Kennebec Highlands Vista Maine landscape painter Matthew Russ ’96 exhibits recent work from the Kennebec Highlands and other areas surrounding the Belgrade Lakes beginning July 23 at Maine Lakes Resource Center in Belgrade Lakes village. A portion of sales from the exhibit will benefit the resource center. Russ paints in the field year-round, often backpacking into remote areas to execute his paintings. More information about the artist and his work at www.matthewruss.com.
Handwriting on the Wall
Catherine Courtenaye, Jabberwocky 25 (Swoon), 2010, oil on panel, 12 x 12 inches, courtesy of the artist.
Catherine Courtenaye’s abstract paintings are grounded in the vernacular penmanship of 19th-century America and are the outcome of her interest in handwriting manuals, ledgers, and documents. Using a variety of printmaking techniques, Courtenaye transfers phrases, signatures, alphabets, and numbers from original manuscript sources onto painted surfaces, layering her compositions to create a metaphor for the passage of time. Her graphic quotations refer to the Victorian era, when proper penmanship was a requisite skill and the mastery of cursive was considered a path to self-improvement. Courtenaye’s art becomes particularly relevant at a time when typing and texting have replaced the handwritten word.
Catherine Courtenaye: Paintings Catherine Courtenaye ’79 Boise Art Museum (May 14–Oct. 16, 2011)
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