waiting for the other door to open

It is with a VERY heavy heart that I must announce the closing of the Closet Factory of Maine showroom (647A Congress St., Portland). I am grateful that my boss let me use this space for First Friday Art Walk for nearly 2 years and I am thankful to all of my friends and family who supported me by coming out to my shows and being a part of this very special opportunity. Major thanks to Jen of Interactive Tarot and to the members of The Intergalactic Yurt Band and Cumberland Crossing for lending their talents and taking these shows to a different level. I'm hoping that this is a "one door closes, another one opens" situation...

special delivery

So...I found out a few days ago that a photo of me and my painting, "This Is The Year", is going to be on the cover of the Topsham Public Library's annual report! The photo is from the Joy of Art juried show back in January. I have a picture of the cover on my website, if you're curious to see it (www.brushstrokesbymaria.com- you can find it on the In The Press page). The annual report (which they entitled This Is The Year) will be in the November issue of The Cryer (www.thecryeronline.com); it will also be showing up in the mailbox of every Topsham resident! Major thanks to Keith Spiro for taking the photo and to Susan Preece (director, Topsham Public Library) for choosing to use it. I feel really honored!

gone to a good home

My brother-in-law, Marc, besides being super-awesome and extra-nice, is a patent attorney in Boston. His firm just moved to a new building, and he now has a new office. It's a big space, and the attorneys at his firm are encouraged to hang art in their offices. Fortunately for me, Marc likes my art, and this weekend, he bought two paintings from me: "Cosmic Spirograph", and "Imagine Memorial, NYC"! I told him he was becoming a collector, since he purchased "Rocks, Gloucester" a while back for his old office.

This makes me very happy for several reasons: one, it's always great to sell a painting; two, I'm excited for new people (his co-workers, his clients) to be able to see my art; and three, I get to visit my paintings! "Cosmic Spirograph" is from 2011, but "Imagine Memorial, NYC" is still a fairly new piece. I finished it this summer, and I only showed it at one First Friday in Portland (although I did have it on display for a couple of Second Friday Art Walks in Brunswick), so it's a little hard to say goodbye. Thankfully, I only have to say "so long". Plus, it's always comforting to know that my work has gone to a good home where it will be appreciated, enjoyed, and well taken care of. Thanks, Marc! You rock.

another in!

I just found out this afternoon (I guess it's technically yesterday afternoon at this point, since I'm writing this after midnight) that my "Dragonfly" painting got in to the "Artist's Choice" show at River Arts in Damariscotta! The juror for this group show, Leonard Meiselman (founder of www.artcriesout.com, a website for protest art), selected 118 works by 77 artists.

I've heard of River Arts, but I'd never tried to participate in any of their shows before...until my friend Trish sent me an email suggesting that I should go for it. I'm glad she made the suggestion! The opening reception is on Friday, October 19th and the show runs through the middle of November. I'm looking forward to seeing all the different pieces that were chosen. I have a feeling it will be a pretty interesting mix. If you'd like to see what's what at River Arts, here is a link to their website: www.riverartsme.org

end of the season

Well, the last Second Friday Art Walk of the season has come and gone. I am so happy to have been able to participate as a "pop-up" artist this year, and I have to thank everyone at Five Rivers Arts Alliance who made it possible, especially Connie Lundquist and Lee Cheever. I met some wonderful people, made several sales, and had a lot of fun in the process. I only missed one month from May through October, which is a pretty good track record...I was off seeing Phish in June, and according to some friends who did make it that month, it ended up being a very rainy night without a lot of foot traffic.

I'm looking forward to Arts Downtown and All Around, the holiday show that will be at 98 Maine St. in Brunswick (the "pop-up" location where I was most frequently set up)...that will be Friday, November 30th through Sunday, December 2nd. Last year's three-day holiday show was called Downtown Moves Up, but the Friday of that show conflicted with First Friday Art Walk in Portland. I wasn't able to be there the entire time because of that, and I am glad to say that won't be an issue this time around.

october first friday recap

Another First Friday has come and gone, and once again, it was a very fun night! Thanks to the weather and the holiday weekend, people were out and about enjoying themselves. The Intergalactic Yurt Band played another fantastic set of music that had people dancing, clapping, and singing along, and Jennifer of Interactive Tarot kept people enthralled with her readings. The crowds were great, and I was happy to have friends and family stopping by to hang out and enjoy the scene. I even sold three of my brand-new mixed media pieces and one of my "tiny" paintings!

Every month, I get a fair amount of regulars (familiar faces that I only know from art walk) as well as people who are just discovering the space for the first time. One of the "first-timers" gave me a wonderful compliment as he and his wife were leaving: "You've got the best party going right here!" I have a feeling I will see them again...hopefully they will tell some friends and spread the word!

in!

I found out yesterday that one of my paintings has been accepted into the Yarmouth Art Festival! I am very happy about getting into this show, especially because I tried to get in last year and didn't. According to the email they sent out, they had over 300 entries this year and only 165 available spaces, so the competition was stiff. The Yarmouth Art Festival is held at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 396 Gilman Road, Yarmouth; it runs from Wednesday, October 17th through Saturday, October 20th (with an artists' reception on Thursday, October 18th from 5:30 to 8 pm). For more information, click here: http://www.yarmouthartfestival.com/