Color is a power that directly influences the soul. ~ Wassily Kandinsky
We are excited to hosting COLOR, a three-artist show featuring the works of painters R. Scott Baltz, Charles Bluett, and Erika Manning. Work is on display beginning at 10 AM on June 12 through July 1.
“These three artists haven’t ever shown their work together in this capacity before,” says John Spain, our charming and charismatic owner. “They are three incredibly strong painters who all put color to canvas with distinctive style. There will be something for everyone.”
The first of these three artists, R. Scott Baltz, is viewed as both pointillism, meaning many dots, as well as impressionistic. No matter how you categorize his style, Baltz’s work truly explores the landscape through movement and energy, color, composition, and application of paint.
“I worked in watercolor for many years, and I felt another transition coming. I was ready to move on to something meatier, something with a more tactile quality, perhaps another medium,” Scott says. “As it turns out, that medium was oil paint, and I love it. I love the smell of the oils. I love the quality and lusciousness of the paint as it sits upon the canvas. I love the texture of dragging that brush across a canvas or a panel. There is a comfort with the medium.”
Artist Erica Manning, who also loves to work in oil, claims the same deep connection to nature and the Maine landscape. Her paintings, although abstract, are directly inspired by Maine’s gorgeous clear light, the colors of pine trees, ocean, and lobster buoys, as well as the shapes of rocks, islands, topographical maps, and boats.
“Although I strive for a finished piece, the beauty for me is in the process of making art,” explains Manning. “Starting out with beginner mind, an initial gesture and relying heavily on the random acts of chance and the correct alignment of time and space: the image shifts as the rhythms and cycles of seasons, nature, earth. life and tides are evoked. The final image is a map of the passage of time, the paths taken, the colors chosen, the shapes drawn, of the emotional weather and the conversations with the piece itself.”
The third artist in this show is Charles Bluett, again an oil painter, who allows the viewer to share in his journey and offer a deep insight into the outdoor environments and weather patterns of our vast and varied continental landscape.
Bluett says, “I am always still considering whether a piece is complete or not. Then, I turn toward the outdoor view ahead of me and see a twilight sky, a blazon sunset, or a simple tree line, and I am filled with so much color and energy. I smile to myself, realizing I should never take myself that seriously. In all I do, given what is laid out before me by ‘the powers that be’ in such scale and natural wonder, I keep perspective. I always try hard to be a part of it all. It is the important message I am left with, and I enjoy and relish the gifts I have been given, whatever they may be. This always makes me smile. Thankfully, it happens very often.”
With summer just beginning to bloom and color surrounding the local area, this show is the perfect complement for visitors and locals alike.
COLOR runs from June 12 through July 1 at Shows on Maine Art Hill. The gallery is located at 10 Chase Hill Road, Kennebunk, and open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM. FMI maine-art.com or 967-0049.
To virtually “walk through” the show CLICK HERE
To see the show in its entirety CLICK HERE
To see our collection of work from each artist click the links below.
To read more about each artist click the links below
Charles Bluett-Stories and Insights