2025 Exhibition Schedule
Cabin Fever
There is a restlessness and a type of creativity that arises from confinement and isolation. This exhibition speaks to being physically or mentally enclosed; where longing for freedom starts to take over one’s mind, leading to moments of introspection and often delightful serendipity. Cabin Fever is on view from January 23rd through February 16th, 2025 at The Kittery Art Association.
Opening Reception: Sunday, January 26th from 5-7pm.
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Nancy Morgan
Nancy Morgan: “I am a fabric artist and have been perfecting my art for the past twenty years. When I started this journey there was no doubt what my subject matter would be. I was born and raised here in the Seacoast and have seen the countless changes that have occurred. I thought I truly knew and appreciated every aspect of the cities and towns, the rivers, mountains, and sea. But once I decided to capture these scenes in fabric, it was like a filter had been removed from my eyes, everything became clearer and brighter, the details more distinct. Suddenly I am seeing these familiar scenes in new ways. I then translate this fresh image into a piece of art utilizing fabric, thread, and tulle, so others can have the opportunity to view the scenes in the same way that I do. When I look around, I see a street full of vibrant colors, steeped in the history of the seacoast. I see the peaceful calm waters and intimate settings. These are all scenes that I have known for my entire life, but now I am really seeing them, as for the first time. And when I begin to see things as they really are, not as I ‘know’ they are, my work becomes more intimate.”
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, January 20th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Take A Risk + Works On Paper
This show includes daring and experimental works of art, many of which are on paper, where boundaries are pushed of this delicate medium. From bold sketches and intricate prints to innovative mixed media compositions, this exhibition highlights the courage and creativity to explore new techniques and ideas. This kind of work requires raw energy and vulnerability – every mark made being a leap of faith. Take A Risk and Works On Paper are on view at The Kittery Art Association from February 20th through March 16th, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, February 23, 5-7pm.
Also on View
100 DAYS: FABRIC, PAPER & STITCHING by BJ Glanville
“Each one of the pieces in this collection represents a day in my self-imposed 100 Day challenge. This challenge was the incentive and impetus to get me into my studio and create a piece each day for 100 days. It worked to encourage me into my creative space and surprisingly, it provided a great deal of FUN and inspiration!
The criteria I gave myself was to include a piece of fabric and paper from my own stash, and then finish with hand stitching to bring the whole piece together. Each day helped me to realize how much joy can be derived from being creative! Immersing oneself into the creative process shuts out the distractions of the outside world and there can be peace for a while.”
25% of all proceeds will be donated to Seacoast Pathways.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, February 17th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Color Fields + Mark Making
This show explores the use of vibrant color, abstraction, and how the strategic use of lines can tell visual stories. It showcases artwork that uses bold, contrasting palettes and dynamic markings to create visual tension and harmony. Pieces use strokes, shapes, and colors to evoke movement and meaning. Perhaps a dialogue between color and form is created, and marking tells a story of artistic expressionism. Color Fields and Mark Making are on view at The Kittery Art Association from March 20th through April 13th, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, March 23rd, 5-7pm
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Melissa Lea Simmons
Known for her large expressive bouquets, Melissa Lea's abstract paintings feature bold colors and dynamic marks that exude energy and her joy for life. Her intuitive process opens her imagination to possibilities and subjects ranging from landscapes and botanical bouquets, to interiors, exteriors, and non-representational abstractions.
Melissa Lea Simmons is a New Hampshire native who resides in Barrington with her husband of 25+ years. Her art career combines her experiences in business and education, with her experiences of faith, New England heritage, and the abundance of natural goodness that surrounds her. She is a self-taught intuitive artist who paints from imagination without reference or a defined plan. Her artwork has been exhibited regionally, internationally online, and has been awarded and published.
