(Image: "Solitude" by Todd Bonita)

(Camden, ME) Camden Falls Gallery is culminating the summer season with a show of work by three marine artists and illustrators who work in a traditional, realist style. Todd Bonita, Paul Garnett and Loretta Krupinski share a fascination with traditional working watercraft and the strength and beauty of the Atlantic Ocean. Exhibition dates are August 31 through September 13. There will be an opening reception on Friday, August 31st from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

Todd Bonita earned a BFA at The Art Institute in Boston. He also studied classical painting and drawing in Philadelphia at The Academy of Fine Arts. His eclectic career has spanned stints as a graphic designer for commercial gaming machines, a commissioned artist creating large scale murals, and an assistant to the world champion chain-saw sculptor, Barre Pinske. As a highly respected illustrator, Bonita has also worked for many large publishing houses including McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin.

As an oil painter, Bonita’s focus is often on small watercraft. His modest dories and tenders are imbued with a deep sense of psychological mystery. The softness of light on these solitary vessels, resting quietly at their moorings or tethered securely to abandoned docks, seems to take the viewer outside the normal strictures of time to a more mystical state. Bonita writes, “I paint what is familiar to my background… introspective memories of my childhood…they’re contemplative, reflective of where I grew up. I guess I’m digging into my soul.”

(Image: "The Grace Bailey" by Paul Garnett)

In contrast to Bonita, Paul Garnett is known for his meticulous depictions of majestic sailing vessels. Garnett grew up in the Boston area spending much of his free time on the waterfront. A special attraction was the frigate Constitution, moored nearby, where he befriended crew members working rotations on the “venerable warship Old Ironsides.” An avid draftsman, Paul constantly recorded his experiences in sketchbooks reflecting his nautical interests.

A pivotal event occurred in 1962 when Garnett discovered the historic replica of HMS Bounty, created for the classic film, “Mutiny On The Bounty.” This full-scale ship was moored in St. Petersburg, Florida, and kept as a working exhibit. Pulling up stakes, Garnett moved his family south to work as a shipwright on The Bounty for seven years. Paul writes, “I don’t think I’ve ever worked on one of my marine paintings without drawing in some small way upon my unforgettable experiences aboard The Bounty.” Garnett’s intimate knowledge of vintage naval structure and engineering has informed and influenced his entire body of work.

Garnett has completed commissions for retired Coast Guard officers and has had work at The Merchant Marine Academy in King’s Point, NY. His illustrations also grace the covers of William H. White’s historical naval trilogy about the War of 1812. Permanent collections of Garnett’s work reside in The Constitution Museum in Charlestown, Massachusetts and The Marine Museum in Fall River. The artist is also a longstanding member of the National Maritime Historical Society and the International Society of Marine Painters.

(Image: "Moonlighting - Herring Seining at Night, Maine, 1940" by Loretta Krupinski)

Like Garnett, Loretta Krupinski creates paintings that capture a rich bygone era of working sail craft and hardscrabble New England coastal life. Using a variety of archival photographs as reference material, Krupinski transforms antique historic documents into vibrant full color compositions. Painstakingly applying stippled glazes of color that re-create the style and manner of the period, Krupinski builds subtle tonal and color shifts that convey precisely detailed surfaces, both natural and man-made.

Krupinski’s painting “Herring Seining at Night, 1940” depicts two fishermen plying their ancient craft in bright moonlight. While the piece sensitively portrays the pre-war simplicity of fishing sans advanced technology, the painting also conveys the strength of the bond between people who engage in grueling, sometimes dangerous manual labor, where they are often at the mercy of elemental forces. Krupinski writes, “I want to honor the working waterfront and the people who left a legacy….. the coastal settlement is where it all began.”

As the author and illustrator of the recent book, Looking Astern: An Artist’s View of Maine’s Historic Working Waterfronts, Krupinski created over 40 paintings depicting the rich maritime history of mid-coast Maine. Like our two other featured artists, Krupinski is also a highly sought after professional illustrator, who has authored and illustrated over two dozen children’s books. She is a Fine Arts graduate of Syracuse University, and her work has been exhibited in numerous museums and historic exhibitions. She is also a six-time award winner in the International Marine Artists Exhibition sponsored by the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut.

Come and enjoy this truly glorious body of marine art created by these talented artists. Their renderings of time and place capture their unique and personal relationships with the majestic beauty of “Wood and Water.”

The gallery is open daily from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, and all are invited to a reception with the artists on Friday, August 31st from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Many other artists will also be joining us that evening as we kick off our first annual Labor Day Weekend Plein Air Paintout, in preparation for a Wet Paint Auction on September 2nd at 1:30 pm to benefit the Camden Windjammer Festival. Camden Falls Gallery is located at 5 Public Landing in Camden. For more information, please visit www.camdenfallsgallery.com, call 207-470-7027, or find us on Facebook.

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