“Morning on the Marsh”, an 8 x 10 oil painting by Brad Betts, is on tour as part of the Washington / Annapolis Invitational Marine Art Exhibition.
The exhibition will be held at The National Press Club in Washington DC and then at The Annapolis Marine Art Gallery beginning April 18, 2024.
In this winter's studio paintings, Brad’s focus is on capturing the energy of the scene, whether it be shimmering light or moving water, rather than on the technical details that are common in maritime realism.
Painting fishing schooners and sailing vessels can require pain-staking attention to the details. In Brad's latest maritime paintings, the natural brushstrokes took precedence to the intense rigidity of structure. In addition to capturing movement, the artist considered the overall tone of each setting, limiting color choices to simplify the mood and lay bare the emotion of the scene.
Brad’s painting “Daylilies at Oak Point Farm” recently sold at Boothbay Region Land Trust’s Art for Acres auction. 100% of the proceeds benefitted the BRLT, which provides over 30 trails of year-round public access, free of charge, for residents and visitors to the Boothbay Region.
Down East Gallery was pleased to host our first ever Paint Night! The event was put on by Knickerbocker Group as a social event for their employee-owners. Artist Ted Nelson led the evening paint, providing inspiration images and a live paint demonstration. It was an inspiring and fun-filled evening!
These works of art were created en plein air, from a grassy bluff overlooking Atlantic breakers crashing on the black lava rocks of the Azorean shoreline of Mosteiros.
Mosteiros, acrylics on loose canvas, 12”x12”, brad betts, asma
“The churning sea
like a glass
turquoise bottle
tipped with white blooms,
waving and rolling
in an open field
of blue
broken by black ledges,
twisted and sharp diffusers,
round and swirling
where the molten memory remains.
Warming skin,
soft tickle of loose tendrils,
quick touchdown
of a small fly.
The chill of a shadow
cast by the crater’s windward clouds.
Lumps and bumps,
a bed of grass
on a path
worn down by many travelers.
A ceaseless roar,
birdsong,
doors slamming,
tourist chatter.
Languages you understand
when your eyes are closed.
The twinkling
of paint brushes
spun clean,
the turquoise of the sea
left behind,
captured in a glass bottle.”
Plein air paintings by Brad Betts, ASMA, Santa Barbara, CA
Walking around Ocean Point, a young, first year gull demanded our attention from a shoreline rock where he was loudly crying or complaining. I don’t know if he was starving or if he lost his food but I saw a bright orange peach lying on the beach below him, just out of his view. Either way, I threw him the peach and the crying instantly stopped. It was a striking scene that stood in my memory until I painted it - the frazzled, hungry bird’s feathers blended with the cloudy and foggy day, and the only color was the brilliance of the fresh peach.
On August 17, 2021, Brad hosted a class for the young sailors from the 2021 Boothbay Sea and Science Center program. The BSSC class toured the gallery, learned about Brad’s inspiration and approach to maritime art, and watched a live painting demonstration while they created their own art with colored pencils.
Brad’s painting “Sea and Science”, 11x14 oil painted live for the 2021 class from the Boothbay Sea and Science Center. The painting is based on a photograph by Bob Crink, which he took in East Boothbay of two young sailors enrolled in the BSSC program.
Down East Gallery is excited to share a new tapestry series from Priscilla May Alden: Powerful Women.
This group of tapestries is about powerful women and where we come from. We are connected to the spirit and strength of our ancestors, including Medicine Women. We are connected to the rhythm of Nature. We are nourished by Mother Earth. We aspire to being strong independent leaders …..voices for change and equal justice. Ceremonial Dress symbolizes the dancers in ceremonies I saw at different Pueblos. The dancers were so focused and connected to the rhythms of beating drums. Mother Earth and Earth Daughter I and II are about the connection to and dependence we have on the earth and our responsibility to preserve, protect and nourish it. Spirit Woman and Spirit Women are about the power we have within us to be voices of healing, creativity, and innovation. ~ Priscilla May Alden
The Powerful Women tapestry series is being exhibited in the barn at Down East Gallery, May to October 2021.
Brad completed over 45 plein air and studio paintings in the winter of 2020/21 from the beautiful seaside city of Santa Barbara, California. Please contact the gallery if you are interested in purchasing or seeing more of this west coast series.
This collection was featured by writer Lisa Kristoff in the Boothbay Register and Wiscasset Newspaper… read the story.
If you’re planning a trip to Maine this summer, check out Danielle’s Insider Tips published in the March 2021 issue of Maine Magazine!
Down East Gallery is pleased to offer a holiday sale this year for 4 days, from 11/19 to 11/22/2020. All paintings by Brad Betts (up to $8,000 in value) are included in the sale. Enter DEG2020 at checkout; shipping and sales tax charges may apply.
Thank you for supporting Maine art!
Holiday Sale!
