My letter to the Maine Congress

Dear Senator _______,

Thank you for your service to the State of Maine. Please allow me to share a little about the Maine art community and our annual Gallery Guide.

Maine Gallery + Studio Guide is celebrating its 20th year anniversary of promoting Maine art to the world.

The printed copies of our guide have been distributed statewide. Perhaps you are familiar with them? I had hoped to send you a recent copy but as the Capital is closed, the Office of the Clerk of the House suggested emailing you instead.

Here is a link to the digital edition.
https://mainegalleryguide.commaine-gallery-studio-guide-2020/

I hope you have a moment to spin through its pages to witness the Maine art community for yourself.

The mission of our guide is to promote Maine art, Maine art collecting, and presenting Maine as an art destination, perhaps second to none.

The spirit of Maine art is real, and it is 200 years strong. The early paintings of wild nature and rugged coastlines drew the first visitors and rusticators to Maine.  Maine art is still, and will always be, an excellent drawing card for visitors.

With that in mind, I suggest Maine art should be featured more often as a visitor attraction along with moose, blueberries and lobster. A perfect example is the new 1820 Maine commemorative stamp painting by Edward Hopper issued by the US Post Office.

Maine art makes an excellent product to export to the rest of the country. It is non-polluting and non-controversial, it is not cheap, it pays state taxes, and is a rare product that can actually add beauty, good memories, and value to one’s home and family.

By the same token, each painting sold helps the artist to finance new art, support their family, and their community.

Quebec City has a reputation for beautiful handmade crafts and clothing. Visitors expect to pay higher prices for one-off products that are often made on premises. I hope one day to see Maine regarded similarly, as a high quality art destination.

Cultural tourism is big business and attracts money. Maine’s art heritage is the real thing and deserves to be proudly celebrated on a larger stage and promoted at every chance. Anything you can do to help recognize and support the Maine art community, especially during this pandemic, will be aiding a group that does so much for Maine, and asks for so little in return.