Curator Michael Olszewski began scouting artists last fall for his “Drawn to Maine: Contemporary Drawing and Printmaking” exhibit, currently on dual display along with “Paint It! Wiscasset,” at Maine Art Gallery (MAG) in Wiscasset. The juried show features ink, graphite, charcoal, watercolor and pastel drawings, in addition to monoprints, etchings, linocuts, collographs, and screen prints in printmaking. Many pieces in the show use multiple techniques and are multi-dimensional.

“The last time MAG hosted a printmaking show was in 2006,” said Olszewski. “I liked the idea of combining printmaking and drawing. It’s also timely, with prints from the WPA period just closing at the Farnsworth Museum,” he said. Olszewski received a number of submissions from across the state and traveled to many of the artists’ studios to understand the mediums, techniques, and inspirations firsthand.

Artist Rebecca Goodale, who spends one month each year mounting specimens for Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, and taught Book Arts and Design at University of Southern Maine for four decades, has several pieces in the show including drypoint (intaglio printing), collage and letterpress. Her “Calla palustris” stems from stumbling across a bog filled with native calla lily while hiking. She used pencils and drypoint to create the piece. And “Gray Jays” is a linocut tribute to her father. She read a journal entry he wrote while traveling the Allagash. His dream was to see every bird in the world before he died. “It didn’t happen,” she said. “But he did see gray jays and didn’t know what they were. He made a note in his journal to find out and this is my tribute to him.”

“Drawn to Maine” artists Joel LeVasseur, Sherrie York, Judith Long, and Kathleen W. Buchanan will discuss their inspirations and methods of creation in an upcoming artist talk, “The Printmaking Experience” on June 27 at 6:30 p.m. at MAG, moderated by artist and MAG board member Debra Arter.

MAG’s first floor is filled with the annual en plein air event, hosting 20 artists from around the state, in a juried exhibit. The artists began painting June 5, capturing popular businesses and vistas in Lincoln County, often through challenging weather, said show curator Mark Coates.

Plein air regular Anthony Watkins is exhibiting a new piece he painted in five, five-hour sessions. “I have to go back when the light is the same,” he said. “From my first outdoor painting, which was on Englewood Beach in California, a painting of the surf, I knew plein air painting was the way I’d always paint. That was the way to do it.”

The opening reception for the dual exhibit drew a large turnout and Jud Caswell provided the musical backdrop as guests spilled outside for wine and hors d’ouevres.

MAG thanks Season Sponsor Sherri Dunbar - Tim Dunham Realty, Capital Sponsor Islebrook Villages at Wiscasset, and exhibit sponsors Barnes Custom Window Treatments and Ames True Value Hardware.