Come to the Damariscotta River Grill for dinner and the opening reception of the art of Sarah Fisher, Daisy Greene and Mary Winkes on Wednesday, April 7. To celebrate the artists, the Grill is hosting a Prix Fixe three-course menu with a choice of wine pairings, or selections on the regular menu.  A portion of the dinner proceeds will be used to fund a scholarship for a Lincoln Academy student pursuing an art education. Reservations are encouraged. Art can be viewed through May 9.

The artists

Daisy Greene has lived and painted in the Midcoast since the early 90s, when she moved here from Cape Cod.  Daisy works with acrylics on large panels to portray her love of the Maine coast - its pine forests, coastal villages, isolated saltwater farms, and blueberry barrens - with strong hues and bold strokes. Her style is often realistic, and sometimes more reflective of abstract patterns and colors. She loves the rugged look of Maine in all seasons, but snow and ice covered pines and streams under late winter afternoon skies are particular favorites for her. Daisy has exhibited her work on Cape Cod and in several Midcoast galleries.

Sarah Fisher has lived full time in Maine since 2012 when she retired with her husband to Damariscotta from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.  Her familiarity with Midcoast Maine reaches back to the 1970s. During her regular visits to the Pemaquid area, she often joined her mother, Liz Fisher’s, painting groups, from classes at Round Top Center for the Arts, with Lina Burley of East Boothbay, to summer plein air groups.  Her profession as a fine art painting conservator, with her last 30 years at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. where she was Head of Painting Conservation, gave her hand and eye a rigorous training in painting techniques and materials.  Sarah has focused on painting in watercolor, but for the last two years has been reviving a long-standing interest in oil painting and is enjoying how the two techniques compliment each other.

Mary Winkes grew up in Rhode Island and attended the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, studying with Lux Feininger.  She and her husband have lived in Maine since retiring 15 years ago, enabling her to paint full time. “It is difficult for me to describe the pleasure I feel when painting. I love to escape into the process, because painting provides calm and peace for me. I like to play with color, shape and texture and to see how they react to one another. I imagine a conversation and harmony between the various parts of my artwork. Living in Maine I am endlessly finding beautiful places to describe with my painting.”