Clint Jones, a skilled boat and car mechanic by trade and a metal sculptor, fisherman, and boating enthusiast on the side. He can be found on Chebeague Island, working on “island cars”, cars rarely going very far or very fast.
Jones sees his metal art as time capsules that will last hundreds of years, each piece telling a story. Jones likes the strength of metal and enjoys working with a medium with such longevity. He feels people have taken notice to the durability of his pieces.
Its been a busy summer here at Harvest Gold! Despite the hard times, we have been lucky to have some amazing plein air Saturday's. We try to feature an artist every Saturday during the summer months. So far, we have had Tom Merriam, Sandra Bell, Kristin Dill. This upcoming Saturday, August 15 we have painter Sandy Crowell!
In the last couple weeks we have moved beyond the garden area and have started doing pop-up plein airs around the town of Lovell. From the sandy beach of Lake Kezar, to the breathtaking view from the Harriman barn, and most recently a private property of an eastern shore landowner! The amazing artists make it a treat for all. Keep an eye out for our next pop-up plein air, usually taking place on Wednesdays.
Last Saturday, Harvest Gold hosted artists for a beautiful day of plein air painting. Featured artists Varvara Harmon and Sandra Josephine Bell joined us in the gardens and created stunning work before our eyes.
It's amazing to see the progression of a piece over a short period of time. Here is the beginning of Sandra's painting compared to a few hours later.
Varvara Harmon set up her workspace and was happy to explain her artistic process to visitors.
Varvara described her technique of masking to bystanders. This is a process of using a liquid rubber to protect sections of the paper from paint. Once everything is dried and the masking is rubbed off, the artist is left with sections of untouched paper. In this piece, Varvara used many layers of masking to create the desired effect.
Come join us this Saturday for another plein air demonstration by Sandra Josephine Bell!
On Saturday, August 1st, Harvest Gold Featured artist Sandy Bell will be doing a plein air painting event. Sandra is a representational painter whose studio is in Center Lovell, Maine. Working in oils primarily, she is inspired by whatever holds her attention. Her works include a broad spectrum of North Country subjects….often little known or off the beaten track.
She begins with her own photography and creates paintings of regional landscapes, coastal subjects, interiors and beautiful lake scenes in a variety of painting styles with a feeling of spontaneity.
She also arranges unique tableaux that when painted become a whimsical or allegorical still life.
Sandra attended college and then art school for a period of time, all the while paying close attention to 20th century America. She involved herself in historic preservation (architectural), collected and traded in antiques (dump picking too), restored old houses, provided interior design and decorating services, hiked in the mountains, sold suburban residential and country real estate, designed gardens and watched them grow, ran a private non-transitional facility for young adult patients, all the while forming a world view.
The plein air will be from 10 am to 2 pm. Dont forget to swing by!
Here are some photo's from last weeks plein air, featuring Varvara Harmon and other artists, including Sandy Bell:
Recently, Harvest Gold Gallery's Bill Housley emailed us with some good news about his wood bowls he is famous for making. Here is his message:
As you know I have my wood turnings for sale in various galleries in Maine and New Hampshire. At the Full Circle Gallery in Cornish, Maine there is a customer who has been coming to the gallery frequently over the past several years. Turns out that he is from Chicago and has a place near Cornish. Every time he comes to the gallery he buys one of my bowls so the other day the gallery owner said “you must have quite a collection of Bill’s bowls”. To which he replied that he gives the bowls away as rewards/awards instead of buying plaques and such at gift stores. He is a physician. He is also involved in the COVID-19 thing going on in Washington. When he gives away my bowls he includes my business card. So yesterday the gallery sold one of my bowls to Dr Fauci also of COVID-19 fame.
THIS BOWL WAS PURCHASED BY DR FAUCI OF COVID-19 FAME
Just sayin’…………….
Bill
Congrats Bill on the success!
One of Harvest Gold's featured artists is Roland Simard. Roland creates are using a very unique medium: pigmented pulp.
You may ask, what on earth does that mean? Bill often describes Roland's work as more of a sculpture than a painting. Each piece is constructed, or cast, by hand.
