On September 6th from 5:30-8pm, Monkitree will hold an opening reception for the show “It’s a Colorful Day in the Neighborhood.” In this show Anita Morrissey, of Sidney, Maine explores her connection to the natural world which was nourished by the beauty she was surrounded by growing up in Gardiner.

“I spent countless hours exploring the fields and forests of Oaklands, swimming in Cobbossee Stream, playing capture-the-flag in Bull’s woods along Kingsbury Street and collecting wild flowers for Mrs. Purdy’s sixth-grade project,” she explains.  The connection Anita formed early to the natural world continues to inform her paintings, “My work is almost always inspired by something I have observed while wandering along the country roads near my house or in my gardens. The changing seasons provide the constant drama of dying and rebirth, changing light, and amazing color shifts. I gather ideas and images with my sketchbook, camera and journal, head for my studio, and let the painting begin.”  Anita is particularly interested in the magic that seems to happen when the wild, unpredictable energy of nature bumps up against a stark barrier…creating an edge that is fraught with tension. Stone wall along an unbridled country garden. Ice jam in a beaver dam. Paved road next to an overgrown field or woods. Granite walkways. Bridges. Wildflowers in a simple vase. She exclaims, “When chaos meets resistance…Yummy!”

Monkitree is a fine art and craft gallery located at 263 Water Street in Historic Downtown Gardiner, Maine and “It’s a Colorful Day in the Neighborhood” can be viewed through November 2.