Stefan Alexei Pastuhov: A Maine For All Seasons. The exhibition will run from July 25 through August 15
Throughout midsummer Blue Hill Bay Gallery will feature the work of one of Maine’s most distinguished contemporary plein air painters, Stefan Alexei Pastuhov. Painting in an impressionist style, with a loose brushstroke in larger pieces and finer detailing in smaller pieces, Stefan appreciates the fact that Maine offers unspoiled views of a varied rural and coastal landscape in all seasons.
Descended from Russian grandparents who immigrated to America and settled in New York, Stefan Alexis Pastuhov began his formal art training in Paris and received his BFA from the Boston Museum School/Tufts University. Stefan moved to Maine in 1984 and fell in love with painting the landscape, outdoors.
In the early years he and Stapleton Kearns painted together almost daily. Reminiscing about those days, he remarked that Stapleton told him “after about a hundred 12×16’s he would start to get the hang of painting outdoors”. Pastuhov loves the challenge of painting the changing weather and light, coming and going of the tide, the beautiful red of the blueberry barrens, pristine winter landscapes, and the intemperate seas and rocky coast.
Pastuhov draws his inspiration directly from nature. When I asked him how he chooses a subject to paint, he replied without hesitation, “While out driving along the coast or through the countryside, I look out and just see a painting. After I set up my easel and begin painting I look around the site for other perspectives, other paintings”. He feels that it is important to paint directly from the source as opposed to working in the studio or from photographs. “Since moving to Maine so many years ago I have been surrounded by beauty. Whether in the mountains, amidst rural farms or on the coast… landscapes abound. Throughout the four seasons, each site I paint offers an individuality and uniqueness special to the state of Maine.”
For more info contact the gallery at 374-5773 or http://bluehillbaygallery.com
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