Historic New England will be hosting a reception for the Plein Air Painters of Maine on Thursday, Aug. 25, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Nickels-Sortwell House Visitor Center in the Barn. On view will be the paintings the artists have created at Historic New England’s historic sites, Castle Tucker and Nickels-Sortwell House in Wiscasset and Bowman House in Dresden. The reception will take place just before the Wiscasset Art Walk. The public is welcome.

Works on display include paintings by noted local artists including Anthony Watkins, Michael Vermette, Jim Farnon, John Sawyer, Diane Dubreuil, Eric Glass, Roberta Goschke and Celia Ludwig.

Anthony Watkins is an award-winning classical realist painter whose work has been featured in numerous articles and publications on art. Michael Vernette’s unique paintings of figurative and landscape scenes have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the state.  Jim Farnan’s paintings take on the many forms and color of the natural scenery and architecture of the Maine environment.  John Sawyer uses his paintings to fully experience and capture the beauty of place, finding the patterns and colors others may not see.

Diane Dubreuil has participated in several events for the Maine Art Gallery and was chosen to be the 2021 Baxter State Park Visiting Artist. Eric Glass is a native of Freeport and a 1980 graduate of the Maine College of Art. Roberta Goschke lives and works in Maine year round and celebrates the many historic, beautiful, architectural subjects featured in her plein air paintings. Celia Ludwig uses bold colors seen by her eyes and felt by her heart to paint her chosen subjects.

The PAPME artists are donating a percentage of the sales of their art to Historic New England to help with the costs of preserving these unique historic sites.

The Nickels-Sortwell House Visitor Center is at 121 Main St., Wiscasset. For more information, call 207-882-7169 or visit https://www.historicnewengland.org.