“Monhegan Museum,” by Valerie Jeanne Borgal
Damariscotta River Grill, located at 155 Main St. in downtown Damariscotta, is now hosting artists Valerie Jeanne Borgal, Marc Poirier, and Sarah Lynn Richards, through Monday, June 12. Each painter brings a very distinct style, medium, and subject matter to the show. All work on exhibit is for sale.
Borgal, of Tewksbury, Mass., has been interested in art since childhood. A graduate of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, she has taught high school, junior high, and elementary-school art classes. Borgal has been inspired to paint with watercolors since 1977. “My art is a realistic, impressionistic style capturing what I see in the natural world,” she said. “I enjoy plein air painting, trying to capture the moment and the essences of subjects that speak to my interests and move my spirit. Subjects will range from landscapes to seascapes, still life to portraits of people, animals, and structures. Watercolor painting is a challenge and a source of satisfaction. I enjoy watching the movement of the paint and water as it mixes and flows over the paper.”
Poirier, a resident of Bremen, has been a professional artist since the mid-1980s, working mostly in oils, capturing Maine cities, landscapes, and marine art. “I’m attracted to subjects like old homes worn rough with time and neglect, with a gnarly centuries-old oak tree in the yard, crooked archaic telephone poles strung with a tangle of power lines that carve the sky. My recent return to work on boats has brought maritime history, old schooners, and historic yachts as important subject in my paintings. I work mostly in oils, either plein air or from photographs. My paint is applied impasto-style, which resonates with my focus on the feeling and energy of a place instead of getting lost in its details.”
Full-time painter Richards lives in Bristol with her husband and manager, Todd, and their son. She is mostly self-taught; her artist mother, Lyn Snow, was her primary mentor. Richards has exhibited her work at shows all over the United States, Saudi Arabia, England, and Germany. Best known for her equestrian work, she has done the Kentucky Derby Festival poster and illustrated the New York Times bestselling book “Of Women and Horses.”
“While the horses will always be my first passion, I love having fun with some of the more humble creatures around us,” Richards said. “Maine provides a never-ending series of subjects, though wherever I go I look for new ideas.
For more information about the show, contact Kim Traina at jumpstartcreative@gmail.com. For more information about Damariscotta River Grill, go to damariscottarivergrill.com or the restaurant’s Facebook page.