As described by the artist himself: "I process natural fibers such as cotton, flax and abaca into a pulp. The pulp is colored using pure, non-fading pigments and I use these processed, pigmented fibers to build or ‘cast’ a single sheet of paper. As part of the sheet-forming process, I introduce the pigmented pulp directly into the sheet being cast, thereby forming an image and creating an impressionistic interplay of colors and fibers."
Roland received a degree in Fine Art and Art Education from Plymouth State University. He has been teaching at Berlin High School for 33 years. Roland jokingly tells his students that his pigmented pulp pieces are "spitball art". To see more of his work, please stop by the Gallery!
As a new employee to Harvest Gold Gallery I have found it especially fun to look at all the beautiful artwork throughout the store. Today I decided to share my favorite pieces with you!!
When I first saw this painting, I instantly was drawn to it. Every time I looked at it I saw new details that kept me inspired. Sandra is a local artist from right here in Lovell, Maine. She captures the beauty of the surrounding areas on her camera and then paints any aspect that she is drawn to. Nearly every painting I have seen has been so different that it shows her multi-technique paintings.
Thomas Merriam has more than 40 featured paintings throughout the gallery. This one painting in particular caught my eyes with the fish creating a circle with their bodies. As a child my grandmother used to tell me how the symbols of yin and yang would bring unity to the world of nature and material and how the world can only work if the two sides were equal. This painting brought back so many memories of how the world needs to keep a flow of life and prosperity to survive.
This beautiful gold bracelet was handcrafted by the owners of Harvest Gold Jewelry, Bill and Lynda Rasco Rudd. I found the simplistic style absolutely breath taking. It is by far one of my favorite gold bracelets shown in the gallery!!
Michael Alfano "Liquid Sunshine"
From the first day that I walked into the gallery I couldn't help but stare at this new piece by Michael Alfano. When I first looked at it I saw a woman crying the tears of yellow and I wondered why its face was so sad but the name was Liquid Sunshine. I have since changed my perception and believe that the face is not sad or stoic but instead taking a moment to close its eyes and allow the sun to overcome its face.
It has been my favorite part of the day to come and see the beautiful artwork displayed at Harvest Gold Gallery!!
Harvest Gold Gallery welcomes a new artist, Nel Bernard. He makes beautiful stained glass pieces. Here is a small description of him and his work:
Nel was first exposed to stained glass as a craft at Lewiston’s Craftschool in 1974 as a student of Thom Labrie, and later with Michel Ellen Luisi, until assuming the position of instructor at Craftschool in 1978 through 1980. In that same year, he opened his first studio, Magnum Opus Studio Gallery at the head of Lisbon Street, Lewiston in partnership with renovators and photographers. The valuable experience gained at Magnum Opus enabled Mr. Bernard to open and operate Maine Art Glass Studio in Lewiston continuously from 1982 through March 2010. Through the years, Nel continued to learn new techniques and styles by associating with hundreds of local artists, reading, studying and experimenting and attending workshops at the Corning Studios in New York, the Portland School of Art and college courses through the University of Maine.
Nel Bernard continues to experiment and innovate to learn and share new techniques and approaches with his associates and students. A risk taker and a cancer survivor, Nel challenges himself and others to push the envelope and try new ways of expressing one’s self through art. His greatest ambition is to help create and participate in an active and healthy art and social community, in touch with the ideas of the new creative economy.
Here is his work at the gallery!
Come see his work at Harvest Gold Gallery!
Varvara Harmon is featured in Harvest Gold Gallery as a multi-media artist who specializes in still life paintings. She was born and raised in Volzshk, a "small Russian city" of 100,000 people that is located in the central European portion of Russia. As a young student she studied at Volzshk Art School, graduating with a degree in art studies.
Varvara immigrated to the United States in 2001 and moved to Windham, Maine. As shown in multiple pieces she uses the Maine landscapes, inland waters, coast, and people to inspire her work. While the majority of these works are done with acrylic, she also creates with oils, watercolors, and pencil.
Varvara has the ability of capturing the light and nature of beautiful New England in nearly all of her latest works. Harvest Gold Gallery is happy to carry such a phenomenal artist. To see more of her work, visit her page on our website or stop by the Gallery!
In case you are missing the gallery, watch our Dock & Dine episode from Maine Life! We are so honored to be featured and be able to show the beauty of HGG. We even took them on the boat to show Lake Kezar! Enjoy the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM0_uauslkU
