“Pemaquid Point,” a painting by Bristol Consolidated School fifth-grader Jessica Holladay, part of the current Bristol Consolidated School art show on the walls of the Bristol Area Library through Friday, April 12. (Christine LaPado-Breglia photo)
More fine student art: Andrea Cough, who is the art teacher at Bristol Consolidated School, emailed me to say that she had read my recent “Artsbeat” column about the Lincoln Academy IDEAL art show at Rising Tide Co-op in Damariscotta and to let me know that some of her pre-K through eighth-grade art students have a show up at the Bristol Area Library.
So, last Friday, March 29, I headed on down to Bristol to check out the students’ exhibit.
I loved it!
Artwork by kids is just naturally refreshing and fun to look at – and the BCS student art was refreshing and then some, partly owing to the fact that some of the artists included charming personal statements with their pieces.
Particularly delightful were the comments made by seventh-grader Thomas Connolly about his watercolor painting “A Manatee’s Happiness”: “When I was finished with this painting, I was extremely proud. The details are great, if I do say so myself.” Yes, Thomas, the details you included in this excellent painting of two adorable, chubby manatees swimming underwater are absolutely great!
Below Thomas’ piece hangs another watercolor piece by another seventh-grader, Tate Whitmore. Tate’s “Woodpecker” is a fine black-and-white study of a bird on a tree.
First-grader Audrey Bourne weighs in with her rather sophisticated oil-pastel-and-paint piece “Sunset and Sunrise.” Featuring the colors of sunrise and sunset – red, orange, yellow – Audrey’s work includes what appear to be two abstract figures resembling a square-headed man in a top hat and a much shorter woman in a voluminous ball gown. Audrey’s piece conjures up fantasy and made me think of the fantastic characters in “Alice in Wonderland,” such as the over-the-top Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter.
Jessica Holladay, who is in the fifth grade, painted a lovely landscape piece called “Pemaquid Point.” It greets one upon entering the library.
Fourth-grader Koleman Chesebro created a collage-and-colored-pencil piece titled “The Amazing Catch.” Koleman did a very nice job of capturing movement with his paper depictions of football players.
I don’t want to give it all away. Go see the show. It is wonderful – and it has been thankfully extended through Friday, April 12.
Young artists, cont.: Sheepscot General, that oasis of goodness at 98 Townhouse Road in Whitefield, has announced that it is currently accepting art of all types, including sculpture, from children ages 3-17 for its Young Artist Art Show that will run during the month of June. Submissions will be accepted through Friday, May 24. Contact Penny at 549-5185 or penny@sheepscotgeneral.com for information on how to submit art for the exhibit.
(Christine LaPado-Breglia has written about the arts in both California and Maine. She is the recipient of two 2018 Critic’s Awards and a 2018 Local Columnist award from the Maine Press Association. Email her at clbreglia@lcnme.com or write her a letter in care of The Lincoln County News, P.O. Box 36, Damariscotta, ME 04543.)
