Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle

Tyler School of Art Grad Joins Portland Art Gallery and Quickly Ascends to Gallery Manager

Emma McHold Burke started working with the Portland Art Gallery just as Covid was causing small businesses like the gallery to “shift direction.” She had recently graduated from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Pennsylvania after gaining an education in painting and art history, and had planned her next life steps around the Philadelphia community in which Tyler is located.  With the uncertainty of the pandemic looming, Emma reluctantly gave up her post-college apartment and moved to her family home in Maine. Wanting to maintain her connection to the art world, Emma reached out to the gallery. When she learned that the gallery, as a non-essential business, had been instructed to close its doors to the public, she volunteered to work behind the scenes. Her work ethic and enthusiasm were immediately evident. She was soon offered a paid position, and her willingness to work through strange and challenging times eventually earned her the position of gallery manager. Learn about the power of creativity, and the importance of resilience, in Emma’s conversation with Dr. Lisa Belisle 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.

Emma Mchold-Burke is the manager of the Portland Art Gallery of Maine.

Maine Community News: Artist Jean Jack Paints the Iconic Maine Barn in Bold, Minimalist Paintings

Artist Jean Jack has earned a reputation for her unique and now iconic rendition of New England-style farmhouses and barns. Although she had no personal experience growing up in or around these structures, she was mesmerized by a particular farmhouse in Connecticut while in the early stages of her artistic career. After surreptitiously photographing this structure, she painted her version and entered a competition at the famed Silvermine School of Art in New Canaan, Connecticut. Her competition win affirmed her passion for the subject matter. While subsequently living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she continued to trek hours to America’s farming heartland for inspiration. In addition to pursuing her art, including time spent operating her art and antique gallery, Jean spent years traveling around the country, supporting her husband’s military service and career, and raising four children. She and her husband, Claude, eventually settled here in Maine. Learn more about Jean’s creative journey through her conversation with Dr. Lisa Belisle 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.

A Professional Hockey Player from Canada Becomes a Surgeon and Moves to Maine: Meet Jarrod Daniel

Dr. Jarrod Daniel defies easy categorization. A former professional hockey player from Canada, his travels and educational path have taken him all over the world. Now a Portland-based surgeon, he has been married for more than two decades to a woman who grew up in Bangor, Maine and Paris, France. Jarrod and Frederique have chosen to raise their four children on a small Maine island, in a home filled with art from both in-state and away.  Learn more about Dr. Jarrod Daniel and his global trajectory on this week’s episode of Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle.

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.

Interview with Beloved Maine Artist and Acclaimed Abstract Landscape Painter, Ann Sklar

Artist Ann Sklar was a printmaking major in college--not because she loved printmaking, but because of the charismatic female professor who led the program. From this professor, Ann learned much more about life and work than one might expect from a college course of study. The professor went on to become a provost at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Ann went on to co-found three art galleries. One of these is a Philadelphia-area female artist cooperative that still exists today. Ann brings a mindful and determined discipline to her work: a discipline she developed over years spent balancing the demands of her business ventures, young children and her own art practice. We’re fortunate to have Ann here in Maine during the summer months, where she resides in a home she built with her husband, Henry, along the banks of the Kennebec River in Woolwich. Please join us on today’s Radio Maine, as we talk about life and work with Portland Art Gallery artist, Ann Sklar.

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.

Ann Sklar is represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view her art.

An Insightful Interview with Photographer, Painter, and Professor Bill Crosby

Bill Crosby exemplifies the dualistic nature of many artists.  He is both a photographer and a painter, who worked for decades as an art professor, while actively practicing his own craft. Bill reminds us that, as the poet Charles Baudelaire suggests, “An artist is only an artist on condition that he neglects no aspect of his dual nature…the power of being oneself and someone else at the same time.” Bill has enjoyed a longstanding personal and professional partnership with his wife, Pat. They divide their time between homes in Plattsburgh, New York and South Thomaston, Maine. Bill and Pat are passionate about kayaking the St. George River from his home in Maine. These frequent summer excursions, as well as travels throughout New England, continue to inform and inspire Bill’s signature abstract painting. Hear more about Bill’s rich and complex life and art as you join in his conversation with Dr. Lisa Belisle 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.