Acrylic, gauche, oil pastels, soft pastels, and other media are on her palette. She explores subjects and media with the intention of sharing the freedom to create with others. "Your spirit should be edified, uplifted, and curious when you experience my art, maybe a piece will cause you to pause a moment, release your thoughts, and explore possibilities." ~ Melissa Lea
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, March 17th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Earth Awakening + Reduce Reuse Recycle
Join us for an celebration of the beauty and environmental consciousness of our world, featuring works inspired by our environment and pieces created from repurposed and sustainable materials. This joint exhibit highlights the transformative role of art, and its ability to instill an awareness about our planet’s majesty and bounty. These works beg the questions: What can I do in my own life to address some of the ecological issues of our times? How might I commit to a re-imagined relationship with my own environment? Earth Awakening and Reduce Reuse Recycle are on view at The Kittery Art Association from April 17th through May 11th, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, April 27th from 5-7pm
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Margaret Dwyer
Margaret Dwyer earned her Master of Fine Art degree in Visual Arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. Her thesis involved researching, writing, and creating art based on psychological themes such as trauma, dreams, and the unconscious. She works with a variety of mediums, but her favorite is watercolor. Her paintings have been recognized in numerous juried national and international exhibitions and have been published in fine art books and magazines that include:
Splash, America’s Best Watercolors - (North Light Books)
How Did You Paint That? - (International Artist Books)
American Artist Magazine
The Artist’s Magazine
Southwest Art Magazine
Manhattan Arts Magazine
In 2019, Margaret was the Artist in Residence for Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock VT for 3 years, followed by a residency at Woodstock’s Billings Farm & Museum. This past fall, she taught watercolor at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle to the Maine Art Education Association.
The imagery in her artwork often reflects life experience and is represented in landscapes, water scenes, portraiture, nature, florals, and abstracts. Margaret also loves to develop experimental watercolor techniques. Her vibrant paintings often combine unconventional methods with traditional ones, branding her work with a unique style.
She has extensive experience teaching watercolor throughout New England at art centers, galleries, schools, and her own private studios.
“Being a visual artist in New England allows me to explore diverse themes and unique environments. I am deeply inspired by its history, scenic drama, and sense of wonder I feel when I am here. I love being a studio artist, but I also have a passion for teaching. This incredible medium is filled with surprises. Opening the world of watercolor to people has been and continues to be a purposeful mission for me. Ideas and artistic methods are constantly in motion in my studio, and it is a joy to share that with others.”
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, April 14th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
K-12 Student Art Show: The Kittery School System
“Creativity takes Courage” - Henri Matisse
The viewers of this show are invited to bear witness to the courage and creativity of young artists. Featuring works from students of Mitchell School, Shapleigh School, and R.W. Traip Academy.
Opening Reception TBA
Explosive Spring
Bursting with vibrant energy of renewal and transformation! This show highlights the dynamic forces of springtime in New England. Nature awakens with the signature explosion of color, light and new life, through bold strokes, palettes and the stirrings of all things renewed and textural. Always welcome after winter’s stillness, there is a pulse of rebirth. Explosive Spring is on view from May 29th through June 22nd, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 1st from 5-7pm.
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Christine Duprez-Young
“Artfully interpreting color, light and scale is the thread that took me from my first career as an Interior Designer, to an Artist. I am a self-taught artist of ten years. I started with pastels, appealing to me for the satisfying immediacy of the medium and their color. Interested in painting on larger scale, I moved onto oil and multimedia painting.
As a New England native, who raised our family on The Seacoast and in the local mountains, my artistic influences are clear. Painting local seascapes and vistas has been my primary focus for my work. Along with still life and small works that include florals.
When Covid arrived, I turned my focus to photographing my garden for inspiration and new subjects in which to immerse my attention. Surrounding myself with saturated hues, in this contemporary large scale, kept me buoyed during such a restrictive time. I’ve continued to enjoy self-expression thru flora and fauna and this macro view of nature. I’m pleased to grown my repertoire to include such works and look forward to my further exploration in nature.” - Christine Duprez-Young
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, May 26th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Nautical New England
Rugged beauty, both textural and smooth, are woven into the harbors and deep waters of the timeless coastal views. The ever changing mood of the Atlantic feeds the creators of this area to make art that is both familiar and unique. Nautical New England is on view at The Kittery Art Association from June 26th through July 20th, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 29th from 5-7pm.
