New Harbor’s Kay Hannah’s pastel paintings of local scenery, such as “Over the Ledges by the Oil House”, are on view at the Pemaquid Art Gallery.

At the Pemaquid Art Gallery in New Harbor this season, a visitor will view works by many artists inspired by the coastal scenery. Two such well-seasoned artists are Kay Sawyer Hannah and Bev Walker, both from small villages in the town of Bristol. Their work captures the full flavor of the Pemaquid peninsula, whether the subject is geographically located or not.

 Kay Sawyer Hannah has been associated with the gallery for 19 years. As a youth, she had enjoyed watching local artists paint along the shores and coves near where she lives, in New Harbor. She enjoyed sketching when younger, but did not paint until after college, when she began taking night classes and art workshops. After an earlier focus on watercolor, she has turned primarily to soft pastel.

 The vivid skies and water reflections of British painter William Turner influence her current work, which often feature the early morning and evening light, although this is a challenging time to paint, given the quickly changing colors. For that reason she normally paints, or at least finishes a painting, in her studio. Nevertheless, she is endlessly inspired and challenged by “the peninsula’s spruce-lined harbors and coves, rocky islands, and scenes related to lobstering. Hannah also enjoys occasionally incorporating flowers in the foreground or background of her landscapes.

 During the fall of 2018, Hannah’s work was featured in a solo show at the First National Bank of Damariscotta, and often can be seen at River Arts shows in Damariscotta as well as at local fund-raising events. 

Suffused with light and atmosphere, Bev Walker’s “Stillness” is typical of her compelling paintings of coastal Maine and can be seen at the Pemaquid Art Gallery.

Bev Walker has spent summers in Chamberlain since 2000, and after moving to Maine from Michigan in 2016, became a full member at the Pemaquid Art Gallery that same year. Her art background is extensive, beginning with a BS degree in Major Interior Design from the University of Michigan, followed by earning her masters in painting in 1988 from Eastern Michigan University. During that time much of her work was abstract oil painting, but since then she has returned to landscape subjects. 

Although she paints only in the studio, Walker’s oil paintings are suffused with the light and atmosphere that makes the midcoast area so compelling. She is “inspired by things I see such as the way a tree has grown or the way water moves or the colors in a sunset.” Her paintings frequently feature the bold tracery of trees against a colorful sky, or the embroidery of foam from waves on the shore.

She is represented by galleries in Ohio and Michigan as well as Pemaquid Gallery. Her work is frequently seen in shows at River Arts, and can also be seen at www.bevwalkerart.com.

The 2019 exhibiting members of the Pemaquid Group of Artists include: 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, Judy Nixon, Belva Ann Prycel, Paul Sherman, Cindy Spencer, Liliana Thelander, Barbara Vanderbilt, Bob Vaughan, Steve Viega and Bev Walker and guest artists, Kimberly Traina and John Butke.

The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Columbus Day. For more information, please call 207-677-2752 or visit www.pemaquidartgallery.com.