Gallery 302 welcomes Mari Dieumegard as the first artist to be featured in its Guest Artist series for 2024. Her exhibit of narrative paintings will run from May 4 to June 7 with an opening reception with the artist from 5 to 7 p.m. May 10.
Dieumegard was born and raised in Alaska, attended the Maine College of Art, and now lives in Windham. Her paintings are a form of visual storytelling and personal journaling. She creates flowing compositions using symbolic imagery and rich colors. Mining her memories and dissecting her dreams, she weaves her work with myth and metaphor. Dieumegard’s adventures in nature, hiking, camping, stargazing and swimming beneath the full moon imbue much of her paintings.
Dieumegard works in gouache, ink, oil pastel and acrylic. She is the illustrator of two award-winning children’s books and brings 26 years of experience as an art educator and a school librarian to her engaging school visits and workshops focused on visual storytelling.
Stephen Carpenter is the latest artist to exhibit at Gallery 302 in Bridgton. Carpenter brings a lifetime of painting experience to the colorful landscapes he paints in oils.
A former fire captain of the Brewer Fire Department, Carpenter says he began his painting journey in high school with the encouragement of his teacher Mrs. LeClaire. He then studied privately with William Moise from Downeast. Through books and research, he honed his skills and won first place for his piece “Molting” at the Bangor Public Library Juried Art Show. His paintings are in private collections throughout Maine, Michigan, Connecticut, North Carolina and Florida.
“The need to create is like an itch — you just have to scratch it,” he says. “The greatest joy is knowing my work is displayed where people can view it and learn my journey as an artist.”
Gallery 302 is at 112 Main St., Bridgton. For more information, call 207-647-2787, email [email protected], or go to gallery302.com.
Categories: Announcement, Art exhibit, Artists Reception, exhibitions, gallery, openings, shows
