NEW GLOUCESTER – Fiddlehead Center for the Arts will hold its Autumn Celebration: Fresh Paint Event and Auction fund-raiser today.

The third annual event will feature well-known Maine artists who will go to nearby communities and, with nature as their inspiration, paint for the day using oils, acrylics, watercolors and pastels. The paintings created during the day will be auctioned off that evening at a “fresh paint” live auction, with proceeds benefiting the arts center.

Using a map that identifies the artists’ chosen locations, the public is also invited to observe the artists at work, whether they are painting a rolling countryside, apple orchard, coastal setting, farmland or historic building in one of eight designated communities: New Gloucester, Gray, Yarmouth, Cumberland, Falmouth, Freeport, Pownal or North Yarmouth.

Maps will be available at Fiddlehead Center for the Arts, and painting will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For a $10 ticket, people may attend a reception and auction that begins at 5:30 p.m. with wine and appetizers, accompanied by live music.

During the reception, attendees will be treated to a preview exhibition of the artists’ completed work. At 7 p.m., the auction will begin, led by auctioneer Jim Cyr of Cyr Auction Co. This year’s event will include a silent auction featuring works by the center’s instructors, and other special items.

For more information, tickets for the reception and auction, or artist applications, people may contact Fiddlehead Center for the Arts at www.fiddleheadcenter.org or by calling 207-688-2244.