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 Maine. Three artists capture the essence of summer and life in Maine in three distinct styles and viewpoints, through pastel, oil, acrylics, tempera and watercolor. 

 

Meet artists Sandra Leinonen Dunn, Susan Tilton Pecora, and Kimberly Skillin Traina at the “Art at the Grill” opening reception, Wednesday, July 24, from 4 to 5:30pm.  Stop in and enjoy beautiful art while savoring light summer hors d’oeuvres. Art is on display July 24 through Sept. 9.  

 

Sandra Leinonen Dunn is a prominent Maine artist and veteran art teacher from Chelsea, Maine. Her works are part of collections throughout the U.S and abroad, and she is represented by several Maine and Massachusetts galleries. Sandra is a prolific painter, working in both oils and acrylics. Using her intuitive sense of color, and her lyrical brushwork, Ms. Dunn creates paintings which express both her passion for beauty as well as her interest and respect for classical painting techniques.  She is a member of the Oil Painters of America, and her work has won numerous awards.

 

Susan Tilton Pecora was raised in Marblehead, Massachusetts. In this seashore community she grew to appreciate the quality of light and the intrinsic beauty of New England, painting the streets and seaports of New England since she was a child.  “I synthesize the world through drawing and painting, always have.  It began at age four, when my parents gave me blank pads on which to draw while living on our small boat that cruised up and down the New England coastline during the summer months.  I take a sketchbook with me wherever I go, then work the sketches into finished paintings in the studio.  I have always been attracted to the wildly diverse nature of Maine.” Susan exhibits and sells her work through galleries and art associations throughout the country and is a signature member of The New England Watercolor Society.

 

Kimberly Skillin Traina is a graphic designer, photographer and pastel artist living in Edgecomb. “I have a passionate love affair with color...intense, pure, brilliant color. Painting with soft pastels allows me to work with my fingers mixing pure pigment on paper, layering colors, feeling the medium as the magic of the moment unfolds. Studying the color of light compels me, its ability to transform the ordinary, evoke memories, moods and emotions.  The expanse of sky and water we are surrounded with in Midcoast Maine is a never ending fascination. I dedicate Fridays as my day to paint.  Work hangs in my studio until I see how to bring a painting to completion, sometimes the colors need to settle onto the page overnight, sometimes it means taking away layers and rebuilding, it can take months before I am satisfied the story is complete!”