Portland-Sail,-by-Ramona-du-Houx

New work includes mystical images of Maine’s Windjammer fleet under full sail

For the month of July the SugarWood Gallery, at 248 Broadway in Farmington, will feature the fine art photography of Ramona du Houx. The open house will be held on July 1st from 5pm-8pm, during Farmington’s First Friday Art Walk.

Ramona du Houx creates fine art photography that looks like watercolor paintings evoking mystery and a sense of wonder. Some find them nostalgic and some mystical. Many have said the images have a healing nature.

“I try to bring the beauty, magic and mystery of nature to viewers by amplifying nature’s essence. Putting the images into categories was extremely challenging as everything is interconnected,” said Ramona, a Solon resident.

Ramona is currently represented by Gallery Storks of Tokyo, Japan and is also a member of the Maine Artist Collaborative and the Harlow Gallery. Gallery Storks has produced an art book of Ramona’s art called: Transformations— Revealing nature’s complex balance. Some of the photos on display are featured in the book.

“Scientists, innovators, and inventors throughout history took the time to observe nature and her connective rhythms. But now society plugs us into the Internet, and while that can open doors, sometimes too much of being Internet-connected disconnects us from the mysteries of the natural world that are transformational. I want to help show how nature’s interconnectedness can lead us to discoveries about our world and ourselves,” said Ramona.

Ramona uses the camera with a painter’s eye. The technique she discovered back in 1979, in New York, uses movement to create a sense of wonder through colors, textures, memories, and the seasons. Everything within the viewfinder becomes visibly interconnected when objects merge with the motion of the camera as the image, the “lightgraph,” is taken.

The photographic watercolor technique is always a challenge. “I never know exactly what the results will be, that’s the exciting part of the creation,” said Ramona.