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Wendy Welton
“Hi, I'm Wendy. As the youngest child of an artist/sculptor and carpenter father and a photographer/journalist mother, the creative impulse was ingrained from the start. Architecture provided a very satisfying outlet (and a roof over my head) for many many years, for which I'm exceedingly grateful. But Fine Art always called my name. I took my first step in that direction in 2016 - with a week long workshop. I was instantly hooked. I’ve recently transitioned to pursuing art full time.
Painting is my free passion, where I don't need permission to express a strawberry sky if that's what I see, or imagine. And the way I see that is often in my dreams. My most satisfying practice is to paint en plein air. That painting has a life. Then I paint again using that painting as a source. The act of re-seeing it simply from the painting embeds it in me and then I wait for the dreams. If I'm patient (and eat my vegetables), new paintings show up in my dreams, waiting for me to give them life.
My Art is about the essence in between what some think of as the "subject" of a painting. Not the thingness of things, but all the intangibles that knit life together. A color can remind you what the temperature was that day. A texture can evoke the feel of the air. I'm looking to communicate that moment when you first glance and something makes you catch your breathe in wonder. In that moment you don't have time to analyze this form, that detail - any specific Thing. You can only absorb the mood of the whole. That's what I'm looking to capture.” - Wendy Welton
Awards:
BoldBrush - Top Ten Finalist (out of 2552 entries) August 2022
Rockport Art Association Quick Creations (a plein air competition) First Place - May 2021
BoldBrush "Fav15" (the top 15% as selected by staff ) June 2020, October 2023, April 2024, March 2024
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, June 23rd from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
On the Wild Side
This exhibit invites viewers to explore the untamed beauty and raw power that can be found in the world. There is freedom, chaos and mystery found in wild landscapes, creatures and fertile imaginings. From bold colors to dynamic forms – the art in this show reflects the untamable spirit that exists within and beyond our everyday experience. On The Wild Side is on view at The Kittery Art Association from July 24th through August 17th, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, July 27th from 5-7pm.
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Meredith Reynells
“I grew up in Peterborough NH and was lucky to have a family that took me to York Maine every summer for a two-week vacation. Since 2012 I have been a full-time resident of Cape Neddick Maine.
My love of oil painting started in high school and continued through college. After college I was encouraged to paint a portrait of my then black lab Clinton. After we lost Clinton in 2007, I realized how much that pet portrait meant to me, and I started painting pet portraits for other pet lovers. Since then, I have created hundreds of pet portraits for people, and I plan to continue this service for as long as I am able.
My most recent subjects are directly inspired from the memories of my family vacations here to York Beach. There is an endless amount of natural beauty just minutes from my house. If you are in the area, you can find me with my easel painting in the French plein air style of outdoor painting, especially when the weather is good.” - Meredith Reynells
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, July 21st from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Summer On The Seacoast + En Plein Air
Summer here is filled with timeless allure and grace! See our coastal landscapes through the eyes of local artists in Summer On The Seacoast and En Plein Air – on view at The Kittery Art Association from August 21st through September 14th, 2025.
En Plein Air is a French expression that translates to "in the open air," and refers to painting or drawing outdoors. Painting from life enables artists to capture the natural light, textures, and atmosphere of the seacoast in real-time. Our annual En Plein Air Exhibit features vivid depictions of rugged shores, serene harbors, gardens, and the beauty of the environment that surrounds us.
Opening Reception: Sunday, August 24th from 5-7pm.
