Three landscape artists have won this month’s selection of People’s Choice vote at River Arts.  Their works are now showing until Oct. 1st in the Invitational Hall at River Arts.  

Joyce Eames Steel’s small scale works, in oil and in acrylic, range in style from realism to non-representational.  Some are executed with attention to detail, while others move beyond the descriptive to focus on light and color to achieve the subtle essence of the moment.  Whether a coastal scene or a non-objective piece:  her paintings frequently capture the feeling of “still shots” - timeless, serene and contemplative. Steel studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and holds a degree in design from Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, Connecticut.  Additionally, she studied painting and design at Studio Arts Center International in Florence, Italy.  Her varied career includes teaching art in both private and public education, graphic design and marketing, and administrative work in the non-profit sector.  She currently paints from her studio in Waldoboro and teaches both children’s and adult art classes locally.

Marcia Brandwein works in oil paint on canvas using skills of design, color and pattern gained from her years of experience in textile design. After graduating from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York with a degree in Illustration, she began her professional career in textile design. With her excitement and passion for color, Brandwein is not afraid of bold execution.  She spends six months in Maine filled with brilliant vistas, colors and textures which she recreates in her paintings.  She begins by loosely drawing out the composition with paint with reference to the colors she sees outdoors.  From this point, it is pure emotion. As the colors go down, the discovery of how it begins to come together is the most satisfying of all.  The rest of the year, Brandwein spends in White Plains, New York with her husband, re-energizing with museums, music, art, friends, and family.

Suzanne deLesseps worked for more than 30 years as a landscape gardener.  She now paints full time both at home in Maine and wherever her travels take her. She spends several weeks each year painting the countryside and villages of France, Italy or Scotland.  She finds the change of scenery and culture both challenging and exciting. The experiences and memories serve her well in the studio during the winter months. Working in both pastel and oil, deLesseps paints plein air as often as possible, gathering information that later serves as inspiration for more intuitive painting and experimentation in the studio. Then the actual process of painting becomes the main objective. The outcome is often unknown and that’s what makes it exciting!

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