gerding came to southern Maine for the first time and found her happy place. Since then she has spent pieces of her summers here, from Granite Point to Goose Rocks Beach. Now, years later, those memories have brought her back to the Kennebunk area and her new home in Cape Porpoise. With this new location came many other changes, as well.

“I sold my house in Massachusetts in November and began looking for a place in the southern Maine area. I moved in with family, but knew I at least needed a studio space,” says Gerding.  “The Biddeford Mill was perfect – all light and brickwork and close by. Soon after that, I leased a winter rental and finally began to feel settled. I was relaxed and could take my time looking for a place to call home.”

In January, Gerding found that home in Cape Porpoise. By February, she was moved in and happy to call herself a Mainer. “I used to come to Maine for vacation as a child. Even at that age, solitude was important to me. The marsh near the cottage was one of the few places I was allowed to explore alone. My parents thought I was safe there. Quickly, it became my escape,” says Gerding. “It still is.”

On the way to her studio Margaret often stops at the marshes near Goose Rocks Beach to sketch or take photos. With a four or five o’clock wake-up time, the morning light and peace has become addictive. These small “sketches” she creates have become part of her studio and her process.

“This winter, I would pull over and sit in my car and do studies. These became a reference for me, not even paintings really. They are what I go to to remember the colors, how they worked together, how they blended,” says Gerding.

“I may be having a problem with how pink I want a sky. Looking at the studies, I realize what worked, what I really saw. Sometimes they aren’t colors I would choose, but mother nature did, “ she says. “If I have a new color I want to try, I will put it on one of these to see what happens, so they are constantly changing.”

All of the scenery that surrounds Kennebunk and Kennebunkport is part of Gerding’s new works.  She was drawn here for the way the fog rolls in and changes the landscape. She came for the green of the marsh and how it changes over to warm ochre in autumn. It has always been about nature and quiet and peace. With that said, there has been a new addition to her canvases since coming back to Maine.

“For the first time, I’ve included man-made structures in my work. Somehow, the paintings just ‘called’ for it,” says Gerding about her work with views of Great Hill Road. “The Kennebunk area has given me a wonderful sense of community and what it means to be a part of a seaside village. As my new world evolves with my changes, I believe my work will, as well. This is just the beginning.”

Maine Art is celebrating Margaret Gerding’s changes and new beginnings in our gallery at 14 Western Avenue in Kennebunk. Her new work fills the first floor of the gallery. We are open every day from 10am – 6pm, and Friday and Saturday until 7pm.

Please stop in for a visit or view the show online at www.maine-art.com/shows.

You can also read more about Gerding and her work on our blog at A Look Inside Margaret Gerding and Maine Art.

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