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Harry Prichett
Harry Prichett’s work explores the landscapes of Cape Cod and New England using acrylic on wood. The light of the outer Cape, especially in Truro, where he has visited throughout his life, profoundly influences his art. After living in New York City for 40 years, he recently settled on the New Hampshire Seacoast, where new surroundings continue to inspire his creative process. Coming from a family of artists and with a background in writing, acting, and comic improvisation, his work is guided by the improvisational concept of “YES AND.” Each piece evolves without a predetermined outcome, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in a mood of their choosing.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, August 18th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Important Note relating to Art Intake: Please indicate on your artwork labels if your pieces are designated for the En Plein Air Exhibit.
Au Naturel: Still Life And The Nude
This exhibit explores the timeless interplay between the human form and everyday objects through classic genres of art. The nude is tastefully celebrated and examined alongside the still life. Au Naturel highlights the lovely juxtaposition between the human form and the quiet elegance and innate dignity often found in ordinary objects. On view from September 18th through October 19th, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, September 21st from 5-7pm
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artist Amy Vander Els
Amy Vander Els studied Studio Art and Art Education in college, earning both a B.A. and an M.Ed in k-12 Art Education from the University of New Hampshire. Her teaching career brought her overseas to teach art at international schools in Italy, Hungary and the Cayman Islands. Amy returned to New England in 2014, and now designs jewelry, creates artwork and teaches encaustic workshops out of her mill studio on Water Street in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Her award-winning artwork has been featured in solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions and is represented in private collections in the US and abroad. Her jewelry can be found in boutiques, galleries and gift shops throughout New England. Amy is treasurer of the Amesbury Cultural Council, and is a member of the Newburyport Art Association and the Kittery Art Association.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, September 15th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
More Than Words
In More Than Words, artists delve into the powerful connection between visual art and language, showcasing works that transcend the literal meaning of words to evoke deeper emotions and ideas. The viewer is challenged to explore the impact of words on thought and perception, offering new ways to experience the intersection of art and language. On view at The Kittery Art Association From October 23rd through November 16th, 2025.
Opening Reception: Sunday, October 26th from 5-7pm.
Also on View: Works by Spotlight Artists Karen Camlin and Pat Sevigny-Higgins
Karen Camlin: Artist + Art Educator
"I work in a variety of mediums, pure and mixed; acrylic, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, graphite, to name those most frequently used. I work in a variety of forms from printmaking, painting, drawing and sculpture using found object. I employ those mediums and forms that best convey my intent and the work’s meaning.
For me, limiting my work to one medium, or one style, is equivalent to speaking with a limited vocabulary. I believe that to be an artist involves the search for the best way to share what I see, feel and want to say, without concern for what others may think is an inconsistency in modes of expression. And yet I know there are some tendencies that reoccur in my work.
Some of my work incorporates figurative subjects in a fantastic or surrealistic manner, as well as incorporating elements of illustration and graphic design.
When I work in a purely abstract fashion, a style known as Lyrical Abstraction aligns most closely with my intents. With its use of organic line and shape and sense of movement, and its pursuit of surface texture - manipulating mediums by whatever means - Lyrical Abstraction seems to be the name for what I most enjoy in art making.
I studied art education at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, and visual design (graphics) at Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMASS, Dartmouth). I have taken numerous courses and workshops, with examples listed here:
Harvard University Extension School, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine; Heartwood College of Art, Kennebunk, Maine; Sanctuary Arts, Eliot, Maine; and at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine.
I am a member of the Seacoast Moderns artists’ group and the Kittery Art Association. My work has been included in member shows of these groups, and in exhibits of artwork by seacoast art teachers at the Kittery Art Association. I have participated in exhibits of artwork by faculty members of Wells-Ogunquit C.S.D. and MSAD #35, as well as that of Maine state art educators. K. Harvey Camlin, the signature I often use in my artwork, refers to those names used over time in my personal life and professional work.”
