Courthouse Gallery | 8/2-8/31 | Ellsworth, ME

Near the Water

By Alyssa M. Tidwell

A plein air artist through and through, Tom Curry captures the nature, architecture and cultural treasures of his East Coast home. For Curry, who works out of a studio in Brooklin, Maine, painting outdoors is a chance to connect directly with his subjects, be it craggy shorelines, harbors packed with sailboats or quaint cottages.

Stormy Seas, oil on panel 36 x 43 in.

From August 2 to 31, Curry will be presenting about 20 works at Courthouse Gallery in Ellsworth, Maine, featuring a variety of coastal island scenes that highlight the artist’s bold and highly textured style. Look to pieces like Eggemoggin Reach and Spinnakers for prime examples of Curry’s precision palette knife work.

Eggemoggin Reach, oil on panel, 20 x 24 in.

“The oil paintings in my newest body of work explore form and texture—expressing the muscularity of the ocean, the roughness of stone, the weight of clouds. As in all of my paintings, they are a paean to light,” says Curry. “My work explores weather, both external and internal, as expressed in the dynamic interplay between clouds, ocean, wind, light and stone. What I enjoy about painting in plein air is that it’s a participatory process, a conversation, direct engagement with the landscape as a close observer and witness. These paintings begin with sketching places that I’m drawn to and then working quickly with a palette knife and layers of wet paint. They are an emotional response to the extraordinary world around us, and I aim to invite the viewer to find their place within it.”

Spinnakers, oil on panel 36 x 43 in.

While the artist paints primarily in plein air, these island scenes are his “winter’s work,” done in the studio, which he describes as “a more meditative and contemplative process.” These paintings can take weeks, months or even years to complete. “[They] invite the viewer to consider the tension between constancy and flux, what stays the same, and what changes, in place, light and self,” Curry adds.

An artist reception for Tom Curry: New Workwill take place Wednesday, August 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. —