Just in time for summer, the new Art at the Grill (the Damariscotta River Grill) exhibit goes up June 9 to run through July 21. An opening reception for the artists, Kim Skillin Traina, Holly Smith and Susan Zimmerman, is planned for Wednesday, June 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. Light summer hors d' oeuvres will be served.

Edgecomb artist Kimberly Skillin Traina has a passionate love affair with color, intense, pure brilliant color. She is equally as passionate about being in nature, by, on, or in the water and is constantly studying the color of light and its ability to transform. Traina often paints plein air (outdoors) and, when she is not, she begins with a photograph. But, the end result, she says, “is always its own story.”

“I choose to use soft pastels for the intensity of color I can achieve with pure pigment. Many layers of color later, the magic of the moment is revealed,” Traina said.

Traina hangs her pastels in her studio for months, revisiting each one adding color or changing a shape, until the story that wants to be told is complete.

“My creativity is my expression of my passion for life, for nature, for people and of deep gratitude for this incredible place I live in,” Traina said. “Passion is contagious. As an artist, it is my hope to ignite a spark in others and open their eyes to a new way of seeing.”

Holly Smith is a Rockport native who has always found inspiration in the ever-changing beauty and moods of her surroundings. Smith strives to show others the meaningful, healing tranquility the Maine landscape offers through colors, shapes, and compositional relationships.

Smith frequently travels to remote island destinations or simply steps outside her home. In these natural environments, she absorbs the spectacular views of the coastline, the energy of the vegetation and rocks, and the sweet scents of the fir trees and flowers. Her interpretations of these experiences offer glimpses of Maine’s magnificence, heritage, and romance, and give her paintings a truly authentic quality.

Her artwork is currently exhibited in The Summer Island Gallery in Brunswick and The Mars Hall Gallery in Port Clyde and the Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor. Her paintings are included in corporate and private collections.

Susan Zimmerman, is originally from Philadelphia, but now reside in Five Islands. She paints the landscapes and people of Midcoast Maine.

“I make every attempt to escape absolute realism, by the use of abstract design, and color, I prefer to be experimental and open to new ideas,” Zimmerman said.

“My strength as an artist is in the color choices I employ; their relationship to each other, and perhaps leaning toward a heightened saturation and brilliance. Painting in this style is what makes my work unique to me as a creator. To make colors sing, to contrast, to surprise, to delight the viewer is the goal.”

Zimmerman has lived and worked in the Midcoast for 17 years and has a little artist cottage nestled between two bodies of water, in the fishing village of Five Islands. Her work explores a variety of theme including working harbors, summer fields, rocky coastlines, folks and animals, among others.

The Damariscotta River Grill is located at 155 Main Street in Damariscotta.

For more information, including hours, call the Damariscotta River Grill at 207-562-2992 or visit its Facebook page.