Pat Sevigny-Higgins: Fine Artist
“I do not always paint what I see, but I always paint what I feel” There isn’t a time that I can’t remember where creation and the making of art was not in my life. My primary goal as an artist is to make art that satisfies a primal need to create. I am moved by the most simplest of objects; a shell with an elegant curve, to the full landscape of a winter’s marsh. I find interest in most occurrences of each day. I enjoy being out of doors and find my muse on a trail walk, a beach stroll, marshes, gardens, in my travels or just in my backyard. There is no end to subject matter to explore.
I work primarily in Mixed Media/Acrylic, as well as Watercolors. I work both realistically as well as abstractly. I find that these two styles work best for me, in that one constantly informs the other. My watercolors have a tendency to be more literal and realistic. This type of painting demands a need to constantly keep my drawing skills sharp. Working in watercolors is very calming for me. I find working abstractly a cerebral challenge and an exciting trip that I take each time I start. I never know where the piece will take me or where it will end up.
I am a member of the Kittery Art Association, Robert Levy Lincoln Gallery and York Art Association.”
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, October 20th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Holiday Show + Gift Bazaar
Join us for our annual Holiday Show and Artisan Gift Bazaar at The Kittery Art Association from November 20th through December 21st, 2025. This show brings together a festive collection of visual hanging artwork and small handmade items by local artists that capture the spirit and warmth of the holiday season.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, November 17th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2025 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Note: Artists are welcome to bring in two pieces of hanging artwork for this exhibit as well as handmade items to be available for sale throughout the gallery. All items must be individually labeled to include the Artist’s Full Name and Item Price. Please submit a Shop Inventory sheet with your items during Art Intake.
Kittery Art Association Holiday Show & Gift Bazaar
Join us as we transform our gallery at 2 Walker Street in Kittery, ME into the ultimate destination for fine art and one of a kind, handmade artisan gifts. Shop small while supporting your creative community!
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, November 18th from 2-6pm in the gallery.
Art Pick-Up: SUNDAY, December 22nd from 2-5pm.
Please note: All artwork and items from the Holiday and The Gallery Shop must be picked up.
Enchanted Spaces
Secret gardens, hideaways, fantastic worlds, the wilderness - there is magic that surrounds us betwixt and between. From the depths of the deepest ocean to forgotten corners of our imagination. Enchanted Spaces is on view at the KAA from October 24th - November 17th, 2024. Opening Reception: Friday, October 25th from 5-7pm
Also On View: Works by Spotlight Artist Adam Krauss
Adam Krauss is an abstract expressionist painter from Lee with heartfelt connections across the seacoast, tracing paths from Boston to points south. As a high school teacher and former journalist, Adam has long navigated the realms of words and ideas, but it is within the visual world—where color and motion converge—that he finds his true dwelling. Here, in the vibrant interplay of hue and form, he explores the limits and possibilities of human experience.
His latest series, "The Search for Space," delves into the enchanting confines and contours that shape our existence. This body of work is a meditation on the ways we carve out meaning, how we define our place in the world, and the invisible lines that govern our journey through time. Each piece is a reflection of his fascination with the tension between the seen and the unseen, the eternal quest for something beyond the tangible, and the moments where the pursuit of space becomes the pursuit of self.
In these works, Adam captures the essence of movement—both physical and emotional—as he pushes the boundaries of abstraction to evoke the fluidity of life itself. His use of bold, sweeping gestures and a palette that oscillates between the serene and the chaotic, invites viewers to lose themselves in the layers, to contemplate the spaces in between, and to find their own stories within the abstract landscapes he creates.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, October 21st from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Personal Favorites
Ego and creativity is often a jagged line. Join us, as we present a collection of our artists’ triumphs in Personal Favorites. September 19th through October 20th at The Kittery Art Association. Opening Reception: Friday, September 20th from 5-7pm.
Also On View: Works by Spotlight Artist Jack Calabrese
Jack Calabrese: “My journey as an artist began approximately ten years ago as a 'bucket list' comment I made that my wife took hold of and ran with. The inspiration was inside of me and her thoughtful action set my creative outlet into motion.
