Come visit Love Lab Studio to check out their space, learn about their programs, and see gorgeous art about birds and the ocean created by children! We'll have a fun block area for children, and all natural clay out to play with for all. To accommodate our youngest friends with an earlier bedtime, we will start our 1st Friday at 4 pm. We welcome you into the studio!

A multidimensional mix media artist, whose orderliness is not a priority, even eliminates the fix focal points. Stop by the Portland Regional Chamber - it’s where you’ll see uniquely Maine subject matter built with found objects. It’s a see-it-to-believe-it show!

Recent work by Portland Artists RN Cohen and Stan Leiberman. Paintings and prints of Portland and Coastal Maine.

Come hang with Fire on Fore (367 Fore Street) as they set up shop for local graffiti artist, Bret Labelle, to sling paint, skill, and technique as he designs custom apparel in person (available for purchase) and shows off featured artwork from 5 to 8 pm. Bret is an abstract artist hailing from Biddeford, Maine, who has already made a big splash in the Portland arts scene with his work for Bissell Brothers and High Roller Lobster Company. Bret finds beauty in simplicity while diligently scanning his surroundings for inspiring nuggets of visual language to process and apply. Honing his painting skill and technique through minimal formal training, Bret has spent the past 20 years independently studying aerosol art, calligraphy, and sign painting. This will be Fire on Fore’s first time hosting a local graffiti artist for the First Friday Art Walk, but you can expect a series of artists for the upcoming summer!

Meet the artists at Bridge Gallery, the working studio/gallery of Rhonda Pearle and Gary Perlmutter. Gary is a classical realist painter, creating beautiful realistic still lifes. Rhonda is an expressive painter, using brilliant colors and moving paint strokes to convey feeling. See where they work, how they work, and how these two very different styles compliment each other!

The 7th Annual Eat More Art group show is upon us! This is our biggest group show of the year featuring around 100 artists! The shop is open our normal hours starting at 10am but we'll have our opening party from 5-8. There will be snacks, music, drinks, and fun. Hope you can join us!

Opening to the public for the first time, The Studio on Peaks Island is featuring the art of Bethany Glatz. With a focus on ethical fashion, Bethany works with reclaimed and remnant materials to create home and body adornments that explore materials in a sustainable light.

Holding up the Sky explores Wabanaki philosophies of leadership and obligation relating to humans and non-humans by highlighting 13,000 years of Wabanaki residence in what is now known as Maine. Wabanaki advisors guided the exhibition, interpreting 17th century colonial treaties, photographs, heritage items, and contemporary artworks—everything from ash baskets to haute couture fashion. Wabanaki voices provide context for the present-day relevance and repercussions of 400 years of shared histories between Wabanaki people and immigrants to their region. In addition to items from Maine Historical Society collections and newly-commissioned pieces from Wabanaki artists, the exhibition will feature artifacts generously loaned by many individuals and organizations, including: Abbe Museum, Hudson Museum, Passamaquoddy Cultural Heritage Museum, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Maine State Museum, Nova Scotia Museum, and Bangor Historical Society. Holding Up the Sky was developed in collaboration with a team of advisors, including Lisa Brooks (Abenaki), James Francis (Penobscot), Suzanne Greenlaw (Maliseet), Darren Ranco (Penobscot), Theresa Secord (Penobscot), Ashley Smith (Wabanaki descent), and Donald Soctomah (Passamaquoddy). We also invite First Friday Art Walk visitors to view Power of Potential: Photographs of the 1925 National Business and Professional Women’s Convention. The National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (NFBPWC) - which was established eight months before the 19th Amendment - hosted over 2,000 working women from around the country during their seventh annual convention in Portland in 1925. This exhibition features images from Evening Express’ coverage of this convention, which are part of the Portland Press Herald glass negative collection at Maine Historical Society.

