Wed, 06/06/2018 - 10:00am

Kim Traina

Susan Zimmerman’s “Summer Day in Boothbay Harbor’ is one of the artist’s works in the show at the Grill that also features Léa Peterson. Courtesy of Kim Traina

Léa Peterson’s “Different Strokes” is included in her works in the Grill show running through July 13. Courtesy of Kim Traina

Susan Zimmerman’s “Summer Day in Boothbay Harbor’ is one of the artist’s works in the show at the Grill that also features Léa Peterson. Courtesy of Kim Traina

Léa Peterson’s “Different Strokes” is included in her works in the Grill show running through July 13. Courtesy of Kim Traina

The walls at the Damariscotta River Grill transform to summer colors and images, exploring a number of themes and capturing the light and beauty of Midcoast Maine. Artists Léa Peterson and Susan Zimmerman live and paint year round in Georgetown. Each have distinctly different styles and viewpoints, both paint en plein air and in their studios. An “Art at the Grill” opening reception will be Wednesday, June 13 from 4- 5:30 p.m. Please stop in, meet the artists and enjoy beautiful art while savoring light summer hors d’oeuvres. Art is on display June 11 through July 23.

Léa Peterson’s diverse body of work shows the color and texture of life in Maine. An award-winning artist, Léa began painting at age 7, and, today paints daily, producing over 30 paintings per year.

“My paintings are usually part of a series. Something in the landscape will strike me as particularly stunning or interesting, and I will then explore it in multiple ways on canvas. It might be a study of coastal skiffs and dinghies; lobstermen or clammers at work; buoys catching the light; tugboats and cranes in a shipyard; puffins in their nesting habitats; or the look of the stormy sea,” shared Peterson. “My goal is to convey the extraordinary beauty in ordinary places, objects and activities. When people look at my work, I want it to strike a chord--evoke a positive memory or emotion and in some way resonate with and reinforce something good in their lives.”

Susan Zimmerman, living in Philadelphia, started painting with watercolor when her children were young, transitioning to oil painting by taking courses at Philadelphia Academy of Fine Art. Today, she paints in a little red studio in Five Islands with views of the water on both sides.

“During the long Maine winters, I work in my studio from photos and memory, keeping my hands in the paint, fostering experimentation, and new ideas,” said Zimmerman. “Nicer weather finds me outside, working en plein aire. Painting is my joy and a blessing. It is a personal journey of experiencing nature, and finding immediacy in the work. I am fully present, mindful and deliberate about each stroke, each painting. Learning to cope with bugs, temperature, wind and disasters is part of the game. My work is vibrant and full of life; the colors sing, the brushwork is free.”

Damariscotta River Grill, located at 155 Main Street, Damariscotta, is open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. For more information, or reservations, call 563-2992, or visit www.damariscottarivergrill.com. For information on the show or Art at the Grill program, please contact Kim: jumpstartcreative@gmail.com.