BRIDGTON — Gallery 302 welcomes Jane Croteau as guest artist through Oct. 6 at 112 Main St.

Croteau is a former long-time active member of Gallery 302 who now specializes in oils. An opening reception was held Sept. 2.

For 36 years, until she retired in 2016, she worked as a stained-glass artist, designing and fabricating windows for homes, offices and churches. In 2002 she picked up a paint brush for the first time and tried her hand at watercolor, falling in love with the medium immediately, according to a news release from the gallery.

From there, she explored pastels, acrylic, and finally, oil color. Beginning in 2012, she worked under the tutelage of Tomás Balezetina, an accomplished Spanish painter at his studio in Portland and Madrid.

Working with glass, which relies on light reflecting and transmitting through it, most likely influenced her choice of subject matter and color palettes. Nature scenes, whether a landscape or seascape, allow her to create deep contrasts of shadow and light as well as use lots and lots of color.

“I love blending my own color mix of paint rather than relying on hues straight from the tube,” said Croteau.

In the summer, Croteau mostly lives on her sailboat with her husband, cruising the Maine coastline. Sunrises and sunsets abound, and her camera is always close at hand. They spend their winters in Portugal, where rocky coasts, sunny days and turquoise seas provide ample motivation to “paint what I see.”

She says, “no matter where I happen to be in the world, my eye is always ‘cropping the shot’ for another potential painting.”

For more information and hours, email Suzanne Agostino at [email protected].

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