PAINT IT MAINE Deena Ball White house x
Artists are painting throughout Maine during the month of July for the Maine Art Gallery’s plein air exhibition. Shown here, “The White House,” watercolor by Deena Ball.

A group of 25 Maine artists from 25 towns selected by the Maine Art Gallery (MAG) have been toting their easels throughout Maine this month as they create their entries for MAG’s annual plein air exhibition. This year’s event, “Paint It! Maine,” includes locations anywhere within the entire state.

The length of time for creating art and the duration of the plein air exhibit are extended this year. The artists will be painting at locations of their choosing from July 1 to 26. Their work will be on sale from July 31 to Aug. 24 at the Maine Art Gallery. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

The “Paint It! Maine” exhibition runs concurrently with “Fiore at 100: Maine Observed,” a retrospective exhibition of works by Joseph Fiore (1925-2008), for whom the natural beauty of the Maine landscape was a primary inspiration.

An opening reception will be held during Wiscasset’s Thursday Art Walk from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. July 31. Music will be provided by singer-songwriter Lisa Redfern.

A gallery Art Talk, “Fiore: The Plein Air Experience,” by David Dewey, will be held at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 6. Dewey was a colleague, friend and former student of Fiore.

The Fiore show, on the first floor of the gallery, is presented in partnership with the Maine Farmland Trust (MFT), recipient of a large collection of Fiore’s paintings upon the artist’s death in 2008. Sales of the Fiore paintings will benefit MFT and the Maine Art Gallery.

MAG gratefully acknowledges “Paint It! Maine” sponsor Barnes Custom Window Treatments, serving Maine since 1960 offering top lines of custom window treatments and awnings. “Fiore at 100” is sponsored by Fogg & Dalton Art Restoration and Ames True Value hardware. Sherri Dunbar of Tim Dunham Realty is season sponsor, and Islebrook Village at Wiscasset, an Everbrook Senior Living Community is a capital sponsor.

The Maine Art Gallery is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement and preservation of painting, sculpture and graphic arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations and educational programs for children and adults. The gallery is located at 15 Warren St., Wiscasset. Visit www.maineartgallerywiscasset.org for details.