(Portland, ME) 'It's Not So Black and White' an annual exhibit at Richard Boyd Art Gallery opens Friday, March 3 at 10:00 a.m. The exhibit explores works by five artists using a full range of values to create variations in tone from deep hues of black to silvery grey. Although color is evident in some of the works this year, the focus remains on the creation of art using minimal color to create shading and variations in tone, lighting, and contrast.

The exhibit features a selection of original paintings and drawings depicting a range of subjects from figurative studies, to still life and traditional landscapes by artists' Paul J. Noël - portraits and figurative studies in graphite; Jane Herbert - still life and landscape apintings in acrylic; Julianne Garvey - landscape paintings mixed media; Randy Eckard - landscape paintings in watercolor; and Wilson Stewart - cityscape paintings in acrylic.  

'Its Not So Black and White' is on view free of charge between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through March 31, 2017. Additional days and times can be scheduled by appointment.

About the Artists

Paul J. Noël is a member of the Newburyport Art Association and the Copley Society of Boston, and recently retired from a forty year career as an Interior Designer with a client list spanning the United States. Paul's character studies in graphite are powerful. His ability to capture a subject's inner beauty using light, shadow and values of black and white extraordinary. Paul says, "I dabbled in art, here and there, but never had the time or motivation that I have now. I can paint with a passion and carefree attitude, with no distractions. I have taken courses along the way including a four month sojourn to Paris to immerse myself in painting. I left Paris with a new found spirit and ability which I could never have discovered, in small doses, in Maine. This was the tipping point to my life as a fine artist."

Jane Herbert is a visual artist whose works in acrylic on canvas capture scenes of everyday life in and around her coastal community. A year-round resident of Damariscotta, Jane responds to the ever changing colors, life and mood of coastal Maine by creating paintings in a traditional style. Her paintings in acrylic reveal her observation of daily life and the beautiful but rugged coast of Maine.

Julainne Garvey moved to Maine in 1980. She studied art at The University of Georgia, her first two years of college, later graduating from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. Julie says, "Since then, family life and work have taken the majority of my time, but have never dampened my enthusiasm for expressing myself through many different mediums, with my first love being watercolor. I'm not sure if any artist knows why we create art, beyond the simple fact that we do. Of course living in Maine, surrounded by the constant beauty that abounds here, is my never-ending inspiration. I do know that I love creating art and just wouldn't feel complete if I were not to do so."

Randy Eckard is a trained commercial and fine artist living in Blue Hill, Maine. His career as a fine artist working exclusively with watercolors spans more than three decades. Eckard studied at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and the Haywood School of Craft in Clyde, North Carolina. Randy says, "My approach to watercolor painting is nontraditional, in that I try to avoid the limitations and trappings of traditional watercolor techniques. Light plays an essential role in my paintings. It is as if the subtle or dramatic interplay of light and shadow become the subject more than the objects themselves." Eckard's paintings have won over 190 awards in watercolor throughout New England and the Southeast. Randy's paintings are widely collected and included in numerous private and corporate collections.

Wilson Stewart is a visual artist and Licensed Land Surveyor living in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Mainly self-taught, Wilson began painting later in life. His primary artistic interests include landscapes and figurative works. Many of Wilson's paintings are his interpretation of nature and scenes of daily life. Weather permitting, he enjoys the challenges of plein air painting, capturing the ever-changing light and mood of his surroundings.

About the Gallery

Richard Boyd Art Gallery is located on Peaks Island at the corner of Island Avenue and Epps Street, in the first building on the right, on the first floor. The gallery exhibits original works of visual art created by artists with a connection to the state of Maine.

During the months of April through October the gallery is open between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. daily. From November through the end of March, the gallery is open between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Additional days and times can be scheduled by appointment.

For more information about the exhibit please contact the gallery by phone at 207-712-1097, via email at info@richardboydartgallery.com or visit http://www.richardboydartgallery.com . Like the gallery on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RichardBoydArtGallery . 

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