River Arts is inviting the public to a free artist demonstration, Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m. by Linda Packard. Packard will be demonstrating how she builds her abstracted landscapes, working from a plein air sketch, and incorporating a variety of paint-handling techniques and tools.  She will be teaching two workshops at River Arts this year. Packard will follow-up her demo with a full workshop: Building the Abstracted Landscape: Saturday/Sunday, May 5 and 6 from 10 am to 4 pm. This workshop is for painters with some experience and with interest in loosening up and moving away from recording detail. Through demonstration and individual guidance, emphasis will be on simplifying the landscape to its essence, dancing on the edge of abstraction. Packard’s expertise is in oil. The demo and its techniques and tools will be in oil and may not yield the same results in acrylic. Solvents will be used. Materials/supply list with registration. $180. 

Packard holds a BA in studio art from Smith College with a concentration in drawing and printmaking. She later turned to painting and studied with the late Jon Imber of Boston and Stonington, Maine. Her work, from life or from memory, is a response to the mystery and beauty found in observing ordinary, seemingly unremarkable elements in the landscape. She approaches art-making organically, yielding to the nature of the medium. Packard’s work is represented by Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth.For more on the artist, visit http://lindapackard.com.

River Arts is located at 241 U.S. Route 1, Damariscotta.  Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  For more information, visit www.riverartsme.org, email info@riverartsme.org or call 207-563-1507.