Join Archipelago as we unveil the final gallery show of 2022! This show, Natural Impressions, is an ode to the beauty of the natural world of Maine, bringing together artists Deborah Jellison, Mattie Rose Templeton, Wendy Newcomb, Stephanie Crossman, Andre Benoit and Kathleen Perelka.
The show will run through the end of the year. Interested in purchasing artwork from the show? Find the show collection here. More information about each artist is below!
Deborah Jellison:
Deborah Jellison is a mixed media artist raised in northern Maine and currently residing in the midcoast region of the state. She earned her BFA in art education from the University of Maine, and an MFA in Visual Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Inspired by the wooded landscapes and rocky coastline of her home Deborah’s work most often references the natural environment – the patterns of barren trees pressing against a winter’s sky or fractals formed in the ice on the forest floor.
As a life-long learner, Deborah is inspired by each new technique and material that she discovers. Many are incorporated into her practice creating a diverse range of styles and subject matter. By overlapping gold, texture, and pattern over landscape or figure she tells lush visual stories from an ever-evolving personal mythology.
Mattie Rose Templeton:
Mattie Rose Templeton is inspired by the living and natural world that surrounds us all. Through art, she explores our connection to nature, including the undeniable fragility that is found there. And the importance for us to protect it. Art, since the beginning, has been a way to record history through visual storytelling. Mattie Rose attempts to produce art that moves the viewer beyond the piece itself, and into that storytelling place.
Using an “old fashioned” ink well, with variously-sized nibs, Mattie Rose is able to add different texture and line. She often avoids using color, because she finds the contrast of black and white more dramatic. While the subject matter of her work is based in realism, there is a conceptual quality added through geometric shapes and patterns.
Wendy Newcomb:
Wendy is a representational painter from Sebago, Maine whose primary mediums include oil, gouache and acrylic.
“My paintings represent a visual journal of my life in Maine, reflecting my love of Nature and my participation in it. The subjects I choose to paint are usually found in the inland and coastal landscapes near where I live, in both Sebago and my summer home on Vinalhaven . A recurring theme in my work is the way in which light falls upon objects and water, creating different patterns and reflections within the context of the composition. I prefer late afternoon light for its golden hues and long shadows or early morning as the sun just begins to reach the earth in its early ascent. My intent is to give the viewer a sense of “place”- of being there with me; participating in the experience of Nature.”
Wendy A. Newcomb is a representational painter whose primary mediums include oil, gouache and acrylic.
Stephanie Crossman:
"Traditional knotted netting is an ancient skill that I have taken to a contemporary end. I use the same knot & tools as the fishermen, only on a smaller scale. My husband’s great-grandmother taught me the technique when she was 92 years old. My designs are original & handmade. I shape & stiffen the tiny nets into a 3-dimensional art forms. This innovation sets my work apart. They are displayed in shadowboxes & domes."
Andre Benoit:
"My intent as a abstract assemblist sculptor is to represent the human form and iconic motifs with repurposed wooden remnants. The origin of the components of my constructs is from a myriad of sources and environments where the workmanship of hand or machine and exposure to the out of doors or ocean has created contours and patina respectively that catch the eye and entertain and maintain the interest of the viewer as often do the stories of acquisition of requisite wooden material. My use of pigment is sparing in degree to prevent its domination of the overall impression and not to obscure the beauty of the surface of the wood I embrace the concept of Wabi Sabi with the intentional use of asymmetry and a somewhat unfinished appearance to capture the spontaneity and enhance the overall impression of my work."
Kathleen Perelka:
“I am working to capture the vanishing Maine landscape through my pastels. The open fields of hay, corn and other crops with just a hint of human occupation in the distance remind me of my childhood in central Maine. I look to capture the light reflecting off the trees, hay bales, distant metal roofs, and blades of grass.
I love the vibrant red blueberry fields in October, the marshes and bogs and other somewhat hidden and under-explored places. I look for the blues and lavenders in the snow in winter; the golds and the greens in summer.
My pastel paintings are bright. My style is impressionistic. I don’t strive to capture every little detail. Instead, I am looking to capture the essence of a place, a time of year or a time of day."
Leave a comment