Featured Artist: Kevin Beers – Show at Gleason Fine Art!

*Five Lobster Boats* by Kevin Beers 18″ x 24″ Oil

Kevin Beers. Kevin is an artist we met years ago on Monhegan Island (Maine). He was the artist carrying a huge canvas and easel to plein air paint (paint outdoors) – you see many artists with their easels on Monhegan, but you don’t typically see a canvas as large as Kevin’s. He has the ability to capture the vibe of the island so well. The peace and tranquility, the “back in time” (ish) feeling that Monhegan represents. Hardworking people, lobster men (and women), these people are brilliant, creative and lose a bit of their island during the busy months (to tourists) – I think most (from what I’ve heard and read) enjoy once the island quiets back down and they head into the colder months. On an island. Ten miles off the coast of Maine. With high winds at times and rough seas. #blessem

Over the years we had good times talking with Kevin while he was painting – we’ve all kept in touch over the years which is the best part of life, right? Keeping up with good people!

Five Lobster Boats is a good example of the island feel on a nice calm day. I love the relative stillness of the water and those reflections – whoa!

Check out Kevin’s paintings in this show via the PAINTINGS link below. If you happen to be in Boothbay Harbor, Maine – by all means check out the MONHEGAN show! This show runs through Tuesday, July 18, 2023 with a reception for Kevin on Friday, July 7, from 5 to 7 pm. A great First Night stop, pop in and say hello!

Kevin Beers | ARTIST’S INFO

See the MONHEGAN Exhibit at Gleason Fine Art (Bootbay Harbor, ME), now through JULY 18.

This coming FRIDAY, July 7, 2023 – There will be a reception for Kevin so if you’re in the area – don’t miss it!

WEBSITE | Facebook | Paintings

A bit about Kevin (via Kevin’s website):

My paintings can speak for themselves more honestly than anything I could say. I will say that I only paint things for which I have a strong emotional attraction. I am drawn to certain subjects that I return to again and again. I have always been fascinated by cars and trucks. Like many young boys, they were my introduction to drawing. As an adult I returned to that first love, drawn back to them by the anthropomorphic qualities I find in these faded, cast off relics. I love painting those old abandoned vehicles that have so much character, that show the dents, the dings and the rust of a life lived.

I’m also drawn to the landscape and plein air painting. I grew up in the Hudson Valley, an area with a rich history of landscape painting. The artists of the Hudson River School, the first school of American painting, worked in my backyard. I expanded my stomping grounds to include Monhegan Island, a small island off the coast of Maine also prominent in the history of American art. Artists like Edward Hopper, Robert Henri, George Bellows, Rockwell Kent and The Wyeths have painted there. A tiny island of rugged rock with dramatic headlands and crashing surf, it can give you a pretty intense experience of nature.

I studied at The Art Students League first in Woodstock New York and then New York City. It was a great experience studying with very talented and supportive teachers and living in a city so steeped in art. I spent a lot of time at all the galleries and of course The Met. After so many years of living in New York my wife Amy and I decided it seemed only logical that as landscape painters we should move to Maine full time which we did in 2015. It is wonderful to live in such a visually engaging environment. And we are only a short boat ride from Monhegan Island which still has me in its spell.

Because of my love of old cars I had always wanted to go to Cuba, a wish I finally fulfilled in 2016, in a trip there with a number of artist friends. It was everything I imagined it would be. I was captivated. I was fortunate to make a return trip there in January 2020 when I spent three weeks painting and immersing myself in the unique culture and atmosphere of Havana, and of course the old cars. I hope to get the opportunity to visit once agin. In the meantime I immerse myself in the beauty that surrounds me in beautiful midcoast Maine. And the old trucks.

I am affiliated with Gleason Fine Arts in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth, Maine, Lupine Gallery, Monhegan Island, Maine, and Todd Bonita Gallery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

For questions or inquiries