This season, rich colors dominate the paintings of two Pemaquid Gallery artists: Candace Vlcek and Carol Wiley.
Vlcek delights us with a range of realistic scenes in oil and pastel, Maine landscapes (often peopled by cheery figures), delicate flower close-ups, and brightly colored still lifes, all telling a story.
Vlcek says, “For me, the challenge of creating a painting is to capture that moment in time that first caught my full attention and to share it with the viewer. I hope the viewer finds something there that connects them with their own moment in time and gives them joy.”
Vlcek left the business world in 1993 and has pursued her passion for creating her own art full time since then, following a self-taught track, attending college courses and workshops. She and her husband settled in Maine full-time in 2021 following many moves around the U.S and to Costa Rica for four years in 2017.
Vlcek is a member of many local, regional and national pastel societies. Her work can be seen at https://candacevlcek.com.
Color also infuses Wiley’s art, which ranges from realistic to abstract but in many different mediums, including oil, acrylic, pastel and encaustic. Her approach is analytical and experimental, with forest scenes and laundry lines taking on abstract shapes, and still lifes becoming blocks of color delineated by unusual edges, changing outlines and with thick paint application.
Wiley’s shows her fascination with investigating technique. “When I paint, I am more interested in exploring color, shape and line than I am in creating something realistic. My paintings are my impressions and expressions of the life we all share.”
Wiley focused on her own art after a career in special education, with an undergraduate degree in art history and advanced degrees in special education and education leadership. She is also self-taught, having taken many classes in Alexandria, Virginia, in Massachusetts and in Maine since she and her husband moved to Maine in 2004.
Her work can be found at www.carolwileystudio.com.
Both artists have shown in many venues in Maine.
Work by these artists and all gallery members can also be found and purchased online at www.pemaquidgallery.com.
Pemaquid Art Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 20 at Lighthouse Park in Bristol.
Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland is featuring “IDK,” an exhibition of paintings by Tollef Runquist that explores the intersection of personal reflection, archetypes, fantasy and play. Runquist’s paintings combine images and symbols drawn from lived experience, emotional landscapes and cultural influences, creating an intuitive dialogue between imagery and meaning. “My work explores a space where […]
Meetinghouse Arts in Freeport is presenting a full schedule of fall exhibitions and performances, including a members show, a collaborative exhibition by longtime artist friends Tim Sample and Linda Rowell-Kelley and several concerts. The gallery’s fall members exhibition, “Nature’s Palette: Art Inspired by the Season,” will remain on view through Oct. 18. Featuring paintings, drawings, […]
Local Color Gallery in Belfast will feature printmaker, collage artist and sculptor Jeff Wahlstrom from Oct. 19 to Nov. 22. An Art Walk reception will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23, with an artist talk at 5 p.m. Based in Bangor, Wahlstrom creates block prints and watercolor collages inspired by the natural […]
Women Eco Artists Dialog (WEAD), based in Berkeley, California, is accepting submissions for its 2027 members exhibition, “Prototyping Futures of Making: Water, Data, and Living Systems.” The exhibition will explore the relationships among water, data, ecological systems and emerging technologies, asking how artists can engage with living systems as sites of collaboration, construction and consequence. […]
Triangle Gallery in Rockland is presenting three exhibitions through Oct. 31, including an extended solo exhibition by Carter Wentworth, a group fiber arts show and a fall exhibition of work by gallery artists. Wentworth’s “Sound of Rain Crossing the Lake” will remain on view in the upstairs gallery through the end of October. “Interwoven,” a […]
Waterfall Arts in Belfast will present “Found in Translation,” a mixed-media exhibition featuring Maine artists Deborah Jellison, JoAnne Houlsen and John LeBlanc, from Oct. 23 to Nov. 28. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23. The exhibition brings together three artist friends whose work explores familiar Maine landscapes, objects […]
Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth is presenting “Form Meets Surface,” an exhibition highlighting porcelain ceramics by potter Mark Bell and collaborative works created with painter William Irvine. The artists, both established in their respective fields, have worked together since 2015 to create porcelain vases and plates that combine Bell’s ceramic forms with Irvine’s painted […]
Barn Gallery in Ogunquit concluded its 2026 exhibition season Oct. 12, but the venue will continue to welcome visitors for two performances in the 19th annual Elizabeth Dunaway Burnham Piano Festival. Pianist, composer and vocalist Zahili Zamora will return to Ogunquit with her Afro Cuban Jazz Trio for a performance from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. […]
The Brunswick Guild Fine Craft Show will return to the historic Fort Andross Mill in Brunswick on Oct. 24 and 25, celebrating its 10th season with work by 40 juried Maine craft artists. Presented by Shop Maine Craft, the indoor show will feature basketry, ceramics, decorative and wearable fiber art, furniture, glass, jewelry, mixed media, […]
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