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Contemporary Maine Realists
Here is a selection of the gallery's most accomplished
realist painters of Maine
Exhibited August 1 to August 30, 2011
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Just scroll down to see each artist's paintings.
Maine painter Richard Roflow loves to paint the intimate details of the landscape that he encounters on near his home and studio on Deer Isle, as well as the iconic images of Acadia National Park. He came by his love of painting nature early in life, though his formal education was at the Cincinnati Art Academy in the 1950’s.
Now over 50 years later most of his paintings are inspired by the drama of the Maine coast and coastal weather. "He rarely paints on a sunny day. It's always misty, foggy, and dramatic. He paints those days that Mainers know as being a Maine day," said Barbara Entzminger, whose Bar Harbor Birdnest Gallery exhibited many of Roflow's paintings in years past. "I consider myself a light painter. I try to paint the light I see and how it creates distances," Roflow said, explaining the prominence given to plays of light in his compositions.
"Roflow captures the qualities of atmosphere and its light-color shows which most of us hardly notice," writes Fran Watson. "Tiny droplets of moisture in the air act as color magnifiers, bathing landscape in eerie glows of uncommon intensity for brief moments, transforming the ordinary into the exotic. The most familiar objects attain an importance through his eyes as he renders them with a combination of softness and accuracy. His depictions are tinted fragments of hushed time, caught in the manner of masters like Corot and Daubigny whose visions changed rural simplicity into mythological magic."
Roflow, a two-time winner in the National Park Academy of the Arts competition, Arts for the Parks was recently honored as the Maine artist featured in the Presidential suite of the Bar Harbor Regency reserved for President Obama and his family for their visit in July, 2010.
Acadian Dawn, Low Tide
Richard Roflow
watercolor 21 x 24
Sundown, Deer Isle
Richard Roflow
Gouache, 23 x 16
Richard Roflow
Autumn Splendor
Goache 21 x 29
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Mark Haltof
Mark is a contemporary realist painter with 30 years experience and a background that includes training in New York at the Arts Students League and the National Academy, as well as several Paris ateliers. He began painting in Maine in the mid 70's with a group of artist friends who came for summers to paint Maine's rocky coast and its many islands. Because he draws his inspiration from those places and things close to him, he eventually relocated to Maine in 1984.
He has shown his work in galleries in New York, California, Florida, North Carolina, and Maine, and was the subject of a feature article in the May, 1995 issue of American Artist Magazine. His work is represented in The Portland Museum Art (The Elizabeth Noyce Collection) and in many private and corporate collections throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Churning Cove
by Mark Haltof
Oil on Canvas 20 x 20
Winter Orchard
Trundi
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Neal Hughes' paintings are rooted in the American realist tradition as defined by artists such as Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth. With a traditional approach to composition and technique his work incorporates contemporary design with a classical sensibility.
Interested in art from an early age, Neal first started painting when he took art lessons in grade school. He went on to graduate from the Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts) and his work is included in numerous private and corporate collections. Neal is a signature member of the American Society of Marine Artists, and has won numerous awards, including the Maritime Gallery Yachting Award and an Award of Excellence at the prestigious International Marine Art Exhibition at the Gallery at Mystic Seaport. In addition, he was the grand prize winner of the Utrecht 60th Anniversary Art Competition, winning the top prize out of over 12,000 entries.
“In my work, I combine observation with memory and imagination to create images in which I attempt to transform the beauty of nature or the ordinary and everyday into a work of art that is rooted in tradition but with a contemporary vision. My inspiration can come from the quality of the light at a certain time of day, an extraordinary view or the underlying beauty of the commonplace. I find great joy in discovering the relationship between the divine and nature as I work and I hope that the viewer of my paintings will sense something bigger than the scene before them; something with a larger sense of purpose. “
Evening at Pemaquid
by Neal Hughes
September Sun, Monhegan
Monhegan Houses
by Neal Hughes
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William Marvin
William Marvin feels privileged to be able to capture the ever-changing moods of nature, out in the open, fresh and unspoiled. Bill attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena taking extensive courses in design, drawing, painting and illustration. Upon graduating with honors in 1974 he came to Chicago to begin a challenging career as a graphic designer. Bill started showing his landscapes in 1996 and immediately began to draw attention from collectors. His representational art focuses on dynamic compositions and an impressionistic use of color. The results are paintings that are vibrant with light and energy. He has painted throughout the Midwest and the Southwest, and most recently the Maine Coast and Acadia National Park. Bill’s artwork hangs in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.
Silent Storm
by William Marvin
Oil on canvas, 15" x 30"
Marsh at Beehive
by William Marvin
Oil on canvas, 12" x 24"
On a Clear Day
by William Marvin
Oil on canvas, 15" x 30"
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See the calendar for future exhibitions.
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