Like many beginning painters, I was largely ignorant of the fundamental aspects of painting. I learned through instructional books, videos, workshops, a lot of easel time, and a lot of failed paintings. I've come to understand that painting is a lifelong lesson in humility, yet I've grown to love the process and how it makes me view the world through a different lens.”
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, September 16th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Dawn Dusk Darkness
Dreams exist in nocturne, and a change in light ushers in a new perspective. The study of light is critical to artists, poets, and philosophers. There are spirits that awaken in the dawn, and as the light dims at the end of day. Join us for Dawn Dusk Darkness at The Kittery Art Association from August 15th to September 15th. Opening Reception: Friday, August 16th from 5-7pm.
Also On View: Works by Spotlight Artist Bethany Peck
Bethany Peck: “The unique light and ever-changing seasons of coastal New England serve as endless sources of inspiration for me. Employing an intuitive approach to painting, I strive to craft vibrant, immersive experiences that forge a deep, emotional link with the coastal scenery and its myriad elements.
Describing my art as Contemporary New England Abstract Impressionism, I embrace versatility in mediums and substrates. While much of my creative process unfolds within the sanctuary of my studio, I often find solace and inspiration in plein-air sketching as I fully immerse myself in my surroundings. With each painting I strive to evoke a feeling of place. I intertwine my own perceptions of space with color, light, and emotion.
My personal narratives are commingled with the natural landscape and coalesce to create new meanings.”
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, August 12th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
En Plein Air
En Plein Air is a French expression that translates to "in the open air," and refers to painting or drawing outdoors. Whether our artists are seasoned adventurers in working in the great outdoors, or are just beginning their journey, we are excited to bring you our annual En Plein Air exhibit. On view from July 11th through August 11th at the KAA.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, July 8th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please indicate on your Artwork Labels that you are submitting plein air works for this exhibit by writing “En Plein Air” on the bottom of each label. Visit our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines page and download your artwork labels and artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Travels And Trails
Travel the world and back again - It’s art on the move. Whether artists seek inspiration from adventures abroad or find their muse in their own backyard. Join us for Travels And Trails at the Kittery Art Association from July 11th through August 11th.
Also On View: Works by Spotlight Artist Jeanne Maguire
Opening Reception: Friday, July 12th from 5-7pm.
Jeanne Maguire: As an artist, I have chosen abstraction as my expressive language, pouring my creative energy into acrylic and mixed media works. My process is a constant evolution, fueled by an insatiable curiosity for all things textural, sculptural, and organic. Drawing and composition remain lifelong companions, informing my exploration of where art and science converge - a beautiful intersection I'm driven to understand.
Having called New England home for most of my artistic journey, the local landscapes and historical contexts have left an indelible mark on my work. At my core, I'm fascinated by the human spirit's longing for authenticity and what transpires when that authenticity eludes us. While immersed in the act of creation, I often find myself pondering our spiritual kinships as a species.
Art has been my constant companion from the earliest days, though my path was dramatically reshaped when I suffered a traumatic brain injury as a young mother. The long road to recovery required relearning the most fundamental skills - speaking, writing, walking - while simultaneously caring for my two young children. This arduous period necessarily put my professional art practice on indefinite hold for decades. Yet now, having regained my full faculties, I view this experience as a profound "gift" that has enriched my perspective on the world and the human condition.
With a BA in Visual Arts and Art History, complemented by an advanced degree in Art Education, my passion for creative expression has taken me across the globe. From the ancient wonders of Greece and Italy to the artistic meccas of France, I've immersed myself in studying art's vast histories and philosophies. My work has garnered attention in print and television spheres, with critics lauding my abstract ocean-colored paintings as a pioneering new movement.
"Maguire's swirling, undulating canvases envelop the viewer in a hypnotic aquatic realm," praised one critic. "Layer upon layer of blues, greens, and earthy terracottas intermingle, evoking the ever-shifting mysteries of the deep sea. Her mastery of texture and her bold, gestural brushwork create works that are simultaneously serene and tempestuous, tranquil and turbulent."
