A lively crowd turned out last Saturday for the opening of two concurrent shows at the Maine Art Gallery (MAG): the plein air exhibition Paint it! Wiscasset, and Drawn to Maine: Contemporary Drawing and Printmaking. Artists participating in the plein air event began painting on June 5 in locations throughout Lincoln County, including at least one day within the village of Wiscasset. Their “wet” works, nearly 100 in all from oils to watercolors to gouaches, are on display on the first floor.

Scenes include historic houses, lupine fields, Red’s Eats and rocky coves. Exhibition chair Mark Coates remarked that it’s very hard to pick winners in a contest sometimes, because the quality of the work is so good. But five were finally chosen: Tamara Jones, Deena S. Ball, Janet Ledoux, Michael Vermmette, and Eric Glass, each receiving $200.

The upstairs print and drawing show, which runs the gamut from etchings to charcoal drawings, woodcuts to gelatin prints, and everything in-between, was curated by Michael Olszewski, who is part of the MAG exhibition committee. Comments heard around the room included “such impressive and varied work” and “beautifully hung.” Summer resident of Jefferson, Anne Cekuta, said “it’s a really great show.” She particularly liked the work of Irene Plummer.

Stephen Burt’s “Compassion,” a bold red and black work in ink, gouache and brush painting, caught the attention of viewers, as did Joel LeVasseur’s large “Seaweed Curiosity,” a gelatin monoprint collage. He has explored many types of printmaking and concentrates on environmental themes. Keith Rendall’s “Cormorants,” a hand-tinted etching, has a mysterious, Asian art quality about it. Cathryn Falwell’s “Understory,” a charcoal drawing and collage, is one of a variety of accomplished drawings in the show. These are just a few of the over fifty exceptional works.

LeVasseur, of Damariscotta, will be joined by three other Maine printmakers in an artists’ talk on Thursday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m. Sherrie York of Bristol, creates wood and lino cuts; Judith Long of Brunswick works in various mediums including drypoint, monotypes and silkscreen; and Kathleen W. Buchanan is a collagrapher. All will discuss their inspiration, purpose, methods and how the natural world serves as their inspiration. It will be moderated by gallery board member and artist Debra Arter. The event will coincide with Wiscasset’s Artwalk from 4 to 7 p.m.

MAG’s season sponsor is Sherri Dunbar of Tim Dunham Realty, capital sponsor is Islebrook Villages at Wiscasset, and exhibit sponsors are Barnes Custom Window Treatments and Ames True Value Hardware.

The two exhibitions will be up until July 21. MAG hours are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays and the gallery is located at 15 Warren St., Wiscasset. For further information, visit maineartgallerywiscasset.org.