4 days only
100+ paintings
Join us on Saturday, August 22, for the 3rd annual Maine Outdoor Film Festival!
ZEST Maine
Brad Betts is a featured artist in the July-August issue of ZEST Maine magazine.
This winter, we spent time on Great Salt Bay in the “temporary town’ created by ice fishing men and women each year. We were driving toward Damariscotta and the bright colors of the fishing shacks across the water caught our eye. Great Salt Bay is not entirely frozen; only the upper reaches freeze solid in the winter and the little temporary town was huddled in this upper cove of the bay.
“Temporary Town”, 11x14 oil by Brad Betts, ASMA
The first day we saw the town we pulled over on the side of the road and painted. We didn’t walk down into the village but spoke to some of the fishermen and women as they arrived with buckets or pulled their gear off the ice in large sleds.
“Ice Fishing Shacks” 11x14 oil by Brad Betts, ASMA
“Ice Shacks on the Bay”, 9x12 oil by Danielle Betts
Several weekends later, we packed our supplies and brought along buckets as seats so we could paint on the ice. It was a gorgeous mid-January day and even though we were sitting in nearly a foot of snow on many inches of ice, we felt warm and inspired by the sun, sky, the outrageously colorful fish shacks and the tracks through the snow that led to each one.
“Ice Fishing on Great Salt Bay”, 8x10 oil by Brad Betts, ASMA
After that weekend, we went through a warm spell and the upper few inches of ice melted into a surface of water. Within weeks, the shacks were removed and the temporary town was gone for another season.
Many farms across Maine have added alternative ways customers can obtain farm products to accommodate for social distancing in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. See the interactive map to find farm fresh food or seafood near you:
EAST FORTY FARM | 12” x 16” oil | Brad Betts
Allison Lakin (East Forty Farm and Lakin’s Gorges Cheeses) initiated the Maine Farm Resources network linked above. We stopped by her farm this weekend to pick up frozen meats, a selection of aged cheeses, and handmade ravioli made with cheese and parsley from the farm. We are so thankful for these local farms and makers! And for the dairy cows who hung out with us and of course supplied the milk for the cheese.
For a limited time, the original “East Forty Farm” painting is being offered at 50% off, with full size canvas-wrapped prints available at $250.
Our son Ben and his partner Lindsey are living in California, helping spread the word about Lindsey and her mom Jane’s family farm “Rainbow Water Gardens”. They are currently offering two-day shipping on fresh picked boxes of avocados and citrus. Order by Tuesday and the fruit is picked on Wednesday… our box usually arrives in Maine by Thursday!
Assembled when our son Sam was living in Italy (he is now home and safely beyond quarantine!), we are sharing this collection of recipes from the extended Betts family...enjoy!
“Return of the Fleet” a 9”x12” original oil painting by Brad Betts, has been juried into the American Society of Marine Artists 18th National Exhibition. The tour begins March 2020 at Jamestown Settlement Museum, the kickoff to an 18-month museum tour that will cross the country. The exhibition concludes in September 2021.
Exhibition Touring Schedule (as of 7/10/19, subject to change):
JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT MUSEUM in Jamestown, Virginia: Mar - April 2020
CHESAPEAKE BAY MARITIME MUSEUM in St. Michael’s, Maryland: May - Sept 2020
GULFQUEST MARITIME MUSEUM in Mobile, Alabama: Sept - Dec 2020
BURROUGHS-CHAPIN MUSEUM OF ART in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Jan - April 2021
MINNESOTA MARINE ART MUSEUM in Winona, Minnesota: June - Sept 2021
Visit Down East Gallery to shop our home wares including Gull Rock Pottery, wooden spoons and kitchen wares from Maggie’s Farm and cutting boards by Steve Doe at Whitten Hill Studio.
Holiday special: select paintings are 20% through December 31, 2019!
Beautiful handwoven tapestries by Priscilla May Alden.
Join us for the second annual MAINE OUTDOOR FILM FESTIVAL at Down East Gallery in Edgecomb! We are thrilled to host this outdoor event featuring independent filmmakers from around the globe, including a significant number of filmmakers from Maine itself.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Doors: 7 pm, Films: 7:45 pm
This is a BYOB+P+B event: Bring your own beverages, a picnic and a blanket and enjoy outdoor films overlooking the 35 acres of fields and sunflowers at Down East Gallery.
In case of rain, the films will be shown indoors on our new stage in the 1904 post and beam barn.
This is a family-friendly event. A donation at the door will go directly to Teens to Trails, a Brunswick-based nonprofit that supports Maine high school outing clubs with cash grants, organizational support and programming. All are welcome!
An evening in our 1904 post and beam barn, filled with outstanding music, fun people, great conversations and lots of dancing! A private invitation event for supporters of the Boothbay Region YMCA with music from the Don Campbell Band.
Photography by Sam Betts
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