“Colors of Camden,” by Beth Bathe.

Camden Falls Gallery presents “Castine to Camden, in Seven Years,” a new exhibit featuring Olena Babak and Beth Bathe. The show opening is 5 to 7 p.m. June 16, during Camden’s second art walk of the season.

Beth Bathe and Olena Babak are friends and artists of different backgrounds and techniques who met at the Castine Plein Air Festival in 2015. Since then, they’ve embarked on many artistic adventures, criss-crossing the country on somewhat different routes but with the same artistic goals in mind. 

Babak and Bathe are often invited into juried and national competitions where they find themselves painting together and often exhibited side-by-side due to the fortunate happenstance that their last names are alphabetically right after each other. They might be in Maryland one week, Wisconsin the next, and perhaps Florida for several weeks in the winter. One year Bathe joked that she spent more time with Olena than her actual family. Then adding, “Olena is family.”

“Point of View,” by Olena Babak.

“It is a beautiful thing when you can reach out to your friend, whether it’s an art related or life related happening,” says Babak. When we aren’t painting side-by-side on location, we can set up virtual painting dates over a cup of coffee or glass of wine while catching the sunrise or by the campfire. Our styles are so different, and it only helps to make it better when we are in competitions or working for a show. We use the same art principals to get to the final brush mark with a wonderfully different outcome.”

Babak is an award-winning, classically trained artist, whose landscapes and figurative works can be found in numerous galleries and collections in the U.S. and abroad.

Bathe is a new artist to Camden Falls Gallery. She applies water mixable oil colors in thin washes with a limited tonalist palette and uses unconventional tools such as squeegees and q-tips along with her brushes. Her representational paintings have been described by critics as “evoking nostalgia, like that of an old sepia toned photograph, often with just touches of color.” She is represented by numerous galleries in the U.S.

“We were very fortunate to be introduced to Beth’s work by Olena,” says Howard Gallagher, owner of Camden Falls Gallery. “Her unique style adds yet another dimension to our varied and talented roster of artists. Beth is the second of four new artists the gallery will be introducing this year.”

We Paint Maine — Camden Falls Gallery is located alongside beautiful Camden Harbor, on the public landing. It offers a rich diversity of original artwork in contemporary styles, focusing on the natural beauty of midcoast Maine and its nautical heritage. The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 207-470-7027 or visit www.camdenfallsgallery.com.