The Wellness Connection is hosting an open house at its Portland dispensary. Curious about the benefits of medical cannabis and CBD? Come tour the dispensary and learn about the many benefits of nature's best medicine. On display all month is James Ledue, a Portland born photographer working primarily in the digital format with a background in 35mm. He has been published in various online publications and photographed on assignment for the Martha's Vineyard Gazette. Aside from brief studies in 35mm and digital photo processing, he is self-taught. After some later experience in portrait and behind the scenes photography, he primarily focuses on fine art landscapes and studio portraiture.

Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery invites you to join us for the art opening as we welcome Judy Metcalfe to the gallery. Please join us for wine and cheese on First Friday June 7 from 5:00 - 8:00. This exhibit runs through June 27. Judy Metcalfe, a Rockport, MA, artist, was the first place award winner in our recent juried show and we’re excited to welcome her onto our roster of represented artists. She brings us large-scale watercolors for you to enjoy and purchase for your own home. Her stunning rendition of lush florals dance with sunshine and light. Her colors are vivid and striking. Come see this award winning artist! She will be present at the opening. Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery is truly Uniting the World Through Art. Our Studio Exhibit is showcasing the works of Maine artist, Madeleine Hopkins. Her oil paintings hover a balance between realistic and an abstracted contemporary feel. She works in a soft palette with delicious pinks, blues and sage greens. With confident brushstrokes, she dances color and shapes to stimulate and engage the viewer. Come see her wide selection of mainly coastal themed paintings. Come meet both artists on June 7! Are you looking to redecorate this spring? We’re your one stop where you will find spectacular paintings that will turn any room into a stunning focus in your home. We’re happy to work with you to help you select just the right painting for you. Color Workshop by Susan Roux July 12, 13, 14 from 9:30-4. $250 This workshop focuses on learning to use color creatively. Do you fear color? Is your work trapped in local color? Color is emotion and learning to use it to your advantage can transform your paintings. Please call for more information. Slots are filling up quickly. 207-576-7787. Portrait/Figurative Workshop with Susan Roux June 21-22-23 from 9:30-4:00. $250 For those of you wishing to paint portraits or the full figure, this is your opportunity to learn from the artist who paints figures regularly. Learn to how to capture the subtleties that really help convey the special qualities of your model. Attention to proportions, detail and values will also be prominent teaching points during this workshop. Space is limited so sign up early! 207-576-7787 Don Hatfield Workshop August 8, 9 +10 from 9:30-4:00. $350 California artist and Susan Roux’s mentor will be in Maine to teach an oil painting workshop. This is the workshop of the summer to take! It is an incredible opportunity to be taught by such a great artist. He works with students individually and targets the next step that they’re missing in they’re painting progression. He focuses on fundamentals and will elevate your end results if you follow what he offers for suggestions. Space is limited so sign up early! 207-576-7787 Commissioned portraits by Susan Roux Roux is accepting portrait commissions at this time. Come in or call with your questions. 207-576-7787 Gallery Services Framing. We are happy to inform you that we will now be offering framing for your convenience. Get the helpful eye of an artist to put just the right frame on all your framing needs. We’re happy to work with you. Art Concierge. We help you create beautiful spaces in your home or business, which captures the look and feel you desire, by bringing art directly into your space so you can view it with your own lighting and your own unique surroundings. Come ask about this unique boutique service. Oil Painting Classes. Offering a range of classes from beginner through advance. For more information, please contact the gallery. Art Immersion. Come spend a week in the gallery painting with instructions from Susan Roux. It’s a great way to jump back into art if you’ve wandered away from it or improve the skills you continue to develop. Please join us for our special exhibits along with works of 35 artists from 10 different countries. We look forward to seeing you soon! Creatively, Susan Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery 48 Free Street Portland, ME 04101 207-576-7787 www.rouxandcyrgallery.com

“Movement is life; to be alive is to keep moving” Artist Jeanne O’Toole Hayman comments on the universal thread of body language via gestural figures. Figures are simultaneously 2D and 3D with shadow playing a key role in their creation.

