Join Camden-based artist Kendra Denny at the opening reception of her solo encaustics show at River Arts West Gallery on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 3 to 5 p.m. This show runs through Dec. 3 and features all of her recent encaustic work, as well as pieces from her residency at the Burren College of Art in Ireland last spring.

Denny has been a painter for much of her life. She began working with encaustics after taking a workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2011. Both the history of the medium and the wonderful versatility of working with wax had an immediate appeal.

Having grown up in the Midcoast region of Maine, Denny's art has always been influenced by the rich tradition of craft in this area. She has often dabbled with themes of history and cultural heritage, while always remaining tied to the sheer physical beauty of the region she calls home.

Denny studied sculpture and painting at Hampshire College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Denny has received several awards for her work including a grant from the Reger Arts Foundation and two partial fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center. Her paintings have been exhibited in galleries throughout Maine, Maryland, Ohio and Washington, D.C.

In 2008 and 2010 The Smithsonian Institution commissioned her to paint two murals for their annual Folklife Festival.

Additionally in 2010, her painting “The Model School” was featured on the cover of The New Guard Review, a literary review published in Portland.

River Arts is located at 241 U.S. Route 1 in Damariscotta and is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For inquiries, call 207-563-1507, email info@riverartsme.org or visit www.riverartsme.org.