Erin McGee Ferrell paints at Fort Williams in Paint for Preservation 2021 (Courtesy Steve Underwood)
CAPE ELIZABETH — Cape Elizabeth Land Trust has selected 32 artists to take part in its 15th annual Paint for Preservation Wet Paint Auction for a weekend of painting its iconic land and seascapes.
The land trust will host the first in-person Paint for Preservation since the beginning of the pandemic. The event will take place from July 15-17. The weekend concludes on Sunday. The paintings are auctioned at a tented reception at a local seaside home in town.
“Our auctioneer is Kaja Veilleux, Thomaston Place Auction Galleries,” said Patty Renaud, membership and development manager for Cape Elizabeth Land Trust.
Paint for Preservation is the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust’s only fundraiser each year. Thirty artists are selected from a pool of applicants to paint outdoors at locations around Cape Elizabeth over three days. The applicant’s work was juried by Kelly Lehr and John Danos, owners of Greenhut Galleries and Cove Street Arts in Portland. In the upcoming weeks, each artist will select their painting locations.
All paintings are created entirely outdoors, with no studio work allowed. The selected artists donate a part of their art sales to help the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust land conservation, trail/habitat stewardship and community education programs.
“We are working to permanently conserve and provide stewardship for lands cherished by the community — from shore lands to marshes, from farmlands to woodlands — for the education, use, and enjoyment of this and future generations,” Renaud said. “Since our beginnings in 1985, (the land trust) has permanently protected over 844 acres spanning 31 properties. We also work closely with Cape Elizabeth and other schools to inspire the next generation with a love for the natural areas around them.
“We have more than 630 members and 100 volunteers who support our work and care for our properties in perpetuity. We work cooperatively with both the Scarborough and South Portland land trusts, although our geographic areas are separate, and many of our members, volunteers, and trail-users also come from those towns.”
Selected artists are Joshua Adam, Lyn Asselta, Olena Babak, Todd Bezold, Ken DeWaard, Cooper Dragonette, Erin McGee Ferrell, Margaret Gerding, Frank Gregory, Lindsay Hancock, Alison Hill, Jill Hoy, Tina Ingraham, Anne Ireland, Dustan Knight, Marguerite Lawler, Leo Mancini-Hresko, Sharon McGauley, Matthew Meyer, Nathaniel Meyer, John David O’Shaughnessy, Colin Page, Holly Ready, Pamela Lang Redick, Kathleen Robbins, Bjorn Runquist, Matthew Russ, Janet Sutherland, Emily Leonard Trenholm, Michael Walek, Russel Whitten and Graham Wood. Their work was juried by Kelley Lehr and John Danos, owners of Greenhut Galleries and Cove Street Arts in Portland.
A list of locations will be available on the organization’s website in July. Tickets to the gala and auction will be on sale in June. Tickets are $100 per person. Members of the public may tour the painting locations, meet the artists and watch them work. A list of the locations will be available in July.
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