BLUE HILL — “4 x 6” is the name of the exhibit featuring four pieces of work by six artists chosen by Janelle Delicata opening Nov. 1 at the Blue Hill Public Library, 5 Parker Point Road. The artists are Kelly Desrosiers (Unity), Janelle Delicata (Blue Hill), Jane Gilbert (Orland), Elisabeth Goodridge (Appleton), Marjorie Strauss (Rockland) and Deb Vendetti (Hope). The show runs from Nov. 1-30. Library hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information contact the Blue Hill Public Library at 207-374-5515 or Janelle Delicata at 207-944-8822.
Watercolor and ink landscapes that find inspiration in the natural world are where Desrosiers’ art lies. She says, “I have spent many years absorbing the experiences and knowledge that I now attempt to express through my art.” Her detailed and sometimes whimsical paintings are filled with plant and animal imagery gleaned from her childhood and later travels and work experiences in places such as Wisconsin, Alaska, and Maine.
Vendetti’s graphite drawings are distilled from times on Monhegan and other coastal areas in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. The play of light and shadow and the movement of water inform her work.
“Drawings may be in process for a month or more.” says Vendetti. “I passively interact with the drawings, observing, before continuing and may spend as little as 15 to 30 minutes a day actively drawing. I like to give each drawing reflective breathing space. In this way my hand proceeds with less hesitation.”
Watercolor resists are the medium for Goodridge, who is showing four figure drawings done directly from the model.
“I have been doing portraits since my art school days, along with several stints doing them in pastel and charcoal on the streets of Hyannis, Cape Cod during the mid 1970s,” Strauss says. “I have often done portraits from photographs, but working from life is fresh and immediate.” Her piece “Lady Portrait 2” is oil on board and was painted from life at Waterfall Arts model group long pose.
Jane Gilbert’s landscape paintings feature rich, sensual layers of lines, marks and fields of color. Gilbert states “I paint in response to a place, an object or an idea, or to the simple joy of putting line and color on canvas and seeing where it takes me. My aim is to convey some of the magic, mystery and excitement of the lush natural world around us and to create a painting that will resonate over time.”
“I tend to work in series,” says Delicata. “My reactions to weather and its effects on the land, water and sky inform my work in this series.” She is showing mixed media on paper piece from her Storm Series which utilize printed images, drawing and sometimes found objects into the work.
UMVA, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization that promotes and advocates for the visual arts, artists, and all arts supporters. As artist advocates, the UMVA initiated and saw enacted into state law the Maine Percent for Art Program (requiring a percentage of funds for state buildings to include art) and the Artist’s Estate Tax Law (allowing art work to be used to pay artists estate taxes).
Other programs and projects supported by UMVA include: The Maine Arts Journal, an online, quarterly publication The Journal features essays by and about artists, interviews, UMVA member submissions, poetry, UMVA updates about its current projects, local chapters, and more; ARRT! Artists’ Rapid Response Team, a collaboration of artists & progressive groups making art to create positive change; Lumen ARRT!!, a group creating large-scale video projections in public spaces to give a visual voice to progressive non-profits; and the New England Emmy Award-nominated Maine Masters Project, a video series of 19 compelling profiles of some of Maine’s most distinguished and often less recognized artists. There are currently two chapters: Portland and Midcoast.