Maine Craft Portland unveils an alternative-bridal exhibition not to be missed! Over 20 craft artists have created one-of-a-kind ceremonial adornment, accessories, and jewelry that embody new ideas to present bridal with a twist! This exhibit showcases unique offerings for the discerning contemporary looking to get hitched in distinctive true to you style. How about matching hand stamped leather belts, lovers' knot bracelets, or a silk skived unisex Kurta? These dazzling, ready to wear pieces, like all offerings at the Maine Craft Portland retail gallery, were handcrafted by talented Maine-based craft artists. Our musical guest during this month's art walk will be the delightful young fiddler Owen Kennedy! (http://www.fiddlerokennedy.com/)

This exhibition showcases 12 photographic portraits and three triptychs of celebrated individuals by the iconic American photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004). Primarily a fashion photographer whose images played an influential role in defining America’s image of style, beauty, and culture, these portraits suggest his disillusionment with commercial work and his quest to portray the likeness of the sitter.

Enjoy traditional and contemporary Zimbabwean music on handcrafted marimbas. The percussive rhythms never fail to get crowds moving – so get ready for dancing in Monument Square! This performance is part of Portland Downtown's annual Square Hop, which features 4 free shows in 4 downtown parks from 6-8pm. "Hop" from square to square to enjoy a variety of local music & entertainment! Square Hop locations & performers include: Fresnel Theater Comedy Improv in Post Office Park; Maine Marimba Ensemble in Monument Square; Sea Level & The Memorial Skylight in Congress Square Park; and Palaver Strings Trio in Longfellow Square.

On June 7 from 6-8pm, Sea Level & The Memorial Skylight will present a full park sound installation in Congress Square Park – a living moving three dimensional soundscape. As visitors navigate the park, they’ll experience in-the-moment individualized and collective musical compositions that are responsive to natural parameters like sunset, humidity, and the activity of people, animals, and insects. The performance will include various musical guests as well as live shadow art accompaniment directed by Ian Bannon of Figures Of Speech Theater. Sea Level & The Memorial Skylight is the pseudonym of musician/conceptual artist Dan Capaldi. The essence of Sea Level & The Memorial Skylight is a fusion of sampled material/field recordings and tight orchestral compositions, formatted/performed live as a three dimensional sound installation with conscious attention to the evolving trends in human attention and perceived value. Dan studied Drum performance and Film scoring at Berklee College of Music and since has composed music for all varieties of film and live art installations, as well as frequently touring the United States and Europe with various groups and as a solo artist. This event is part of Square Hop, hosted in collaboration with Portland Downtown. From 6-8pm on June 7, you can stroll — or dance, should the mood strike — from square to square to experience some of Portland’s best & most unique local entertainment. Whether it’s a toe-tapping musical act, a dance extravaganza, or an interactive theater show — there’s fun for the whole family at each stop. Square Hop locations include Congress Square Park, Longfellow Square, Monument Square and Post Office Park.

Summer Favorites brings together a broad array of our collection's colors, textures and moods. From Leo's dreamy watercolors of the late 1950s to crisp linear grids inside plexiglass boxes from the 1960s. One of our favorites is full of metal paillettes, blue, green, silver and it even lights up! Leo Rabkin's long career exhibiting in New York afforded him time to experiment and play. He often did his best work during warm summer afternoons in his skylit Chelsea studio. Our ongoing inventory project has turned up some new favorites and treasures. On display all summer, 2019.

Join The Junior League of Portland, ME, CourageLIVES, and Survivor Speak USA at June's First Friday Art Walk for a live installation of the Red Sand Project—a national campaign that calls attention to those often unseen victims of human trafficking who "fall through the cracks." To participate: 1. Collect a bag of red sand from the Junior League of Portland, ME table in Monument Square 2. Pour the sand in the cracks of Monument Square 3. Take a photo of your poured sand 4. Post the photo to social media, using the hashtags #JLPMaine, #JLPRSP, and #RedSandProject. Thank you in advance for helping the Junior League of Portland, ME — and this year's partners CourageLIVES and Survivor Speak USA — spread red sand and awareness for the issue of human trafficking in Maine! The League's 2019 Red Sand Project partners and co-hosts are: CourageLIVES A residential safe-house for survivors of human trafficking in Southern Maine https://couragelivesme.org/ #CourageLIVES #HumanTraffickingAwareness #EndHumanTrafficking #DontTraffickME Survivor Speak USA An organization addressing the root causes of "sexploitation" through outreach, education, training, legislative advocacy, mentorship, and leadership development in Maine http://www.survivorspeakusa.org/

