Keith Oehmig has never taken his good fortune for granted.

The artist and owner of the Wiscasset Bay Gallery has only worked in one gallery other than his own since graduating college. This year he is celebrating 30 years of living the dream: that of gallery owner and artist.

For three months, March through June of 1984, he started out at a gallery in Portland, Ore., which specialized in 18th century and 19th century American and European art, the eras he studied as an art history and studio art major at Principia College. (Years later, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Art Institute.)

From there he went on to open his first gallery, The Front Street Gallery, with a mere $200 in his pocket. The location in Bath was above Reny's on Front Street, where his parents manufactured handbags. Oehmig filled the 400 square foot space with contemporary works, his own (yes he is an artist as well), and pieces he discovered at flea markets and antique shows, largely in Maine and Boston. He did well enough in Bath to also begin cultivating an older collection.

In 1985 he made the move to his first Wiscasset location on Water Street and the Wiscasset Bay Gallery was born.

The gallery remained in what grew to be a 1,500 square foot space (when he took over the entire lower floor) until 1997. Wiscasset, with its myriad of antique shops, seemed like just the right location, for which he began offering vintage paintings for sale. People, he said, came to know him as a dealer of European and American art, which led to his developing a devoted clientèle.

How does a gallery owner know where to find the kind of art that keeps a growing clientèle happy? Oehmig said he would buy collections of catalogs from Christie's and Sotheby's and read them in the evenings, training his eye for what was important, and what was not, while gaining familiarity with artists. He also made good use of Maine Antiques Digest and The Arts and Antique Weekly.

Although the gallery started using a computer in 1995, it was mostly used just for record keeping. Oehmig was still relying on those print materials for show information.

At this location he was open seasonally, and traveled to the big antique shows in Miami, Fla., and Brimfield, Mass.

“You can often find great things there, very interesting finds,” Oehmig said, with a twinkle in his eye. “I love the hunt. I grew up in the south where everyone hunts something. Now I search for paintings and interesting works on paper. It's important to be able to find first rate paintings on a regular basis to keep a gallery fresh.

During a hunt, this artist and gallery owner's passion for art affects him on a physical level.

“For me, it's very intuitive. My heart will start beating fast; a tell tale sign that I should buy the work,” he said. “When that happens, they (the paintings) always turn out to be good things.”

In 1997, when the opportunity arose to move to another location in Wiscasset with higher visibility, he pursued it. That location is where Wiscasset Bay Gallery is today, 67 Main Street, the former location of Sarah's Cafe.

Here he makes use of all 2,500 square feet, specializing in the 19th and 20th century work he remains passionate about.

“There is so much strength in the work of these time periods,” Oehmig said. “The artists were formally trained and had a deep understanding of drawing and of painting that comes through in the work.

“There's a certain amount of mystery, too. Every work of art reflects the era in which it was created. You get a real slice of what life was like in the 19th century out of landscapes and paintings of villages, people and the way they lived. I try to pick out paintings that have a lot of soul. For me, that's a painting you can feel the artist put themselves into.”

He continues to love, and be drawn to, paintings with what he calls a “painterly quality.” For Oehmig, the way a work is painted is an important element of any painting.

“There's an emphasis on the brush stroke. A lot of paintings will have a heavy brush stroke, others a feathery quality,” Oehmig said. “I'm very drawn to impressionism. These artists tended to work outdoors where they were connecting directly with their subject matter.”

So, which is more soulful? A plein air or studio painting? Oehmig, who does a lot of plein air himself, said it's a hard call.

“You are forced to directly and quickly respond when you are painting in nature — the light changes — everything is intuitive,” Oehmig said. “If you finish a piece in the studio, you can infuse more emotion into the work, add personal twists. I like to go back and forth between the two.”

Although he specializes in fine art of American and European artists of the 18th through 20th centuries, Oehmig is also a supporter of fellow contemporary artists. And, because he has the space, he has a section to showcase their work, as well as his own 21st century art.

Unlike the mid-1990s, buyers make good use of the gallery website, to identify artwork they are interested in before they visit the gallery.

In addition to paintings online, there are some in storage, and others, the “mystery” paintings he is researching and working to authenticate. Oehmig stressed how careful gallery owners, and buyers, need to be about authenticating art. Technology, in addition to making an art collection accessible to a greater audience, has also made it easier for art forgers to improve the quality of fake paintings.

As Oehmig, and his wife, Cordelia, continue celebrating the Wiscasset Bay Gallery's 30-year anniversary, his passion for the gallery and experimenting with his own art, is as strong as ever. He is living his dream — collecting and creating art.

“I'm still so excited art,” Oehmig said. “Beauty is such a vital part of life. One of the main reasons I wanted to have this gallery is to share this work with the public and hopefully enrich their lives.”

The current show being shared, “Andrew Winter and His Contemporaries” closes August 15. Opening August 16 is “Realism and Impressionism in Belgium, France & America” opens on August 16 and features, among others, works by Georges Ferdinand Lemmers (1871-1944), Charles Emile Jacque (1813-1894), S.P.R. Triscott (1846-1925). This show will run through September 30.

For more information on the gallery, visit www.wiscassetbaygallery.com or call 207-882-7682. Wiscasset Bay Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.