The Littlefield Gallery finishes up its eighth season with a Fall Group Show featuring Caren-Marie Michel, John Stass, and Joan Freiman. Work by these artists and others can be viewed daily from 11-5:30 through Columbus Day.
Caren-Marie Michel
Caren-Marie Sargent Michel was born in Portland, Maine and is a lifelong Maine resident. Her work explores the urban, industrial, and pastoral images of Maine and documents the ever-changing landscape in paint. Michel is a devoted plein air painter working in acrylic and pastel on locations all over Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. Michel often portrays a location through series capturing different seasons or times of day with changing light and color. Michel is Past President of the Pastel Painters of Maine and past Treasurer of the Union of Maine Visual Artists.
Michel studied painting with Esther Barney in Portland, Maine for six years and earned her B.F.A. in painting from Portland School of Art in 1978 (now Maine College of Art) where she studied with Bill Collins, Ed Douglas and Johnnie Ross. Michel returned to painting and exhibiting in 2000 after a sixteen year banking career. Her work has been selected for juried shows in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado and Washington. In Maine, Michel’s work has been exhibited at Bates College Museum of Art, Aucocisco Galleries, Atrium Gallery at USM-LA, Carver Hill Gallery, The Jameson Gallery, North Light Gallery, Littlefield Gallery and the College of the Atlantic. Michel’s work has been juried for publication in the University of Southern Maine’s 2002 and 2004 Words and Images.
In 2008, Michel was commissioned to paint three large landscape paintings for the new Mercy Hospital Fore River building’s main lobby in Portland, Maine.
In 2013, her work “Bangor and AR” was included in David Little’s book Art of Katahdin hardcover 200 pages Down East Books (May 16, 2013) and “A Mountain Rises: The Art of Katahdin” at the University of New England Art Gallery. Also in 2013, her first international solo exhibition “New Brunswick Panorama” was shown at the Saint John Arts Centre, St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. This was Michel’s fourth Panorama exhibition since her 2007 “Greater Portland Panorama” at Jameson Gallery in Portland, Maine.
In 2015, Michel’s work was shown in the Maine State Capitol in Augusta as the Artist in the Capitol solo exhibition through the Maine Arts Commission.
John Stass
As an artist, John paints on a variety of supports using various media, and sculpts primarily in wood. Coming out of the corporate world of L. L. Bean in his earlier days, he has been a creative driven entrepreneur for 30 years. In his former career as a management consultant, John counted some of the nation’s most highly regarded companies as clients.
At the mid-point of his life, as a designer of custom furniture, he created and produced the brands of Katahdin Studio Furniture, Zen Harbor Living and Katahdin Home. His work sold world-wide, often to a celebrity clientele, including Melissa Etheridge, Andy Griffith, and the Jay Leno Show.
Today, John is once again an independent artist and designer. Art plays a role in everyone’s existence… sometimes deliberately and sometimes not. I am fortunate to have been able to incorporate art in many of its various forms in all that has occupied my life.
Dominique Ostuni’s solo exhibition, “Would an Angel Apologize for Spilling Champagne,” is on view through Oct. 3 at Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland. A centerpiece of the exhibition is “Excess Comes Naturally,” an elaborate mirror standing more than 8 feet tall. The work begins with an ordinary functional object, then overwhelms that function with porcelain, […]
Waterfall Arts will invite the public inside more than 40 artist studios during the Lincoln Street Center Fall Open Studios from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 17 at 24 Lincoln St. in Rockland. During the free event, artists will open their studios and welcome visitors into their creative spaces. Guests can explore Rockland’s historic former […]
“Made in Maine,” the Maine Art Gallery’s annual member show, features more than 100 works of art across two floors of the historic Old Academy building in Wiscasset. The exhibition is on view through Oct. 18. Sara Stites of Thomaston, a new member, is showing at the gallery for the first time. Her oil painting […]
High Peaks Artisan Guild in Kingfield features Western Maine watercolor artist Karen Jordan Paul throughout September. Paul draws inspiration from wildlife found throughout Maine, particularly wild birds and fish. The guild celebrated Paul as its featured artist of the month during the Sept. 4 Kingfield Art Walk. High Peaks Artisan Guild is at 245 Main […]
Turtle Gallery in Deer Isle presents “Material Storytelling,” a three-artist exhibition featuring new work by Sheep Jones, Michele Ratté Delphin and Barbara Sullivan, through Oct. 11. The three artists use distinct materials and techniques to explore narrative, light and the quiet poetry of everyday objects. Jones brings her signature combination of oil and cold wax […]
Photographer Melonie Bennett will discuss her exhibition and debut monograph, “Holy Cow!,” from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts in Portland. The event will include an interview, reading and book signing. Photographer and writer Robert Diamante, a friend and fellow photographer, will interview Bennett. “Holy Cow!” presents an […]
Centre Street Arts Gallery in downtown Bath will open its fall show during the Bath Art Walk from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 18. The gallery represents 20 local artists and will feature new work in its fall exhibition. Visitors can meet the artists, explore the show and enjoy refreshments during the reception. Centre Street […]
Maine artist Daryne Rockett will present “Restoring Liberty,” an exhibition of monotypes and mixed-media work, from Oct. 2 to Nov. 24 at the McDade Gallery at Bangor Public Library. The exhibition brings together two interconnected bodies of work examining freedom, democracy, justice and hope. In a series of layered monotypes, the Statue of Liberty appears […]
Maine Craft Weekend, an annual statewide celebration of craft, community and creativity, will return Oct. 3 and 4. The free, self-guided tour invites visitors to discover the people, places and stories behind Maine’s craft communities. Hundreds of participating artists and locations will host open studios, workshops, pop-up markets, exhibitions, fairs, artist talks, special events and […]