Courthouse Gallery Fine Art presents the two-person exhibition ‘Water & Sky’

Jessica Lee Ives joins Katherine Wilkes in “Water & Sky,” a two-person show about the relationship between two powerful elements essential to life and one’s emotional well-being. For Ives, the point of entry revolves around the water’s surface — above, horizontal or below. For Wilkes, the place where sky meets water conveys a fundamental sense of existing from the very beginning. Between these two painters, the room vibrates with energy and bright color. The show is free and open to the public and runs through July 30.

Sunlight shining down on people immersed in water is a way for Ives to invite viewers to reimagine the experience of being in the natural world. She believes painting the figure in the landscape, especially in wild bodies of water, is a way to honor the human body as a moving, living entity in sync with nature.

“Kinesthetic intelligence and imagination are very important to me; so is the sensation of wonder,” she says.

Ives finds it astounding that a painting can help a viewer reclaim the feeling of being alive.

In Ives’ paintings “Light Shapes Life” and “Water Impression,” the perspective above and below the water’s surface are from the same location at Emerald Pond in Western Maine, one of the artist’s favorite swimming holes. Another favorite is Craig Pond, a pristine, spring-fed lake with clear, cool water situated in the hilly country to the east of Alamoosook Lake in Orland.

Ives lives in Camden where she maintains a studio.

Wilkes is awed by her sister’s nature photography of the Northern Lights over Scotland and the Lofoten Islands in Norway. The experience of witnessing this captivating spectacle of colorful displays can be deeply moving, and many cultures have imbued the natural phenomenon with spiritual and mythological meaning. The vast expanse of the aurora skies in Wilkes’ paintings “Supernatural” and “Otherworldly” evoke feelings of freedom, escape, awe and the boundless possibilities of the human spirit.

“Dragon’s Eye” depicts a prehistoric rock formation Lofoten. The large bolder of metamorphic rock resembles a reptilian eye and changes appearance with the tide and lighting conditions. In “Illuminating the Stones,” iridescent colors radiate over the 5,000-year-old stones at the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney. Here, the auroras are known as “Merry Dancers” for their shimmering movements, which Wilkes emulates with electric colors. Wilkes lives in Sullivan where she maintains a studio.

Courthouse Gallery is located at 6 Court Street in Ellsworth. For more information on upcoming exhibitions call 667-6611, or visit www.courthousegallery.com.