Plein Air: Paint It Maine & The Art of Alchemy Artists Reception

Artists explore midcoast nature preserves for Maine Art Gallery’s “Plein Air: Paint It Maine!” event

The woods, meadows, lakes and streams of midcoast Maine have always beckoned to artists who enjoy working outdoors — en plein air. This year, the Maine Art Gallery (MAG) has encouraged the 18 plein air artists who have been chosen to participate in their annual “Paint It Maine!” event to use some of their time to paint in one of the many midcoast nature preserves that are maintained by Midcoast Conservancy, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Running concurrently with “Paint it Maine!” is a juried collage and mixed media show on the second floor of the gallery, “The Art of Alchemy.”

Both shows open on Thursday, July 30 when the gallery will be open late for Wiscasset’s evening Art Walk. A reception with the artists will be held on Saturday, August 1 from 4:30-6:30 with music by jazz pianist Sean Fleming. Regular gallery hours are 11-4, Thursday through Sunday, through September 6.

Midcoast Conservancy’s preserves include land where legacy Maine Art Gallery artist Joseph Fiore created his art. He cleared the brush, maintained trails, and painted its vistas. Several of his paintings are on loan to MAG for exhibit alongside the wet paintings by contemporary artists in the show. A panel discussion, “Why We Like Painting Plein Air,” will be held at the gallery on August 13 at 4:30pm.

“The Art of Alchemy: Collage/Mixed Media Exploration,” a juried show on the second floor of the gallery, allows artists the opportunity to combine multiple mediums in one work. Originating with Picasso and his Cubist colleagues, the collage technique has evolved to offer a wide range of representational and abstract possibilities. Mixed media is broader than collage, encompassing it and any form of combining different media, such as assemblage, to create a work of art.

The Maine Art Gallery is grateful to Barnes Custom Window Treatments for sponsorship of “Plein Air: Paint It Maine!” and to J. Edward Knight Insurance for its sponsorship of “The Art of Alchemy: Collage/Mixed Media Exploration.”

A nonprofit organization, the Maine Art Gallery is dedicated to the advancement and preservation of the visual, fine and applied arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations and educational programs for children and adults since 1958. More information can be found at www.maineartgallerywiscasset.org and on Facebook at Maine Art Gallery Wiscasset. The gallery is located at 15 Warren Street, Wiscasset.