Through my art, I strive to capture the essence of the natural world while exploring the depths of the human psyche. It is a lifelong endeavor, one that continually reveals new insights into the wonders that surround us.
Through The Lens: Photography Show
Through the camera’s lens. Through mirrors and tricks of the light. Through stark realities and instantaneous wonders. Let’s focus on the photograph: June 6th - July 7th at The Kittery Art Association.
Opening Reception: Friday, June 7th from 5-7pm.
Featured Photograph by Kenny G.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, June 3rd from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Note to KAA Exhibiting Members: All types of photo processing are welcome for this exhibit.
Mixed Up
The process of creating artwork is tactile and sometimes requires unwavering exploration. The Kittery Art Association presents “Mixed Up” - a mixed media exhibit, from June 6th through July 7th. Opening Reception: Friday, June 7th from 5-7pm.
Also On View: Works by Spotlight Artist Maggie Sanftleben
“My paintings do not set out to be precise representations but are expressions of the changing rhythm and color of landscapes.”
For 25 years, I was a Graphic Designer and Art Director in Boston, specializing in print, video animation, websites, and identity packages for corporations and nonprofits. Now, residing in Cape Neddick, ME, I draw inspiration from the coastal landscapes, experimenting with various mediums like pan pastels, oils, and acrylics. My graphic design background aids me in deconstructing forms for emotive abstract landscapes. Recently, I delved into encaustic art, learning from instructors at R&F Encaustic in Kingston, NY. Transitioning from brushes to using fire adds a thrilling dimension. Using a heat gun and butane torch, I layer wax with pan pastels, charcoal, oil sticks, fused photos, and wax pencils to create ethereal and bold compositions.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, June 3rd from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
K-12 Student Art Show: The Kittery School System
Join us to celebrate emerging young artists in our community from May 16th through May 26th at The Kittery Art Association! The Annual K-12 Student Art Show highlights the work of students within the Kittery School System. This show features work from students of Mitchell, Shapleigh, and Traip Academy.
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 16th from 3:30-5:00pm.
Extraordinary Earth
In the spirit of Earth Day, The Kittery Art Association honors the planet that we call home. Celebrate this gorgeous, vast, textural blue and green planet. We are in a universe of wonders - from the micro to macro lens.
In conjunction to the Extraordinary Earth exhibit, we are pleased to present a display of artwork from our ceramic artists.
Also On View: Works by Spotlight Artist Terrence Chick
Opening Reception: Friday, April 12th from 5-7pm.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, April 8th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
We will also be presenting a special collection of work from ceramics artists in our membership. Are you a KAA Exhibiting Member and Ceramic Artist who would like to learn more and register for this display? Please find more information and submit you registration here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/ceramics2024
Note to KAA Exhibiting Members: Let’s celebrate Earth with art inspired by our home planet. This can also include artwork made with repurposed or recycled materials.
Kittery, Our Town
Join the Kittery Art Association in a celebration of our historic town. Kittery is the oldest incorporated town in Maine, and this beautiful seaside community is steeped in history. Our historic town has much to memorialize; rocky beaches, traditional architecture, historic defense structures, parks, and quiet private spaces. This is our ode to our home, the gateway to Maine.
Featured Artwork: Entrance Fort McClary, Watercolor, Marilyn Eimon.
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, March 4th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please see additional notes below:
This is a special exhibition, and there is a one piece limit for each Exhibiting Member.
You are welcome to submit supplemental materials to be included in a binder that will be available in the exhibit.
Items submitted for this project must be printed on standard 8.5x11” copy paper, will remain in the KAA Archives after the show closes.
These materials may include submissions of prose, poetry, anecdotes, or artist statements that center around the town of Kittery. You may also submit reproductions or scans of photographs, or sketches that are also thematically appropriate.
Please feel free to email these materials to us at info@kitteryartassociation.org for a chance to have them featured on our website or social media accounts.
