Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle

Doug Caves on the Artist’s Search for Purpose

Artist Doug Caves has an affinity for the natural space afforded by rural New England. “It understands me and I understand it,” he says. Doug translates the energy he feels from the environment onto his paintings. Whether teaching artists, or pursuing his own art, Doug believes in taking a deliberate approach to exploration, discovery, and invention.  His own explorations have led him to consider conflicting family guidance, a search for meaning,  and whether his work “matters.”  He suggests that the journey of discovery, as it relates both to knowing one’s own self and the external space one inhabits, is its own reward. Join our conversation with Doug Caves on today’s episode of Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

From Hawaii to Maine, Artist Julie Houck Travels Coast to Coast for Inspiration

Julie Houck began life as a traveler, moving several times for her father’s career. This pattern repeated itself in her later years. After attending art school, she became a highly sought-after commercial photographer who traversed the globe shooting for corporations, as well as publications such as Business Week, Newsweek, Forbes, The New Yorker,  and U.S. News & World Report. The accumulated miles, and the transition of photography from film to digital, motivated her to change her professional course after 20 years, and seek additional training in San Francisco and Paris. The worldwide landscape continues to inspire Julie’s art, although now she is now more likely to be exploring places by bike than by plane, near her studios located in Hawaii and Maine. Join our conversation with Julie Houck on today’s episode of Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

An Artist Struggling with MS Is Committed to Living in the Present: Be Inspired by Carol Bass

Carol Bass approaches life with an innate empathy, compassion and joy. A love for people and adventure brought her to Maine after college, and she stayed to raise a family, develop her art career and start a successful business. She moved to South Carolina after her children had grown, with the idea of reconnecting with family, but the draw to Maine was too strong.  After a decade, she and her husband moved back. Now, you can find Carol living quietly in Pownal Maine, painting incessantly, and loving life despite challenges caused by multiple sclerosis. Carol talks passionately about living, absolutely, in the present, intentionally forgetting what came before, and about her need to finally come home. Join our conversation on today’s episode of Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

Kim Case of Cape Elizabeth, Maine Reflects on Her Winding Path to a Fruitful Art Career

Kim Case began her creative journey as a photojournalist. After growing up in central New Hampshire, she trained in art history and photojournalism at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston. Finding the field of photojournalism difficult to break into, she went on to photograph weddings, using images to create narratives of a couple’s special day. She eventually became editor of the first home and design magazine in New England.  Her paintings often reflect a storytelling approach, whether depicting a farmhouse swing framed by the White Mountains, or a fisherman’s shack on Casco Bay. Kim now paints from her studio in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where she has made a home with her husband and son. Listen to our conversation with Kim Case today on Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

Sheep Farming, Equine Therapy and Photography in Hollis Maine: Meet Nina Fuller

Inspired by Scott and Helen Nearing’s classic “back-to-the-land” book, Living the Good Life, Nina Fuller first came to Maine in 1972. Being close to nature had taken root in her psyche from early days spent on her parent’s farm in Connecticut, and she sought this same agricultural connection for her own family. When her Maine dreams imploded with a series of life transitions, Nina knew she would someday return to the bucolic tranquility she had previously found.  After raising her children and building a successful career as a commercial photographer, Nina reestablished herself on her very own sheep farm in Hollis, Maine. Nina has entered the latest phase in her photography career from this location, creating fine art prints documenting her life as a sheep farmer. Join us in discussing Nina’s journey back to the land on this week’s episode of Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

Maine Arts and Culture: Interview with Landscape Oil Painter Holly Smith

Holly L. Smith’s New England connections run deep: she can trace her family lineage back to the Mayflower. Her great-grandfather, Captain George Lane, used to sail from Rockport, Maine to the West Indies, carrying lime and lumber.  Maine has been home her entire life, and she has taken full advantage of access to its islands, including Eagle, Monhegan, and Vinalhaven. With loving encouragement from both her mother and father, she immersed herself in art from a young age, attended the Portland-Gorham area teacher's college that would eventually become the University of Southern Maine, and spent 31 years teaching art and photography in public schools. After exploring several different avenues for getting her work into the homes of collectors, Holly decided to join the Portland Art Gallery. Learn more about Maine artist Holly Smith on today’s episode of Radio Maine. 

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

Holly L. Smith is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view her art.

Fall in Love with the Charming Interiors and Still Lifes by Artist Martha Burkert of Maine and Texas

Martha Burkert’s successful career as a photography stylist taught her much about perspective, subtracting from a scene, and proper lighting--each of which has been important to her art.  Martha attended the Maine College of Art in Portland later in life, at the suggestion of several artist friends. One of her early influences was artist and author Alfred “Chip” Chadbourn, with whom she shares a connection to Yarmouth, Maine. She brings her knowledge of photography and art forward into her pieces, many of which incorporate elements that are reminiscent of home life, including ceramics and garden flowers. Martha currently divides her time between her Texas home and her family cottage on Cousins Island in Maine.  Watch, or listen, to this episode of Radio Maine to learn more about artist, Martha Burkert.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

After Earning an MBA and a Career in Banking, Dick Alden Chucked it All and Became a Sculptor

An undergraduate finance major at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Dick Alden did not anticipate that he would enjoy his ceramics class as much as he did. In contrast to work he did in his other classes, he found that the process of doing something “not exact” was very appealing.  Putting his interest in art on hold, he went on to pursue a career with State Street Bank in Boston, while raising a family and studying for a master’s in business administration over many nights and weekends. Then, after taking a wood carving course in his mid-forties, Dick began creating stern boards for his friends’ sailboats. A museum exhibit based on the influential Black Mountain College in North Carolina started him down the path of stone sculpting. Learn more about Dick Alden’s artistic endeavors, lovingly undertaken with the support of his wife Priscilla and the stone sculpture community, on today’s episode of Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

One to Watch: J. Rodney Dennis, a Contemporary Painter Making Waves in Classical Realism

Rodney Dennis is committed to his craft. For months, he took a late flight out of Washington DC bound for Boston every Thursday night after his compressed 4-day work week had ended. He did this so that he could spend weekends attending the Academy of Realist Art. As a result of his continuing commitment to serious academic pursuit, and countless hours of painting, his pieces display a level of precision that appears almost photographic in quality. After sharing Academy classes with him, artist and Portland Art Gallery staff member Missy Dunaway was so impressed with his talent and work ethic that she advocated for him to join our Maine-based gallery. We are fortunate that he agreed. Learn more about artist Rodney Dennis, and his exceptional realistic style, on this episode of Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

A Candid Conversation with Musician and Painter Jodi Edwards, a Maine Artist with Many Talents

In the field of computer science, abstraction refers to the process of taking away, or removing less relevant characteristics, in order to get to what is most essential. Using that definition, Jodi Edward’s life, like her art, has been a process of abstraction, leading to her current existence on a bucolic family farm in Surry, Maine. Jodi traces her journey from an education at the  Parsons School of Design in New York City, across a trajectory of varied experiences, including waitressing, singing, teaching and posing as an art model. The energy of her courage, and willingness to engage and take risks, shines through her colorful, ebullient pieces, creating a manifestation of abstraction that is entirely her own. Join our conversation with Jodi Edwards on today’s episode of Radio Maine.

Every week, Dr. Lisa Belisle brings you an interview with a member of Maine’s community, including artists, designers, and more. Subscribe to Radio Maine on YouTube, so you never miss an episode.

This artist is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.