Roy Germon, “Ramble to the Sea” (Casco Bay from Willard).

“Ramble to the Sea,” a solo exhibit by Roy Germon, is on view at Cove Street Arts from June 23 to Aug. 13.

An opening reception was held on June 23.

Germon grew up in northwestern Connecticut. He earned his BFA in illustration and painting in l990 from the School of Visual Art in New York City. In addition, he worked as a freelance illustrator, and his illustrations were published nationally in magazines, books and newspapers.

As former Portland Press Herald art critic Dan Kany described him, “Germon is a mid-career emerging master of a certain category of Maine landscape painting — those brilliantly though frugally brushed scenes of hardscrabble landscape. His mark-making is extraordinary — bold but intelligently understated and breathlessly succinct. When I make my shortest of short lists of Maine painters to watch, he’s always near the top.”

The work in this exhibition exceeds that praise, demonstrating that Germon is no longer a “painter to watch” but an artist who has arrived.

“‘Ramble to the Sea’ is a search for solace — in nature and in my studio practice,” Germon says. “Though these works echo earlier themes, I see this body of work as somewhat different from my paintings prior to 2020. Like me, they feel more raw, clearly a reaction to the many stresses of life during a pandemic. It may be a subtle change to the viewer familiar with my work, but I feel the brush strokes are more charged and the paintings more honest. In looking for a deeper experience in my process and in the landscape itself, the unsettled state of the world filtered through me, resulting in more emotional and authentic works. … I am grateful to Cove Street Arts for an incredible opportunity. The luxury of time and space afforded by this residency allowed me to stretch and experiment. It gave me focus and re-energized me and my work.”

Preview the exhibition at www.covestreetarts.com/exhibitions-1/rambletothesea.

Cove Street Arts is at 71 Cove St., Portland. Call 207-808-8911 or email info@covestreetarts.com for more information.