The public is invited to an artist's reception and wine tasting on Friday, March 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. The event will be at the Rising Tide Community Market in Damariscotta to kick off a month long exhibition of Bruce MacDonald's art work.

The exhibition will feature recent paintings both large and small, in acrylics, oils, and prints from his digital paintings on the iPad.

MacDonald has recently painted en plein air around Boothbay, near Katahdin, Newfoundland, Canada, Cape Ann, Massachusetts, and Italy.

He also makes occasional forays into portraiture, and is hoping to do more in that vein in the near future.

"I paint to capture the light; not so much the subject, but the light that surrounds the subject,” MacDonald said. “I know this is a bit of a cliche, but I can't say it any other way. It's all about the light. So I consider it to be a successful piece of work if there is well-described light in it. Light — and shadow."

MacDonald is largely self-taught, though he had lessons early on from his formally trained mother and grandmother Edith Pulsifer; and studied with Peter Brown at the Maine College of Art in recent years.

His paintings have been shown at the Maine Arts Commission in Augusta, at the State House as part of the Arts in Maine project, numerous shows at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation and in other juried shows. Over the years his paintings have been bought by a number of private collectors.

MacDonald lives in Boothbay. His studio is located at 656 Back River Road.

Rising Tide Community Market is located at 323 Main Street in Damariscotta. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.