A painting in Susan Bartlett Rice’s “Winter Blues” show.
Rising Tide Co-op in Damariscotta presents “Winter Blues,” a selection of oil paintings by local artist Susan Bartlett Rice. The exhibition will run from Monday, April 1 through Saturday, April 27.
The public is invited to view the exhibition during the co-op’s regular business hours.
An artist reception and free wine-tasting will be held on Friday, April 5 from 4-6 p.m. at Rising Tide.
Rice’s recent winter paintings feature many vibrant colors but are predominantly blue. She describes her own style as representational with a nod toward abstraction.
“Lately, my eye has been drawn to the more geometric patterns, both natural and man-made: ice breaking up in a cove, repeating long blue shadows of trees on snow, or the swirling lines in ice that has been skated on all afternoon,” Rice said.
The Rising Tide venue allows for showing a body of Rice’s work together, similar to how her paintings are shown in her Walpole studio. “It’s great timing that this show coincides with spring’s arrival! After a long winter of working in relative solitude, I’m looking forward to hanging my winter paintings all together and showing them to the public.” Rice said.
In addition to her studio work, Rice recently completed several colorful murals in Portsmouth, N.H. and in Portland, and at the PWA in Damariscotta. “Working on such a large scale and in public is a relatively new challenge and interest of mine and I’m really enjoying this new direction that my work is taking.” Rice said.
Rice studied studio art and art history at the University of Vermont. She worked for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Rhode Island School of Design before returning to Maine and opening her own studio in 2003.
Rice’s Walpole studio is open to the public for regular summer hours and by appointment: call 380-4930 or email susanbartlettrice@gmail.com.
For more information about the artist, visit susanbartlettrice.com or find her studio on Facebook at facebook.com/susanbartlettricestudio or @susanbartlettrice on Instagram.
