Lindsay Hancock’s painting of Robinson Woods from 2023 is the signature image for Paint for Preservation 2024. Contributed / Painting by Lindsay Hancock
Area artists and the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust are gearing up for the 17th annual Paint for Preservation fundraiser.
From June 21 to 23, artists will descend on Cape Elizabeth, where at spots around town they’ll paint “en plein air,” welcoming spectators as they put paint to canvas. At the end of the weekend, their paintings will be auctioned at a gala at the Castle at Garrison Field.
Lindsay Hancock of Gray created a painting at last year’s event of Robinson Woods, which is being used as the signature Paint for Preservation image this year.
“Supporting land trusts dedicated to preserving habitat, open spaces and farmland and making these places accessible to people is vitally important,” Hancock said in an email to the Sentry. “Since I am unable to make any significant financial contributions to land trusts, I offer my time and a way of seeing the natural world instead and trust that the purchase of a painting might have a similar impact.”
In painting Robinson Woods last year, Hancock said, it was “easy to imagine the consequences of not protecting these woods.” But she chose instead “to bring my imagination together with my paints and find a happy place.”
South Portland artist Nathaniel Meyer will be participating in Paint for Preservation for the fifth time.
Lindsay Hancock paints a Cape Elizabeth scene as part of a previous Paint for Preservation fundraiser. Contributed / Photo by Bob Harrison
“Producing a painting over the course of a weekend is a fun challenge,” Meyer said. “You never know what the weather will be like or exactly what composition you’ll eventually settle on. All those unknowns make for an exciting time.”
Molly Holmberg Brown of Cape Elizabeth said she enjoys painting the natural places she and her fellow community members regularly enjoy.
“I get excited about painting the sacred spots that many of us travel through as we enjoy these spaces – the first few familiar steps on a beloved trail or the vista as you come around a bend,” she wrote in an email to the Sentry. “I feel deep gratitude for these moments and see my paintings as an offering to others that feel the same way.”
Paint for Preservation has grown exponentially, according to Patty Renaud, the land trust’s membership and development manager. In 2008, fewer than 20 artists participated and about $8,000 was raised.
“We had 72 applications this year,” Renaud said, and 31 of the applicants were selected. Roughly 400 people have attended the galas in recent years and each gala raises about $100,000 for the land trust.
“This supports our work finding special properties that we want to conserve and caring for those properties,” Renaud said. “We have about 865 acres of conserved property in Cape Elizabeth right now and well over 5 miles of trails on our properties, most of which have public access.”
In addition, the funds raised help combat invasive species and provide habitats for wildlife, she said. They also go toward educational programs in the community.
“It could be a walk, it could be a program at the library, trying to introduce kids to the world outside their back door,” Renaud said. “We believe that by educating the younger generations, we’re creating new stewards who will take care of the land in the future.”
While celebrating art and nature, Paint for Preservation is a community event at its core, Renaud said, with dozens of volunteers and collaboration with local organizations and sponsors.
“We have about 70 volunteers who are involved, we work with the Rotary Club to do our parking, we have tech volunteers, we have people doing registration,” Renaud said. “All sorts of people get involved in this, so it really pulls the community together.”
Tickets to the June 23 gala and auction at The Castle at Garrison Field will be available starting May 15. For more information, go to capelandtrust.org/paint or call the land trust at 767-6054.
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