Most of my pieces, “Woogwood,” come from my own woodpiles, such as oak, hicory and other woods I don’t know.  Some other woods include myrtlewood from the Oregon coast, cedar from the Adirondacks and Bermuda, and dense birch from New Brunswick, Canada.

I try to bring out the best of what is inherent in the piece of wood.  I only have one over-arching rule in this endeaver; don’t violate the grain of the wood.  Don’t go against the grain of the wood.  To do so would destroy the integrity, the dignity, the soul of the wood.

Artist’s Statement

My love of people translates to a love of figurative work and portraiture.  For more than thirty years, I have painted and drawn the nude figure from life.  I have also attended portrait groups where models have sat for varying lengths of time.  Since coming to Maine, I have continued in this pursuit.  There is never a dull moment in the world of people, and I take delight in depicting people outdoors in natural settings as well.  Working in pastel and watercolor brings out the best in me and hopefully this shows in my interpretations.  It is the essence of the individual I am interested in; and in the fluidity of the mediums and immediacy of the experience, I find peace.

The Cappuccino Gallery and Gardens is pleased to present the freeflowing impressions of Paula Dougherty.  Her passion for life, nature and the human form are evident in both her watercolor and pastel works.  Paula has studied with prominent, internationally-known artist/teachers throughout her career and has generously shared her experience with her own students.  Her works have been the subject of more than a dozen solo exhibitions and featured in several distinguished publications. 

Don Dunbar specializes in capturing the unique beauty of Down East Maine, particularly Eastport, the easternmost city in the United States. Eastport is a working waterfront city with a breakwater busy with the seasonal activities of scallop draggers, urchin divers and lobstermen. Eastport and the surounding towns are home to a rich architectural history of sea captain’s homes, sardine canneries and cultural institutions. Don’s own website, easternmaineimages.com,  is there for you to explore, featuring the spectacular beauty of our environment, the festivities and cultural happenings of the area and so much more.

Down East Maine is known for its rugged coastline of granite and volcanic outcroppings and eighteen to twenty foot tides. The ocean is in constant motion, even at “slack tide” the currents create movement and beauty on the surface of the water. Our coast is home to some of our country’s most beautiful mammals and birds such as whales, seals and bald eagles. Our weather is extreme, from sea-smoke resting just above the water, to hazy August sun, to the crystal-like splendor of an early morning ice-storm.

W. Ray Freden, a South Shore native of Massachusetts, uses his natural talent to create interpretive images of wildlife.  For over 50 years, he has relied on his hands for his livlihood – first as a self-employed cabinetmaker, then as a cabinetmaking instructor and presently as a self-taught wood carver.

Ray has always been fascinated by the movements and postures of wild birds and the craftsmen who carved wooden decoys.  In the early 1980’s Ray decided to give it a try.  After hours of researching and photographing the shorebirds and waterfowl anong the Atlantic Flyway, Ray carved his first six (6) shorebirds in 1983, which now adorn the windows of his antique cape home.

Ray’s approach is to create “old-looking” and “simple art.”  However, they must be a close imitation of life.  The shorebird, waterfowl and whale carvings are made from white cedar and some white pine.  The beaks are hardwood (maple, birch, oak or ash), shouldered and tennoned into, or through, the head.  Most have relief-cut wings, and deep vee tails.  They are grained, primed, base coated and painted with up to five colors of a special crackle finish paint.  Wearing is done to reveal unfinished wood on protuding edges, much like a well used antique.

Bonnie Clymer was raised in the Philadelphia area and earned a BA in Art from Mercyurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania. Bonnie has spent most of her career teaching art in public and private schools from Missouri to Maine. She currently teaches art in Fryeburg, Maine. Her summers and weekends are spent painting near her Baldwin home and in Lubec, Maine.

Her paintings are routinely shown in the West Quoddy Lighthouse Gallery in Lubec and she was recently featured in a two-person show at the 1 Forest Gallery in Portland, Maine

Although Ellie Carbone, born in Munich, Germany, is a gifted and recognized watercolorist, her professional background is that of an illustrator. While developing her watercolor techniques over the past 25 years, she has studied with famous masters of watercolor such as John Pike, Ron Ransom, Judie Wagner, Tony VanHasselt, and Tony Couch and has participated in many art shows.

Watercolor painting and art in general offers me many rewards and I paint as often as possible. Watercolor’s exciting qualities – its freshness, immediacy, and spontaneity – are what also makes it the most challenging painting medium.

~ Ellie Carbone

Her work has been exhibited mostly in central New York, where she has participated in exhibitions at the Skaneateles Art Festival, the Everson Museum, and the Parish Art Festival. Her painting “On My Own Time” was awarded Best of Show for watercolor at the SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York.

Ellie teaches watercolor techniques in her mixed-media watercolor workshops for beginning and advanced students in Florida, New York, and Maine.