NEW GLOUCESTER – Forty-eight artists from Maine and New England scattered over New Gloucester and beyond on Saturday to capture the outdoor world as part of the third annual Fresh Paint Art Auction fund-raiser to benefit the Fiddlehead Center for the Arts at Pineland.
At the historic Shaker Village, three artists set up their work stations and spent the day painting.
At the Intervale Farm on Route 231, nearly a dozen artists caught images of New England’s fall beauty as Jan and Carlton Wilcox welcomed the artists to depict their historic brick farmhouse, glowing orange pumpkin patch and abundant squash harvest.
Others toted their easels and palettes to roadside locations to catch the beauty of several historic buildings on a clear fall day.
Amy Chandler-Nelson of Massachusetts, whose family is deeply rooted in New Gloucester’s history, found a piece of the past in her offering, “Upper Mill-Mayall Road.”
Commercial artist Albert Tomlinson’s “Federal Lights” showed a large hydrangea bush in full bloomed at the former Donald and Mary Chandler home in Lower Gloucester’s historic village.
Lord Clinton Casey of New Vineyard worked at the Pineland Garden to create “Afternoon in the Garden,” catching the light and intense colors of a garden beginning to fade.
“My focus is plein aire painting, capturing the light’s effect on nature,” said Casey, a painter for 30 years. “My paintings express my feelings towards nature and my desire to discover something new.”
Let the auction begin
Six hours of painting from 9 to 3 p.m. ended with a trail of artists toting their works to the entrance of Fiddlehead Center for the Arts to line up and offer the finished works to the public at auction.
At a reception before the auction, approximately 100 people milled with the artists, pondered and studied the works of art and chatted as they settled in for serious bidding to claim a piece of art. Artists either donated the works completely to help Fiddlehead Center, or gave a percentage of the proceeds to the fund-raiser for the school and enrichment center. Fiddlehead Center of the Arts is a comprehensive multi-community arts center.
Two New Gloucester women, Jacinda Cotton-Castro and Mary Jo Marquis, formed Fiddlehead to provide opportunities near home for their children and the area community initially. Now programs are offered for all ages, including adults.
Sixth-grader wins too
Auctioneer Jim Cyr of the Cyr Auction Gallery in Gray took command at the podium to herald each painting as it was auctioned. He beckoned the audience to bid giving praise to the artists’ work.
Nearly half a dozen children who participated in the painting event together raised several hundred dollars as their proud parents and community bid for their works.
Beverly Broyles, executive director of Riverside Center for the Arts in Kennebunk, was the juror.
Kennebunk artist Timothy Parks’ watercolor and pastel, “Falmouth Audubon,” earned first place, while John R. Santoro’s “September Intervale Farm” garnered second place.
Sixth-grader Katlyn Nelson’s “Abstract Colors in the Garden” earned third place. And Tomlinson’s “Federal Lights” received an honorable mention.
“Take a day like today and see how many ways you interpret. It’s an amazing task,” said Broyles.
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