The Blue Hill Library will sponsor the series of Art History and Hands-on presentations and workshops hosted by Margret Baldwin beginning in January 2025.  The focus of this series is land or seascape paintings, specifically how the innovative Impressionists of the 19th Century each chose to express land or seascape through their uniquely individual lens.

The winter series will be introduced on Thursday, November 21 at 7PM, with a panel of four of our wonderful local landscape artists with very different personal approaches who will share with each other and with the audience the choices and methods they choose in order to pursue their passion, using as examples one or two pieces on display on easels. Talking about My Art and Yours will feature the local artists Eileen Ahern, Alison Dibble, Martin Gallant, and Larry Moffet, all picked by Margret Baldwin for their different approaches in art. 

Eileen Ahern is a multidisciplinary artist and educator living in Maine since 1995, currently in the midcoast. Showing natural ability as a child, and always a maker, she studied Fine Arts at the Museum School in Boston, completing a BFA from Tufts University, where she also studied Art History and Romance languages. After living in New York, working, and traveling, she found her way to Maine, and was inspired, as are many, by the landscape and active arts community. Her work has been exhibited in Maine and nationally. Currently, she works in painting, sculpture, and book arts.

Alison C. Dibble, Ph.D., of Brooklin paints rapidly in a loose, brisk style. It’s a high wire endeavor, with the prospect of failure ever looming. Often she paints in the open air while trying to express her emotional response to a scene. Alison worked as a conservation ecologist for more than 30 years and enjoyed collecting and analyzing data to answer questions regarding old forest, rare plants, invasive plants, and pollinators. She brings her interests in the natural world, songwriting, and writing suspense fiction into her art in an unusual blend.

Martin Gallant, artist statement - "The focus of my work is the Maine landscape from the coast to the potato fields of Aroostook county. The Maine landscape is rugged, worn, and often awe-inspiring. This land reflects the character of many Mainers. Independent, stoic, proud, individualistic, and 'real' are qualities we share with the land. Being open every day to the fleeting glimpses this forested, wind and sea worn state offers is a visual joy. I work primarily in acrylics and watercolors. I have drawn and painted throughout my life while also working as a school counselor in Caribou. Having recently retired from education, I now have the time to immerse myself in my joy of painting. I now reside in Ellsworth."

Larry Moffet moved to Deer Isle to paint in 1972 and worked as a wooden boat carpenter and later as a commercial fisherman. An outside life gave him the opportunity to observe the natural world with its ever-changing weather and light. It also gave him the flexibility to make art all year long. His work has been shown in many galleries, private collections and other venues throughout Maine. For more information, contact the Turtle Gallery in Deer Isle; theturtlegallery.com

For more information, email Assistant Director Kayleigh Thomas at kayleigh.thomas[at]bhpl.net or by calling the library at 374-5515. This program is free and open to all, and will be held in the library's Howard Room.