Artists Klein and Spencer’s fresh and direct approach to painting on view at the Pemaquid Art Gallery

Among the thirty-two artists showing at Pemaquid Art Gallery this year are two whose works define the term “fresh.” Both Barbara Klein and Cindy Spencer exploit strong color and simplicity to render images that often hint at a story behind the scene. To quote Klein, visitors are encouraged “to bring their own impressions and memories” to their viewing experience.

Barbara Klein is primarily an oil painter although she also enjoys painting en plein aire with watercolor, to capture the sense of being there at a moment in time. Her chosen subject matter is the Bristol peninsula where she lives, the landscape and usually the houses, wharves, boats and sheds found in the coastal area. Her direct approach makes skillful use of color, light and shadow, highlighting the images that make this area a favorite for painters.

Klein is self-taught, but has studied with many other professional artists, most recently participating in the Coastal Maine Art Workshops in Rockland, which brings well-known artists and teachers from around the world to Maine. Her work may also be seen at Gifts 136 in Damariscotta.

Cindy Spencer is primarily a watercolorist. Like Klein, she takes a direct approach to create fresh images that hint at a story and may elicit a memory from the viewer. Her use of watercolor is loose, exploiting the wet-in-wet potential of the medium. Often, however, she will include figures, a boat or a building that anchors the scene.

Spencer, who now lives in Wiscasset, has painted, shown and taught extensively in the Mt. Washington valley, N.H. area and exhibited in Bridgeton, Maine. She is now focused on the scenery in the coastal Maine area, although she also likes to paint florals, wetlands, mountains and farmland, and abstracts. She also has skill with portraiture. She enjoys recording the changing of seasons and the colors and light that are special with each one.

Her work may also be seen in area shows and galleries such as the Boothbay Region Art Foundation, and on her website, www.cindyspencerart.com. She may be visited at her home studio, where she offers private and group watercolor classes.

Visit the Pemaquid Gallery of Art this season to see the work of the following member artists: Barbara Applegate, Debra Arter, Bruce Babb, Julie Babb, Stephen Busch, Midge Coleman, Trudi Curtis, William Curtis, Dianne Dolan, Peggy Farrell, Sarah Fisher, Bill Hallett, Claire Hancock, Kay Sawyer Hannah, Kathleen Horst, Hannah Ineson, Will Kefauver, Jan Kilburn, Barbara Klein, Patti Leavitt, Sally Loughridge, Marlene Loznicka, Nancy MacKinnon, Judy Nixon, Paul Sherman, Cindy Spencer, Liliana Thelander, Ernest Thompson, Bob Vaughan, Steve Viega, Bev Walker, and guest artist Jane Bowman.

Artists all reside within the Lincoln County area. The Gallery is situated within Lighthouse Park at Pemaquid Point, Bristol and online at www.pemaquidartgallery.com. The gallery is open daily through Columbus Day, from 10 AM until 5 PM.