Don’t forget to include your name on these materials so that you may be properly credited.
Etchings: Mary Margaret Sweeney
It is with the greatest honor that we present a collection of etchings from the studio of Mary Margaret Sweeney, on view from March 7th through April 7th at The Kittery Art Association.
“Mary Margaret Sweeney uses the medium of etching in its best traditional manner. Proficient and sophisticated in technique, her prints have the poise and polish of the Old Masters or the Nineteenth Century Etching Revivalists. Indeed the artist confesses the influence of the prints of Childe Hassam. Like this 19th Century American Impressionist, Sweeney is continually inspired by the New England Landscape. With her eyes attuned to the linear vocabulary of etching she finds patterns everywhere in rocks, trees and uneven horizons. While many of her prints depict figures, still lifes, and interiors, she always returns to her favorite forested landscapes." - David Acton, Working Proof
Sweeney attended The Chicago Art Institute majoring in advertising and design, but only found printmaking when she returned to formal art training after raising her children. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1980. In her three-decade career as a printmaker, she has been involved with the Experimental Etching Studio in Boston, The Boston Printmakers, The Society of American Graphic Artists in New York, The New Hampshire Art Association and The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.
Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally and are in the permanent collections of the New Hampshire Commission on the Arts, Boston Public Library, Worcester Art Museum, The Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA, and Framingham State College.
For many years Mary Margaret Sweeney worked from her Government Street studio, in the heart of Kittery Foreside. Many of her prints are Traditional Intaglio Printmaking, and her more recent works are Solar Plate Etchings which give the image a softer feel. The artist writes about her Traditional Intaglio process: “A printmaker draws through ground on a metal plate. The plate is immersed in an acid bath. Ink is applied to the plate and the excess is wiped away, leaving ink in the etched grooves. Dampened paper is laid on the plate and the plate and paper are run through a printing press. Note that the printed image appears in reverse.” To achieve her color prints the artist applies pigments to each print by hand, using colored pencils.
This exhibition and sale of Mary Margaret Sweeney’s etchings is made possible by Ali Goodwin, and with the generosity of the artist's family.
Start Fresh!
Each day holds the promise of new beginnings - a fresh start. As humans and as artists, we must embrace transitions and find inspiration; new processes, ideas, chemical reactions. All living things must accept that change is a beautiful part of existence. Join us for Start Fresh! from February 1st through March 3rd, 2024. Opening Reception: Friday, February 2nd from 5-7pm
Art Intake for Exhibiting Members: Monday, January 29th from 2-6pm in the gallery. Please read our 2024 All Member Exhibit submission guidelines and download your artist contract here: www.kitteryartassociation.org/submission-guidelines
Note to KAA Exhibiting Members: This show is all about starting fresh! What new processes, ideas, or inspirations have you been working with over the past few months?
Also On View: Works by Spotlight Artist Jane Zeeb-McDonnell
It took me years to feel comfortable calling myself an artist. I felt like I needed a degree to be legitimate. So I got one. I felt like I had to sell my art. So I sold some. But now I am comfortable just being who I am.
I am a creative person. That means I paint, I draw, I design things. I always feel my best when I am creating something and sharing it with others.
While I have worked in many mediums, I still find watercolor the most intriguing. I paint both plein air and in my studio. Both have their unique challenges and rewards. Plein air is raw and in the moment, influenced by the outdoor elements. Studio time offers the opportunity to play with the distinctive qualities of watercolor.
Being a watercolor artist for quite a few years now, I've collected quite a pile of unfinished or unsatisfying paintings. While not frame worthy, many of these paintings have some part to them that makes them worth saving.
Somehow I came up with the idea to cut up, or with the help of paper punches, cut out pieces of these old paintings and repositioning them onto other old paintings, creating a new, much more exciting version of the previous work.
Not quite being watercolor any more, nor traditional collage, I created the term reconstructed watercolor collage to describe both my process and the finished pieces.