NORWAY – Misha Tomic will open an exhibition of new work at the Commons Art Gallery gallery next week. The opening is 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2.

Tomic’s new work is based on photographs, some of which are digitally manipulated and some are presented without digital modification. The images are printed on paper and are large in scale. A painter by training, the artist has been, until now, exhibiting drawings, paintings and and experimental work based on painterly media. This show represents a radical switch for him in this, his 16th one-person show.

“Even though you can broadly classify this new work as belonging to the world of photography, I do not consider myself a photographer. I believe I am a painter who has found a new technique to execute my ideas. I still think, feel and look at the world like a painter,” he said. The inspiration for many of the pieces are everyday things like rulers, crossword puzzles, toilet paper, stamps and receipt forms.

He’ll give a slide lecture about his work at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in the gallery.

Tomic also has exhibited in numerous group shows in the United States, Canada and Europe and has received many awards for his drawings and paintings. He teaches art at Central Maine Community College and lives at Papoose Pond in North Waterford.