“I don’t like to paint the obvious. I like the viewer to look and find new things like the shapes of colors, textures, playful shapes and scribbles. The vast areas of sky or beach or water give me the room to play,” says Williams. “When looked at up close, all these interesting and unexpected shapes and subtle textures and colors can be found. Yet from a distance, it is clearly a sky or beach or water.”
Tag: Artist Insights
Witbeck and his Women – Artist Insights on Nudes
Witbeck has been working on figure drawing almost every week for several years. The drawings and sketches, however, piled up in his studio, unseen by anyone but him. Then one day, that changed. “I thought it would be fun to turn some of them into paintings. An artist should paint what he loves,” grins Witbeck. “ ‘Nough said.”
Painting Maine – Thoughts from David Witbeck
Even though David Witbeck now lives in Rhode Island, Maine still holds a large portion of his heart and his work. He has so many memories he has created here and visits as often as he can. “Last October I spent a couple weeks recharging my Maine batteries and explored,” says Witbeck. “I wandered amongst the pole wharves of Friendship and Stonington, and visited many bays and harbors along the coast.”
The Shape of Things – Thoughts from David Witbeck
This is by far the most diverse collection of Witbeck’s work we have seen here at Maine Art Gallery. We love the variety of both subject and size. It is really a wonderful show. The work is simple and clean, but never loses the honest feel of Maine and the way it should be.
David Witbeck – A Solo Show at Maine Art Gallery
“I love walking low tide mudflats around and under pole wharves looking for whatever secrets the receding water may have revealed,” Witbeck says. Last October he spent a couple weeks recharging his “Maine batteries” and explored amongst the pole wharves of Friendship and Stonington. “The actual wharfs in these harbor villages don’t look a bit like the ones I painted for the show. As always, my work has always been more about what it feels like than what it looks like.”
Liz Hoag – First Life and the Law
“People think that being an artist and being a lawyer are exact opposites, one, a left brain activity, one a right brain activity,” says Liz Hoag. “I disagree.” Liz Hoag completed her undergrad at Cornell and received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art in 1983. She then earned her Masters of Fine Arts in… Read more »
Artists Insights – Words from Liz Hoag
You take a photograph of a sunset over a lake and realize later when you look at the photo that there were branches in your view. You unknowingly wiped them from view when you were looking through the lens. But they’re there; part of the landscape that gives depth and frames the beauty. They are an integral part of the beauty. You take them in without thinking about them.
Liz Hoag – A One-Woman Show at Maine Art Paintings and Sculpture
Artist Liz Hoag finds inspiration in the simple act of taking a walk in the woods near her Portland home. It isn’t just about what she sees – it is also about what she feels. “When walking in the woods, the trees surround us. We cannot see the quiet, but we feel it,” says Hoag.
Philip Frey and His Changing Landscapes
Frey borders a style somewhere between realism and abstraction. His work is familiar but has a composition that allows some leeway. “I’ve always been interested in abstraction, particularly the moving line between abstraction and representation. It’s a fun and fruitful place to explore,” he says. “I sometimes think about how can I paint the essence of something or a place through an economy of brush strokes.”
Three Views of Maine
When your business is called Maine Art, people come looking for images captured not only in the spirit of Maine but often times in the places of Maine. The three artists currently featured at Maine Art Shows do just that.