CAMDEN, Maine — More than a dozen artists from around Maine gathered in downtown Camden on Sunday for the Harbor Arts and Books Fair. The event, which attracted eager buyers from both inside the state and out, allowed local painters, sculptors, and glassblowers—to name few—the opportunity to sell their work and introduce the public to new, and sometimes experimental, artistic styles.
One of the more grabbing booths at the fair was Hunter Law’s. Bearded and dressed in old overalls, his deep appreciation of detail and minutia isn’t immediately apparent. But behind him, a moose painted with photo-like realism made the case for him.
"It's a narrative about an animal and how it interacts with its surrounding landscape," Law said of the piece on Sunday.
Law and others at the fair in Camden represent the latest generation of Maine-made artists—each with distinct strengths, but with one shared similarity: a draw to the natural landscape of Maine—which has for centuries captivated America's great artists, from Winslow Homer to Edward Hopper and Georgia O’Keefe.
To contemporary artists in Camden like Eric Darling, the pull to represent landscapes in new ways is only natural.
“It's… intuitive to make boats and different waves and scenery,” Darling said on Saturday.
Down the way, artist Kathelene Lisk, who draws inspiration from the great Andrew Wyeth’s scenes of Midcoast Maine, agrees. "I like to paint in a lot of different styles, but I mostly find myself drawn towards impressionism."
With all this vibrance on display, one can’t help but wonder if the next chapter in our state’s epic art history is beginning.