The paintings of two Bristol artists, Patti Leavitt and Barbara Klein, exemplify the beautiful views of Maine’s coastal scenes, villages and natural world available at the Pemaquid Art Gallery. Both long-time members of the Gallery, Leavitt works in pastel and Klein in oil. Each has her own distinctive, realistic style, characterized by rich and subtle colors and often dramatic compositions.

Klein has been showing larger work recently instead of the previous small, jewel-like views which are still part of her oeuvre. The larger works romanticize the gentle isolation of her landscape scenes with volume and structure in the grandeur of their surroundings, with soft edges, striking shadows and subtle but complex colors. The compositions can become almost abstract, with a flat hayfield comprising all the lower half of one grand scene and shadows on structures emphasizing their simplicity and emptiness.

Leavitt’s subject matter ranges from still lifes to coastal views, from beaches and buoys to farmers’ fields, forests, marshes and sweeping sunsets, views that are enriched by the pastel medium’s sparkling color palette. The realistic scenes are detailed but made romantic and dramatic by strong value changes and lush coloring, sometimes achieving the isolated starkness seen in Klein’s work but with a more descriptive sensibility.

Both artists are self-taught, taking classes and workshops as they were able. Klein moved to Maine from New York in 1973, juggling her art around family and a nursing career. Now she paints full time as much as she can, attracted by the structural elements in the coastal landscape, such as houses, fishing shacks, lighthouses, rock outcroppings and trees. Her work can be seen at area exhibitions and Gifts at 136 in Damariscotta. Leavitt, of Bristol and Bonita Springs, Florida, was born into a family of artists and has always created art. She moved to Maine with her family about 40 years ago. During the winter season, she is very active in the local art community in Bonita Springs and is a member of pastel societies both in Maine and Southwest Florida. She has won numerous awards for her paintings.

Both artists’ work can be found at http://www.pemaquidartgallery.com.

The other 2023 Pemaquid Gallery Artists include: Bobbie Applegate, Debra Arter, Stephen Busch, John Butke, Dianne Dolan, Gwendolyn Evans, Peggy Farrell, Sarah Fisher, Claire Hancock, Kay Sawyer Hannah, Kathleen Horst, Hannah Ineson, Will Kefauver, Jan Kilburn, Sally Loughridge, Judy Nixon, Charles Nowell, Alexandra Perry-Weiss, Paul Sherman, Marnie Sinclair, Gary Smith, Cindy Spencer, Liliana Thelander, Val Thomas, Kim Traina, Barbara Vanderbilt, Bob Vaughan, Candace Vlcek, Carol Wiley and Sherrie York.

The Pemaquid Art Gallery, Pemaquid Loop Road in New Harbor, is open until Oct. 9, daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.