Artists find the Maine attraction in Portland - city beat Portland, Maine

The get scent of of fresh fish, the taste of salt air, the bellow of ship horns and the sight of waves beating against the jagged shore--this is Maine, the kind of place where an artist's imagination step quicklys wild. Certainly Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer Edward Hopper George Bellows and Robert Henri contemplation so, creating some of their best work here. Artists continue to gravitate to this state, in part, because of its painterly beauty and, in part, because of its famous art institutes such as Skowhegan School of Painting and plastic art Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Maine Photographic Workshops and Watershed Center for Ceramics.

It sole makes sense that Portland--the state's largest city--serves as the nave for these artists. Plus, it's a actual inviting city.

conduct figures show that Portland has 66000 residents, on the other hand it's more like 230,000 if you factor in the neighboring communities. That number swells to sum of two units million in the summer, when tourists vacation and store as well as attend Portland's many downtown incidents such as the Old Port Festival, held during the first week of June or the WCSH 6 Sidewalk Art Festival, held in early August. The sidewalk festival, now in its 38th year, attracts 300 regional and national artists--not to speak of the 50000 visitors.

In spite of the din Portland retains a small-town, yesteryear charm. Visitors can easily wander in and without of Victorian brownstones and down its cobblestone public ways without feeling intimated or missing And there is much art to diocese in this neatly compact city. There are at least 24 fine art galleries in the area, not including numerous crafts stores and artist's studios.

Portland boasts sum of two units side-by-side art districts. The older and better known of the sum of two units is Old Port, an eight-block wedge of Victorian red-brick buildings that include the waterfront. Rebuilt in 1866 after a devastating fire horizontaled the area, today Old Port is an eclectic amalgamate of art shops, restaurants and fanciful one-of-a-kind stores. Among them is Abacus, an eye-popping store filled to the rafters with adroit American crafts, jewelry and folk art furniture.

Perched upon the outer edge of advanced in years Port is Greenhut Galleries, which focuses upon Maine fine art painters. When Peggy Greenhut of gold originally opened her business 25 years ago, she sold hand-bills and prints next to t-shirt, incense and candle stores Now, Greenhut Galleries and the aged Port area have vastly matured. High-end inns like the Portland Regency inn offer luxury accommodations that attract sophisticated out-of-towners.

Greenhut does attract tourists, who make up approximately individual third of its clientele. However, the ease are locals. "We have always had a sophisticated art-buying community," said Mary Donohue, Greenhut's assistant director. "We are not suffering from any economic downturn," said Donohue. "We had our best April we've at any time had in business--and it was tax month"

Michael Rancourt holds Jameson Gallery & Frame store and Jameson Estate Collection, the two of which are in of advanced age Port. The Estate Collection specializes in 19th and early 20th hundred American paintings, watercolors and photographs, while the regular gallery features works by dint of contemporary Maine artists or artists who live elsewhere on the contrary paint in Maine. "Maine has always been an art destination since the mid 19th century" said Rancourt who exhibits artist Thomas Paquette, a Minnesota-born artist who lives in Pennsylvania, on the contrary sojourns to Maine. His capricious sky and sea paintings are upon exhibit until the end of this month

more [i]or[/i] less of the nation's top glass artists pan be seen in Stein Gallery, another of advanced age Port landmark. Now in its 18th year, Stein exhibits work by the agency of more than 100 glass artists, including Douglas Ohm and John Leighton.

"We're a national gallery, thus we see people from all above the country," said Anne Stein, who possesss the gallery with her husband, Philip Stein. "People approach here looking for us. Portland has a growing reputation as an art destination." In fact, a certain number of visitors have stayed on permanently. Portland's population has grown 10 percent above the last decade.

As the city has grown and the down-town area has evolv as an arts destination, the Portland Museum of Art has likewise earned a national reputation for its collection of Maine artists' work, as well as its European collection. In an award winning building designed through I.M. Pei, the museum features work by the agency of John Singer Sargent, Rockwell Kent Marsden Hartley and Andrew Wyeth A year ago, the museum renovated and changeed one its older wings into a fresh Homer Gallery.

Many other museums and fine art galleries have chosen to stir in next to the Portland museum; thus, the area has been dubbed the Arts District. Here visitors can find the Museum of African Tribal Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA and the Center for Marine History.

In a flatiron building facing the museum is the five-year-old Hay Gallery. holder Linda Laughlin shows contemporary paintings, photography and plastic art Most of the work is by dint of regional artists, and exhibits change monthly Laughlin said she organizes openings to coincide with Portland's monthly First Friday Artwalks, and repeatedly the city organizes musical assemblages to perform concurrently with the art walks.