Get to Know Emma Wilson, Director of Portland Art Gallery in Maine

There is much about Portland Art Gallery director Emma Wilson that may surprise you. Emma has been a traveling military spouse (caring for three children while their father served in Iraq), spent time as a social worker, and has strong ties to the non-profit world. Her early love of art, growing up with access to New York’s renowned museums, stayed with her as she moved around the country. She realized quickly that art is a tie that binds, and sought out the company of like-minded art-loving souls wherever she went. Emma and her family eventually moved to Maine, returning to a place that she had first gotten to know as a child, during extended summer stays on Casco Bay’s Long Island. In this episode of Radio Maine, host Dr. Lisa Belisle speaks with Emma about her love of Maine, art and family, and about forging a new way forward through Covid for Portland Art Gallery artists, and the community that supports them. 

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.

Emma Wilson is the director of the Portland Art Gallery of Maine.

A Young College Student Reflects on her First Year at Ringling College of Art During a Pandemic

Aniella Salko’s career path seemed pre-ordained. The “family business” was medicine. For years she had imagined being a doctor, a surgeon, or maybe a scientist. At the same time, her sketch books and school art classes were an important part of her early years.  As she progressed in high school, Aniella realized that she wanted to do something that she loved. After much consideration, and with the full support of her parents, Aniella chose to attend the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.  Her first year of college was unusual and challenging due to the pandemic, but Aniella knows that she has made the right decision.  Her dream is to work eventually with Pixar (more formally known as Pixar Animation Studios), in Emeryville, California. Hear more about Aniella’s process of moving her dreams toward reality with Dr. Lisa Belisle 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.

The Designer of the Trans Am Firebird Became an Artist. You’ll Love his Car and Sports Illustrations

John “Jack” Gable has been a full-time artist for more than four decades after an equally successful career in automobile design. Jack trained to work for his initial profession at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.  While there he explored artistic creation in various forms, affording him the opportunity to transition between watercolors, oils, acrylics and other mediums.  In 1980, he left his original dream job as a designer for the Trans Am Firebird at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, and moved his young family across the country to the small Maine enclave of Kennebunkport. Jack now lives in Woolwich, Maine. He works from a studio that is 50 feet long - giving him room to create massive, commissioned murals.  He has also remained immersed in, and painted, the worlds of America’s Cup sailing, and competitive rowing. He does the same for automobile events and competitions around the globe. Jack has pieces in the Smithsonian and the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington DC, as well as numerous private collections.  We invite you to learn more about the formidable talent of Jack Gable in today’s Radio Maine conversation with Dr. Lisa Belisle.

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.

Be Inspired to Become a Painter by this Interview with Portland, Maine Artist Rick Hamilton

Rick Hamilton has had many careers, but he has always been an artist at heart. In addition to traveling the world while in the Navy, he has worked as a framer, a machinist and a salesperson. Throughout these adventures, Rick remained connected to a creative spirit that was reignited by a chance encounter with a young artist on the Eastern Prom in Portland.  While he names Picasso, Modigliani, and Basquiat as influences, Rick is humble about his work and suggests that “anyone could do what I do.”  Most people would respectfully disagree with his assertion. Rick, with his impressive work ethic and commitment to his now full-time artistic career, has emerged as an incredible talent with a unique signature style. Join Dr. Lisa Belisle on Episode 18 of Radio Maine, and find yourself transported to the magical world of Portland Art Gallery artist Rick Hamilton.

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.

Pop Art + Folk Art = Paintings by Page Eastburn O’Rourke! An Interview with a Unique Maine Artist

Page Eastburn O’Rourke brings joy to people of all ages. A full-time artist and children’s book illustrator, she developed her artistic style at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she was heavily influenced by the color work of Josef Albers, and then Parsons School of Design in New York City. Page is beloved in the Yarmouth Maine area, and her travels have allowed her to introduce what she describes as “pop folk art” to countless others around the state. Join us on Radio Maine as we explore Page’s personal journey and find out how it has influenced her unique approach to art and life.

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.