BRIDGTON — Gallery 302 Is pleased to welcome Jeanne Ouellette as a guest artist from July 31 through August 25. Jeanne’s exhibit will include oils and mixed media. Throughout her professional career as a landscape architect, Jeanne designed and supervised the construction of beautiful outdoor spaces. For twenty-five years, her job was to understand the opportunities and limitations of a client’s property, create a design that met their wish list and solve all of their site issues. In the end, it had to be beautiful.

Jeanne now lives in western Maine in the foothills of the White Mountains and becoming a fine artist has become her goal. She states, “When I determined that what I wanted was to become an artist and paint with oils, it was like starting over, practicing and gaining skills with paint handling and composition. The one clear connection to my past is being outdoors, looking to the landscape for inspiration and guidance. No longer does the client set the agenda, but rather the place itself. Understanding how to represent a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface requires a lot of decision-making. I focus on finding the contrast of light and darkness in nature itself. If I can see this clearly—it translates to a distinctive and interesting pattern across the canvas. For me, there can be a fair amount of experimentation in this process, but it’s the starting point for a painting that works. Perhaps the greatest challenge is taking what I see in nature and conveying on canvas a sense of the reverence that I feel. I’m so fortunate to live and work in this part of the world where the variations in seasonal light and color can be breathtaking. Increasingly the world around me seems both fragile and fleeting. I feel an urgency to capture it.”

The public will have an opportunity to meet Jeanne during the artist reception to be held on August 4 from 5-7 p.m. at Gallery 302, 112 Main Street, Bridgton.