Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle

Maine Artist Uses Recycled Acrylic Paint to Create Stunning Abstract Paintings: Meet Brenda Cirioni

For Brenda Cirioni, art has provided an opportunity for both catharsis and joy. While attending a retreat as an adult, she reconnected with feelings around a fire that destroyed her family’s home when she was 16-years-old--an event that was found to have been caused by arson. This emotional touchpoint became the impetus for a body of work that spanned several years, and eventually provided her with a sense of closure around the tragedy.  More recently, she countered the challenges of COVID by finding joyful inspiration in her gardens, creating a series of floral abstracts. Learn more about Brenda’s experience with the interplay between art and emotion 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.

Brenda Cirioniis represented by the Portland Art Gallery of Maine. Click here to view their art.

For the Love of Family and Food: North43 Restaurant Founder and Owner Stephanie Brown

Stephanie Brown understands that food and family are foundational elements of a life well-lived. Trained as a chef at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, her professional pursuits are the continuation of a personal legacy reflected in memories of homemade pasta drying in the bedroom of her grandparents’ four story walk-up in Boston’s North End.  Her decades-long career encompasses a love for food and people that has most recently manifested in co-ownership of North 43 Bistro in South Portland, Maine. Stephanie is beloved for the joy she brings to catered events, from intimate weddings to corporate events--not to mention pre-COVID art openings at our own Portland Art Gallery.  Learn more about Stephanie’s commitment to building community through breaking bread 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.

Fred Williams Joins Two Diametric Interests --Finance and Art-- into One Fascinating Life

Fred Williams traces his love for art back to his childhood, when he accompanied his parents on a visit to an artist’s studio located on Hancock Point in Downeast Maine. From a longstanding Maine family, his parents met at the University of Maine in Orono, and bought their first piece of art from one of their professors. Fred says that connecting with artists is something that he treasures to this day, as he continues to surround himself with art at his home in Portland, Maine. The founder of the well-respected investment management firm, Old Port Advisors in Portland, Fred has been in the financial services business for four decades. He has supported non-profit organizations--many of them with an art focus--equally as long. Joining Radio Maine from his Munjoy Hill home, Fred shares his deep respect for and admiration of artists William Crosby, Joyce Grasso, Fred Lynch, Missy Asen and many more. Listen in to learn more about Fred’s art collecting, philanthropy and professional transition, this week on 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 a Contemporary Impressionist Landscape Painter in Portland, Maine: Cooper Dragonette

By his own admission, Cooper Dragonette “could not tell the bow from the stern,” when first hired as a sailing instructor by Maine’s Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Penobscot Bay. Raised in Easton, Connecticut, he spent several years in landlocked Arizona working toward a degree in education, and had come away longing for the coast. His unanticipated Hurricane Island experience initiated an interplay between art and the outdoors that continues in his life to this day. Now a resident of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Cooper balances raising his young children with plein air painting, and teaching workshops in this genre.  Get to know Cooper and better understand the influences that contribute to his much sought-after Maine landscapes in today’s Radio Maine interview 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.

Maine Art and Culture: A Conversation with Artist Matt Chamberlain of Portland

Artist Matt Chamberlain has always felt an urge to paint. Although he pursued his passion at the Maine College of Art (MECA) in Portland, he initially felt uncertain about how to make a living through his art. With this in mind, he picked up a “real” job as a prep cook at Portland’s venerable farm-to-table restaurant, Fore Street.  The experience, a total immersion into foodservice, set Matt on another creative path as a chef, which eventually led to his owning  a Portland-based catering business. It wasn’t until years later, when the stress of operating a food business reached a peak, that he returned to the art studio. To his surprise, there was much for him to say on the canvas, and a group of art collectors who were more than willing to hear it. Now, Matt makes his living creating art as one of the most recent additions to the Portland Art Gallery. Hear more about Matt’s story on this 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.

Interested in Maine artists? Check out the Portland Art Gallery of Maine.

Ann Trainor Domingue’s Artwork Captures New England in a Patchwork of Color, Pattern, and Story

Artist Ann Trainor Domingue, and her eight siblings, grew up in the oceanside community of Barrington, Rhode Island. There is little doubt that her relationship with the coast and devotion to family have informed her artwork. Ann’s paintings are unmistakable, offering her own distinctive depiction of family and working life on the New England waterfront. In this free-ranging interview, we talk about her childhood camping trips, her husband’s childcare business--and the impact of COVID-19 on that business--and pay homage to children’s book authors Eric Carle and Tomie Paola, as well the poetry of Mary Oliver. You’ll learn why Ann is beloved by collectors and Portland Art Gallery artists alike in today’s Radio Maine Interview 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.

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.