The Union of Maine Visual Artists is pleased to present the “UMVA Members' Spring Exhibition” at the UMVA Gallery in the Portland Media Center, 516 Congress Street, Portland Maine, June 2-28, 2019. Thirty-four artists from across Maine will be represented in the exhibition. The work is new and engaging and ranges across several media. Artist Christine Higgins describes her “cathedral sunrise II” as a work of “pulp paper handmade fibers.” Its quiet colors, organic forms and hues and soft texture evoke the silence of a sunrise in the woods. In Anne Strout's fiery encaustic “Constant Turmoil” shades of blue, yellow, orange-red, white and black smolder and melt into each other. “Sunday Morning Paper” by Rabee Kiwan is an expressionistic oil painting of an elderly man in a dark cold room reading a newspaper by window light. As curator Liz Prescott describes the work, “Rabee's painting is rendered beautifully, an evocative world in earthy browns complemented by luminous strokes of lavender and ruby beneath the window with bright flecks of yellow and white suggesting light filtering through the opaque window.” Another gem is “Cuba,” Lesley MacVane's photograph of a Cuban couple dressed in brilliant white holding a gauzy white umbrella. In the hazy background a dock loading crane rises against a faded blue sky. Also, Jen Joachin's fine realistic acrylic painting “Monument Square” is filled with light and architectural detail. The UMVA Gallery is open during regular operating hours of the Portland Media Center ( http://portlandmedia.org/location-hours/) In addition, for the June show the Gallery is open 1-4 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On First Friday Art Walk, June 7, the Gallery hours are 1-8 p.m. The Opening and Artists' Reception is Friday, June 7, 5-8 p.m. at the UMVA Gallery, 516 Congress Street. Free and open to the public. Image: "Sunday Morning Paper," an oil on canvas painted by Rabee Kiwan in May 2019

Bomb Diggity Arts is proud to present 'Vacationland,' a multi-media group show that celebrates vacations and other places. Come see artists' interpretations of licence plates and faraway places! Featuring a life-size camper photo booth complete with marshmallow roasting station! There will also be two new tee shirt designs!! Bomb Diggity Arts is a community-support program of Momentum serving adults of all abilities and promoting discovery of artistic expression, development of professional arts-based skills, exploration of personal interest and passion, development of a healthy lifestyle, and fostering a meaningful and reciprocal community connection. Through all these endeavors, we challenge and transform attitudes about disability.

For the month of June, Maine Potters Market features the collaborative work of member Robbi Fritz Portela and guest artist, Alex Portela. Robbi and Alex have combined their fun whimsical designs in a body of work representing one of their favorite subjects - Sea Life. Alex and Robbi are a mother daughter team who have been working together for the last 25+ years. As soon as Alex could hold and play with clay, she has enjoyed the amazing process of creating art! This is their first official collaboration show and they are very excited to be working together on this project, hopefully leading to more collaborative adventures! Robbi grew up in NH and came to Portland to pursue her art degree at Maine College of Art! She fell in love with Maine and her husband and decided to stay, make lots of great pottery and raise a family. She now lives in Windsor, Maine, where she has a wonderful pottery studio in her 200 year old farm house. Alex is currently based out of Saco Maine and uses her love of drawing and painting to illustrate her ceramics, whether that be itty bitty whale shark figurines, or mugs adorned with dragons. Surrounded by art, animals, and fantasy books from a young age, it is easy to see these influences in the whimsical creatures both real and imagined that inhabit her work.

Google 'women titles in music' and you will find hundreds of songs from Sarah McLachlan's Adia to Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke. It seems as though the 60s, 70s and 80s were flooded with these epic 'she' titles. We hope you enjoy our art inspired by these songs and learning the stories behind these iconic women in rock.