Ed Parker’s “Happy Holidays” is a four-inch acrylic, double-sided ornament.
For those who think it would be fun to see what career artists could come up with for tree ornaments, Gleason Fine Art’s “Art for the Holidays” show will offer just that. The show will begin Thursday, Nov. 29 and run through Wednesday, Jan. 2.
A beautiful Christmas tree will be decorated with ornaments made by the gallery’s artists. A celebratory open house, to which everyone is invited, will be held at Gleason Fine Art, at 31 Townsend Ave. in Boothbay Harbor, from 3-6 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 1, to coincide with the Harbor Lights Festival. Refreshments, including wine and craft beer, will be served.
For his ornaments, Southport summer resident Ed Parker has carved and painted two pieces with his characteristic folksy nautical themes. Parker’s delightful “Lighthouse Dog” is decked out in his holiday finest.
Janice Anthony’s double-sided ornament “Canada Lilies.”
Lani Havens has made a series of gorgeous blocks collaged with delicate red, orange, and pink poppies. Maine realist Janice Anthony has created a tiny double-sided painting of yellow and orange lilies.
Folk artist Jeff Barrett’s whimsical carvings have been purchased by collectors ranging from those with surnames like Rockefeller and Marcus (as in Neiman-Marcus) to tourists just back from visiting Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. For the gallery’s tree, Barrett has netted an entire school of his “happy fish.”
Besides the tree ornaments that are arriving daily, the gallery’s showrooms have been hung with a bounty of seasonal paintings by gallery favorites Mitch and Kathleen Billis, Kevin Beers, and Tom Curry. East Boothbay artist Andrea Peters’ sumptuous snowscapes are a feast of color.
Jeff Barrett’s “Happy Fish” ornaments feature oil paint on wood.
East Boothbay summer resident, and newly minted Gleason artist, Don Demers has given the gallery several new oils, including a little beauty titled “Winter Tide.” Roger Dale Brown, who joined the Gleason roster just this year, is represented by several glowing, snow-covered paintings of Maine coastal villages and harbors.
The gallery has so much more in addition to paintings: a new batch of George Pearlman’s porcelain jars, vases, and pots in cobalt and emerald green; rings, necklaces, and bracelets by Christine Peters, our former gallery manager who has become a jewelry rock star; and a luscious selection of Moroccan rugs from that indomitable duo Diana Kerr and Kathleen Jones.
Gleason Fine Art is open year-round, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with extended evening hours and Sundays during Gardens Aglow. The Dec. 1 open house for the “Art for the Holidays” show is open to all. For more information, call the gallery at 633-6849; email info@gleasonfineart.com; or go to gleasonfineart.com.
