Arts In The Barn/ Cushing Historical Society presents “Summer Blues”; a group show, August 7 to 9, at 17 Hathorne Point Road in Cushing. An opening celebration will be held Friday, July 24, from 5 - 7 p.m.; refreshments served.

This is a weekend show only. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday.

Two of the artists, Ann O’Hara and Mary Beth Morrison, will be giving demonstrations in soft pastel techniques. Ann O’Hara will give her demo Saturday, Aug. 8, at 2 p.m. Mary Beth Morrison will give her demonstration Sunday, Aug. 9, at 1 p.m.

“Summer Blues” is a show by six painters that have a variety of styles and mediums, but are keenly interested in Maine’s environs and are deeply inspired by what they see.

Arts In The Barn provides the following artist descriptions:

Ann O’Hara is a pastel painter and finds the blues of the ocean, sky and distant islands in Maine very different from her home vistas in Nebraska! With a background in law, she has retired and continues to show her pastels in both Maine and Nebraska. Arts In The Barn is happy to have her show, and she will give a demonstration of pastel techniques at some point during the weekend.

Carolyn Gabbe is an oil painter and has contributed her artwork in a variety of places including the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Her work encompasses different subjects from a parade down Main Street to cloudscapes. She is an accomplished artist and has many years’s experience

Joanie Betterley is an acrylic painter whose year-round interest is in the changes of seasons and tides in her back yard, the Medomak River in Friendship, and make her work immersive and beautiful. She writes: “ I realized that color makes me feel happy so I surround myself with color and use a lot of color in my paintings.  I started painting watercolors in the late 90’s and switched to acrylics (and occasionally oils) about 10 years later.  I studied under Bill Griffiths at the Worcester Art Museum for 20 years.

Mary Beth Morrison writes: “I began seriously painting in Watercolor, expanding to acrylics, soft plate printing, and soft pastels, which I favor because of their immediacy, pure color, and ease of use. I’ve participated in art collaboration, gallery sharing, teaching classes and workshops for 40 years. Currently I serve as President of the Pastel Society of Maine, and show my work at Art Space Gallery in Rockland, ME.

Peggy Fitzgerald retired recently from a career in nursing and turned her attention to painting in oils and plein air. She has been under the tutelage of Katharine Cartwright in St George, and has blossomed as a painter.

Janalee Welch is a retired teacher and lifelong artist. She has worked in a variety of media including pastels, for which she has won a number of awards. Her most current works are done in acrylic and she shows in Art Space Gallery in Rockland.

Arts In The Barn is at 17 Hathorne Point Road in beautiful Cushing, just a mile before the Olson House. For more information, please contact cushingaitb@gmail.com or go to our website: https://artsinthebarncushing.org/

The Arts In The Barn program is under the 501c3 statute for the Cushing Historical Society, and these programs benefit the Historical Society’s aims. We are a community supportive organization and have talks and presentations about the history, cultural heritage and persons of interest in our midcoast area.