Bloom | 2019 | Oil on board | Triptych 12” x 25” | Jerri Finch

The Finch Gallery will kick off its fifth season with an Opening Celebration from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 21.

This year’s collection features new work by Belfast artist Jerri Finch, plus a collection of prints and cards.

Beginning in late fall and throughout the darkness of winter, you’ll find Finch in her studio exploring light and landscape and following a path. She’s dedicated to the journey. “I dive in,” she says. “And become absorbed, to the exclusion of all else. It is my gift to myself.”

While many viewers would describe Finch’s paintings as realistic, Finch sees them as abstractions within realism. “Even though these new paintings are realistic, each brush stroke is meaningful, and every half-inch of the painting was a labor of love.”

Finch equates her time painting to running a marathon, which requires months of training in order to be fit enough to run the race. “Although I paint for a very concentrated period of time,” she explained, “my whole year goes into these paintings. It’s an endurance test, like running in place in front of my canvas.”

Joining Finch in the gallery again this year will be sculptor Jay Hoagland of Rockport. Hoagland’s media of choice are stone, forged and welded steel and wood, but he’s also interested in porcelain, glass, brass, bronze and found objects.

“Sculpture happens when two or more diverse ideas collide and give birth to something new,” said Hoagland. “The sculptor is only the vehicle.”

Lastly, Finch is pleased to introduce a new line of affordable jewelry called Brush Strokes, created with collaborator Laurie Trefethen, incorporating small images of pieces of Finch’s paintings into earrings and pendants.

The June 21 Opening Celebration is free and open to the public. The Finch Gallery will be open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and other times by chance.

The Finch Gallery is located at 16 Main St., behind the iconic Consumers Fuel Company building, in Belfast. Learn more at www.JerriFinch.com, via Facebook at www.facebook.com/finch.gallery/, or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/finchgallery2019. For more information call 338-1060.