The artwork of Alexandra Perry-Weiss on display for the month of August at the Bristol Area Library. (Photo courtesy Bristol Area Library)
The Bristol Area Library is pleased to have the artwork of Alexandra Perry-Weiss on display for the month of August. She is exhibiting five larger oil paintings with a delightful selection of subject matter.
Perry-Weiss attended Warren schools and then raised her family on a blueberry farm in Waldoboro. Recently relocating to Bristol after a successful career in the medical field, She retired with over 30 years of executive experience: creating and managing homecare and hospice agencies in South Carolina, Georgia, and Maine. This retirement enabled her to pursue and focus on a life-long interest in classical oil painting.
Initially, Perry-Weiss attended the Gibbes School of Art in Charleston, S.C. with principal instruction from Rhett Thurman. Over the next decade, she went on study drawing and oil painting with Maine artists Sarah Knock, Colin Page, and Ken Dewaard as well as recognized Colorado artists Kim English and Marc Hanson, Tennessee artist Lori Putnam, Massachusetts artist David P. Curtis, and Michigan artist Larry Blovits. In addition, she has taken art classes with international artists Colley Whisson, Michael Chesley Johnson, and Alvaro Castanet. This diversity in educational experience brought forth an appreciation for an array of interpretations and has allowed her to chart her own course of expression.
“Becoming an artist,” Perry-Weiss said,” is a privilege that you have to be willing to earn. That includes the challenge of remaining on a learning curve of a totally new career and facing the frustration I feel when my work initially falls short of expectations. However, it is a pittance compared to the joy my art now provides me. Painting opens my eyes to an expanding world of light, shadow, color harmonies, composition, and perspectives. I was not fully aware of these before embarking on this journey.
“Whether I am painting on the coast of Maine or elsewhere around the world, en plein air or in the studio, painting is an absolute privilege. I never take it for granted.” She said, “I am grateful for each and every day in which I am able to pursue my artistic journey.”
In recent years, she has traveled abroad to manage and participate in art workshops in France and Italy with Colley Whisson and Rhett Thurman.
Perry-Weiss is a member of the Pemaquid Art Gallery. Her work is represented in private collections in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, and all New England.
Her art can be viewed during regular library hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 2-5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon. The Bristol Area Library is located at the corner of Route 130 and Old County Road.
