PRESQUE ISLE – The premier of the new Barresi Financial Art Gallery at the Wintergreen Arts Center will feature artwork by local and internationally collected artist Tim Gagnon of GagnonStudio in Castle Hill. The opening party will coincide with the grand opening celebration of the Wintergreen Arts Center Saturday, March 6 from 7-9 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Tim Gagnon
THIS PIECE by artist Tim Gagnon of GagnonStudio in Castle Hill, entitled “Perched Beneath the Clouds,” will be on display from March 6-31 at the new Barresi Financial Art Gallery at the Wintergreen Arts Center. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 2-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon.
Gagnon’s work can be viewed at 149 State St. in Presque Isle and will be available for purchase with 20 percent of all sales being donated directly to the Wintergreen Arts Center. The show, which is open to the public, will run from March 6-31. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 2-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon.
Gagnon’s paintings grace the walls of homes in all 50 U.S. states and in 20 foreign countries. He has sold over 1,000 paintings in the last three years. Gagnon’s rich paintings of landscapes, wildlife, livestock, and local scenery have been described as “boundary-breaking” and “abstractly unique.” His style is a mixture of realism, surrealism, and impressionism and his work focuses on landscapes, but also on Maine’s wildlife and other Maine-themed subject matter.
“I was honored and immediately accepted the invitation to showcase my work at Wintergreen Arts Center,” said Gagnon. “I couldn’t think of a better cause than promoting Maine’s up-and-coming artists through the Wintergreen Arts Center. The Wintergreen Arts Center fills a huge educational void for northern Maine’s youth when it comes to obtaining art-oriented learning at a pre-university level and we’re really lucky to have it available to our children right here in Presque Isle.”
While Gagnon has received offers for representation in several major galleries in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C., he has taken a different approach than most artists when it comes to selling his work. While most look for this type of gallery representation, Gagnon would rather sell his work via the Internet and through constant online self-promotion using sites like YouTube, Facebook, Google and blogging about his daily artistic endeavors.
“I feel that the Internet will eventually replace most galleries by allowing people to more easily view and purchase art from artists all over the world,” he said.
Not only has Gagnon become a widely acknowledged and collected artist, he’s quickly becoming a well-known teacher of his technique. He is venturing into the realm of online schooling with his very own 12-week course teaching the basics of landscape painting as he sees it from his perspective. Over the past year he’s had 300 students from 18 different countries enrolled in the course and says “the sky’s the limit” when it comes to increasing that enrollment figure. Once signed up for his course, his students receive a DVD by mail each week. They then send pictures of their completed works through e-mail, and Gagnon sends back a critique which gives advice, encouragement, and thoughts on their progress.
Gagnon currently resides with his girlfriend and two dogs in Castle Hill, the location of his home studio. For more information, log onto www.timgagon.com.
