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Our Artists

 
Our Artists

Eric Hopkins
Artist
www.erichopkins.com

Accomplished and versatile, Hopkins has studied and taught at many places for the past 30-years including time at University of Southern Maine, Montserrat School of Visual Arts, Marlboro College, Haystack School of Crafts and the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied glass blowing with Dale Chihuly and sculpture with Italo Scanga.

Energetic and thoughtful, Eric Hopkins is widely known as a dynamic aerial landscape painter whose broad strokes and bold color electrify paintings of Maine islands, the North Atlantic coastline, nature and wide open spaces.

Watch Eric's video here 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scott Earle

Art & Illustration

Over twenty-five years as an illustrator and graphic designer.  Educated at the University of Iowa and Maricopa Tech.

His Thoughts:
I’m frequently asked by those who’ve seen my work, “Hey, what style do you enjoy working in?”  My response: “Hey, whatever style I’m working in.  Realistic, cartoony, loose, tight…  I really do enjoy it all.”  If I’m asked to do something that I haven’t done before (that’s within my realm), I say, “Ya, I can do it.” … then I figure out how.  I really DO enjoy it all!

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Jennifer Paradee

Artist

Jennifer Paradee comes from an artistic family.  She has been drawing and painting for as long as she can remember.  She is a graduate from Hamilton College, and has taught mixed media art classes to elementary aged children for ten years.  Her works have been exhibited in several galleries including The Pricilla Hartley Gallery and the Mast Cove galleries of Kennebunkport Maine, and are included in many private collections.  She presently lives with her husband and daughter in Westborough Mass.

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Philip Frey

Artist
www.philipfrey.com

Philip Frey is a Maine artist (American, 1967). He works in his Sullivan studio painting landscapes and seascapes of coastal fishing villages like Monhegan Island, Winter Harbor and South Bristol. Philip also paints some of the special interior landscapes such the blueberry barrens of Downeast Maine, Borestone Mountain and Mount Katahdin.

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Kate Cleaves

Artist
www.katecleaves.com

Kate Cleaves grew up in Maine, where she also earned her BFA in Painting from the Maine College of Art. She has been inspired by, and creating art since she was old enough to hold a crayon. Her passion is creating beauty in the world – whether it’s painting in her downtown studio, illustrating and designing belts for the Belted Cow, making fairies, or teaching her students at the York County Community College in Wells. Kate shows her work locally in many galleries, including: The George Marshall Store Gallery, The Gallery at the Eastland, and the Dodwell Gallery on Long Island, Maine.

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Greg Benoit

Industrial Design/Graphic artist/Illustrator

Greg Benoit grew up on the Maine coast.  He graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in Industrial Design and Accessory Design.  Even though he is a designer he is very interested in the fine arts and fashion design.  During his time at SCAD he designed and constructed shoes, bags, belts, apparel, furniture, along with some paintings and drawings.  Being an Industrial Designer he finds inspiration everywhere and is constantly searching for a new project.

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Jim Williams

Artist
www.mainelylabs.com

Mainely Labs Studio is located in the Knightville neighborhood of South Portland, Maine.  The working studio and gallery opened in Portland in 2005 when Jim Williams embarked on a new career as an artist after a twenty two year business career in various corporate environments.  Jim refers to hi work as "Lab Art" for the focus is on bold-colored acrylic paintings of Labrador Retrievers.  Jim lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife Carol and their black lab, Pirate.

Watch Jim's video here

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Laurie Hadlock

Artist
www.lauriehadlock.com

Laurie’s work ranges from pure abstract to more figurative landscapes, both inspired by the natural world around her as she sailed and rowed along Maine’s shores or hiked and skied New England.  Laurie graduated from Maine College of Art with a BFA in photography.  Her paintings, prints, or photographs have been exhibited around the country and beyond, including the KPK Contemporary Art in London and Thos. Moser in Freeport.  Her work is in the Portland Museum of Art’s permanent collection.  She said, “I like to seize one moment in time, an instant when a feeling sweeps through me.  If I can capture it, purely, simply, honestly, stripping away anything unnecessary and leaving true form and/or color, then I am thrilled”.

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Christina Heiniger

Artist
www.fernhousestudio.com

In addition to teaching art, Christina Heiniger is a well-known artist in the Down East Maine area. Her intention is to use art to create happiness and make the world more beautiful. Born in Switzerland and raised in Coastal Maine, she now lives and maintains a studio in Lamoine Maine, between Ellsworth and Bar Harbor/ Acadia National Park.

Christina uses a delightfully unusual blend of influences in her artwork. She studied painting and printmaking as a studio art major at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Her bold, cheerful and uplifting use of color is inspired in part by European painters such as Henri Matisse and Johannes Itten, in part by the bright and fearless use of color in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and in part from her lifelong fascination with all the hues in her paintbox. Similar in spirit to the work of Paul Klee (also Swiss-born artist), Christina’s art is based in a playful and inventive use of materials and design.

