maineartgallery.org - Maine Art Gallery, Wiscasset, Maine

www.mannenberg.com

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Artist Statement:

Artist Statement:

As an artist I seek to raise awareness of daily, often mundane rituals in ways that are both mysterious and humorous. I am interested in the paradox, memory,irony and power present in everyday objects.  I select diverse materials for my artwork with regard to their readability, stored history, and hidden messages.  I am a printmaker, collage artist and painter.  By recombining materials having to do with acts like cleaning, cooking, laundry and shopping with traditional “women’s” crafts like weaving, knitting and crochet I hope to kindle thoughts about history, stereotypes, excess, waste and cliché roles.

Medium: inks, watercolors

Artist Statement:

I was born in Liverpool, England and my early artistic endeavors were encouraged by my artist uncle. While I subsequently obtained a Doctorate degree in biology, I always maintained an active interest in art. After fourteen years of oceanographic research, I changed careers to pursue my life long interest in painting and opened West Harbor Studio. My approach to scientific research and art has many similarities; both combine creative thought processes with experimentation and a fascination with nature.

Over the years, I have attended numerous workshops in watercolors, acrylic inks, collage, mono-printing and oriental brush painting. I work exclusively in inks and watercolors, as I love the fluid spontaneity. While the composition of my paintings is often predetermined (‘Tablao Flamenco’), I also love to paint intuitively, allowing the initial poured washes to suggest a composition. My ink paintings have vibrant colors that sing, with highly textured areas produced by using resistant materials such as leaves, waxed paper and string. My childhood was rich in fantasy, stimulated by my mother’s published fairy stories and some of my paintings evolve into enchanted woodlands, while other subjects depict my passion for the sea and underwater life, no doubt related to my marine biology background.

Website: Cheryl Blaydon

Artist Statement:

My interest in art began many years ago on the Island of St. Croix and grew into fruition due to a workshop on Monhegan Island, Maine. Though the colors of the Caribbean and the northern seas vary greatly, the bold beauty, movement and smell of salt air remain a constant.

It is important to me to convey to those looking at my paintings, the light and color of my memories of the sea and to infuse my paintings with as much atmospheric sense as I can in order to give the viewer the feelings I had while painting whether it be tropical, European or the rugged coastline of Maine. In my Italian scenes I think of the aromas of the olive groves, vineyards or wonderful dishes being prepared in the kitchens that open out to and reach across the village squares.

There are many subjects and places which will continue to fill my canvases. However, the sea and its many colors and changing movement will always be the mainstay of my love of painting, and I strive daily to impart that love into my work.

Website:http://www.judithbodnar.com/

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Artist Statement:

Website:http://www.gordonbok.com/woodcarvings.htm

Medium:wood carving
Artist Statement: In a life spent working around this coast (and this country), I've collected some interesting people and experiences. Some of these I've managed to process: they've found voices in songs, poetry, writing
and instruments I've designed.

Carving seems to find experiences that have fallen through the cracks,
perhaps because I often carve in silence.

So some of these pieces represent the processing of some long-buried memories. Others are simply honoring the people I grew up with, the work they took pride in, that told me I could take pride in my own.

As I've let the songs guide me over the years, so I let the carvings inform my life.

Website: http://www.thebutkegallery.com/

Medium: watercolor

Artist Statement:

Medium: oils

Artist Statement:

The first line in the introduction to Al Gury’s book, Alla Prima, is, “There is a theory that artists gravitate toward methods and materials that suit their personalities best.”  I paint what I paint how I paint it, only hoping that others may find something of value in my work.  I like completing things, anything. Laboring extensively over finely finished pieces with great detail would never work for me. Let me splash down spots of color, depicting the atmosphere, the light, the impression of the moment as best as my talent allows, without concern of where the painting will take me or where the journey will end.  Let me be done and start another.

The object is to capture the impression that nature presents, to capture it so completely the muse is pleased.  The joy and frustration come from the attempt to create with spots of paint that impression, that essence, the light and atmosphere of the season, modified by the time of day and weather. The appeal and challenge is that the results never quite reach the objective, and the truth is I hope the two never meet.  Then the learning may stop and the game may be over.