Plein Air Demonstration Hosted by Harvest Gold, July 26th!

Plein Air Demonstration

at Harvest Gold Gallery, 1082 Main Street, Center Lovell

Saturday, July 26th

10:00 AM-3:00 PM

The phrase “en plein air” is a french phrase that literally means “in the open air”, which describes a type of painting done outdoors. Artists have always painted outdoors, but this style became especially important for the impressionistic and barbizon styles of painting, popular in the mid-19th century. Masters such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir often painted en plein air and advocated for the method. The plein air approach is still popular with artists today despite the technological advancements in photography that allow many paint independently from the outdoors. Several artists displayed at Harvest Gold Gallery are avid plein air painters and on Saturday, July 26th, we will be hosting a demonstration from 10am to 3pm. We are expecting Kristen Dill, Thomas Merriam, and Nancy Trider to lead our second annual plein air demonstration and are excited to have such talented and diverse artists try their hand at capturing our lovely property overlooking Kezar lake.

Kristen Dill is an accomplished and vibrant artist, working mostly in watercolors and oil paints. She graduated with a B.A. from University of Southern Maine in 1978 and since then she’s lived in Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina. Kristen spends her summers on Moose Pond in Bridgton where she works from a porch studio overlooking the water. Her subjects are often bright floral arrangements and still lives painted in her eye-catching impressionistic style. In her artist’s statement she says she wishes to “capture the ephemeral quality of nature and make it a shared visual experience”, which she certainly does, especially in her plein air work.

"Morning Glory Mountain"

Thomas Merriam, a Maine native, grew up in York Harbor to a father who was a draftsman by trade. For hours on end his father would have him copy images from National Geographic until they were to his liking, and stressed that his son to pay attention to detail. Tom apprenticed for three years with George Carpenter who claimed to be the last surviving member of the Whiskey Water Colorist Association, and taught Tom how to use watercolors in the cold Maine outdoors. Tom is a graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston and is a self-taught artist who has been painting for over 30 years. His plein air work is exceptional and detailed, and his style is perfectly adapted to reflect life in Maine.

"Shave Hill Farm"

Few artists capture the spirit of Maine so accurately as Nancy Trider; a lifelong artist and Leeds native. Trider was a self taught artist until she began showing her work professionally in 1981, from which point she continued developing her work with additional training. Her experience helped her gain recognition and awards, and in 2011 Nancy was accepted as a member of Oil Painters of America. Nancy currently paints with the Western Maine Plein Aire Group and says she prefers oils to watercolors for her plein aire work for their durability in the Maine outdoors. Her careful, thoughtful approach and familiarity with all her subjects is clearly visible in all her work. Nancy is a mother of three, grandmother of eight, great-grandmother of eight, and recently celebrated her 60th anniversary with her husband David.

"The Carrabassett"

For more information about our Plein Air event or the artists please visit Harvest Gold Gallery at 1082 Main Street, Center Lovell, go to our website www.havestgoldgallery.com, or call us at 925-6502. We hope to have a great turnout for the demonstration and hope to see you there!