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Lavendier Myers
Artist
www.lavendiermyers.com

Lavendier Myers was born in Massachusetts, U.S.A. Graduated from Classical High School, Providence, R.I. and Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont. She later studied at Corcoran School of Art in, Washington, D.C., with Hayes Friedman, Brockie Stevenson and Blaine Davis. 
Lavendier Myers spent lengthy formative periods at Cape Cod, Vermont, Greece, the U.K. and Mexico. Myers is influenced by the psyche and colors of the aforementioned regions. The paintings aspire to communicate a magic realism. Some major influences are the writing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the paintings of ancient China, the music of Chopin and the ambiance of Maine island life. Summers, Myers paints outdoors from direct observation.  In colder weather the artist tends toward figurative, non-objective painting and collage construction. “Figure on Landscape” tends to be a dominant theme. Lavendier Myers has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally. If not singing, Myers works in silence. When not painting, the artist can be found restoring old houses.

 

 

 

 

Colin McFee
Artist & Silversmith
www.mcfeesilversmiths.com

Artist and silversmith Colin McFee lives and works in the high Rocky Mountain peaks of Leadville, Colorado. Colin's silver designs start in the studio on the property he shares with his wife and daughter at 10,200 feet. The house and the studio date to the 1880s, when silver miners filled the hills outside town with hurriedly constructed housing. Colin and his dog, Junebug, work most days in the studio, with breaks to care for the chickens and high altitude vegetable garden or maybe go for a mountain bike ride.

He visited Westport, MA for the first time in 2007 and instantly fell in love with the natural beauty and wildlife of the Westport River. As with all his art, McFee selects subjects through direct observation, and physical experience of countless hours spent fishing, painting and watching the Westport River. McFee’s “Atlantic” sterling silver buckle series not only captures Coastal images but also, and more importantly, calls attention to wildlife that make up the support systems essential to the health of the rivers, tributaries and ecosystems of Coastal waters.

Crafted in “De-ox Sterling silver,” McFee belt buckles are less susceptible to tarnishing and yet, hold a subtle hint of oxidation in the recesses, highlighting his design details.  The slight texture remaining from the casting process produces a soft and pleasing design esthetic highly sought after in Mcfee Silversmith buckles.  

 

 

 

 

Rhonda Friedman
Artist, potter, Owner - Damariscotta Pottery
https://www.facebook.com/DamariscottaPottery

Rhonda Friedman started Damariscotta Pottery in the summer of 1978.  What began as a one-woman studio has grown into a small business where pottery crafted with red earthenware clay is hand painted by a small group of talented artists.  The pottery is known for its diversity of design thanks to each painter's unique talent.

Hidden away on Courtyard Street in Damariscotta, it is one of the best and worst kept secrets in Maine. Like a secret oasis or fishing spot, people in the know are reluctant to tell others because once you see it it's very hard not to become a collector - and since every piece is unique, well, you understand. All original hand painted artwork created by local artists, the studio's majolica glazed earthenware is sought after by many and inventory is notoriously low after mud season.

 

 

 

 

Page O'Rourke
Artist & Illustrator
www.pagespaintings.com

Inspired by the beauty of the Maine landscape Page Eastburn O'Rourke creates joyful, colorful art that she refers to as "Pop Folk Art". She graduated from Trinity College, Hartford, Ct. and studied at Parson's School of Design in NYC. After a career as a children's book illustrator Page enjoys traveling around Maine with her sketchbook in pursuit of subject matter for her landscape painting. She shows her work at art shows as well as galleries. She lives in the coastal village of Yarmouth, Maine with her husband and two sons.

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Solvejg Makaretz
Artist & Illustrator
www.troskodesign.com
https://www.facebook.com/troskodesign
https://www.pinterest.com/troskodesign
https://www.instagram.com/trosko_design
hello@troskodesign.com

Having spent more than 20 years as a registered architect designing buildings, Solvejg Makaretz cut loose her whimsical graphics; applying them to pillows, bags, and other home decor products. Inspired by her childhood in Scandinavia and her current home on the beautiful coast of Maine, her designs are filled with colorful fun creatures and shapes.

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LK Weiss
Creative Director and owner of Portland Design Co.
www.PortlandDesignCo.com
instagram.com/ptlnddesignco
lk@portlanddesignco.com

LK Weiss, 5th generation Mainer and Maine College of Art design alum, currently resides in her hometown of Portland, Maine where she opened Portland Design Co in 2010. LK is an active mentor and collaborator in the local design community and is a member of Maine Ad + Design. LK loves road biking, reading, and being outdoors with her two rescue dogs.