Kennebunk, Maine – September 20 through October 15, 2025
Maine Art Hill in Kennebunk welcomes three celebrated local female artists, Claire Bigbee, Ingunn Milla Joergensen, and Jill Matthews, for a new show titled Local Color. The show opens Saturday, September 20, and runs through October 15, with doors open daily at 10 a.m. An Artist Reception will be held on opening night from 5 to 7 p.m., offering visitors the chance to meet the artists and view their latest collections.
“At its heart, Local Color is an exploration of peace, grounding, and renewal. Each of the three artists draws inspiration from the natural world, yet interprets it through a deeply personal lens,” says Maine Art Hill owner John Spain. “Waves, barns, nests, meadows, and fog-filled landscapes all appear, not just as subjects but as reflections of memory, symbolism, and emotion.”
For painter Claire Bigbee, the ocean embodies both strength and serenity. “Painting helps me find my center, my calm,” she explains. The rhythm of the sea has long inspired her. “Waves hold a deep symbolism. It goes beyond their physical appearance. For me, they represent many concepts, from life’s ebb and flow to nature’s power and strength.”
Bigbee often paints outdoors, seeking immediacy in her work even in difficult conditions. She recalls one frigid afternoon painting waves in the wind, her canvas blown to the ground. “The wind was freezing my fingers, but it was all worth it,” she says. For Bigbee, each brush stroke is a reminder of resilience and change, a meditation on life’s constant motion.
While Bigbee finds her calm in the sea’s movement, Ingunn Milla Joergensen turns to the steadfastness of the land. Her works carry a quiet strength and enduring presence. “My barns have become my meditation,” she shares. “In a world with so much going on, I find solace in their grounded and timeless appearance.” To Joergensen, barns embody the past, present, and future, offering reliability and soulful beauty. Joergensen has some recurring motifs. Her work invites viewers to pause, to find stillness and stability in the simple yet profound structures of everyday life.
That same spirit of reflection is reflected in the paintings of Jill Matthews, though her focus shifts to atmosphere and mood. She often seeks out quiet landscapes where mist and fog transform the familiar into the ethereal. “I gravitate toward misty, foggy mornings with very simplified compositions that are calming,” she explains. “Tranquility and peace are what I look for. They are the reasons I paint. Painting grounds me and is therapeutic.” Matthews’s new collection blends her signature soft, fog-filled vistas with brighter pieces inspired by fresh spring greens and clear blues. For Matthews, the goal is always to connect. “I strive to invoke that deep sigh of calm as a viewer takes in my work. I want them to feel something, something simply good.”
Together, Bigbee, Joergensen, and Matthews offer a powerful meditation on how art can restore balance. Whether through the surge of a wave, the strength of a barn, or the quiet of a foggy morning, Local Color invites viewers to slow down, reflect, and find their own sense of calm in the beauty of Maine.
Ultimately, the title Local Color speaks to more than just the hues on a canvas. It reflects the essence of Maine itself, seen through the eyes of three artists who translate the landscape into moments of stillness and renewal. Their work will be on view at Maine Art Hill from September 20 through October 15, with doors open daily at 10 a.m. Visitors are invited to join the opening reception on September 20 from 5 to 7 p.m., where the artists will share their inspirations in person. In the end, Local Color becomes both an exhibition and an experience, reminding us that art, like nature, has the power to ground, heal, and inspire.