Grace Keown has created art in some form or media for most of her life. Her personal journey and exploration of various techniques have taken her into relationships with watercolor, pastel, pen & ink, scratchboard, acrylic, oil, printmaking, photography, jewelry-making, stenciling and primitive rug-hooking. Her work draws intensely from nature, color, seasonal light and the expressive potentials of the powerful Maine landscape.

“Art is a bridge between nature and the viewer, distilled by the artist’s vision. The human eye evolved immersed in nature, deciphering its profuse tangle – interpreting, exploring, mapping and learning its every detail. We have gotten so far removed from this that it is my sincere intent to be a link between my audience and that ancient lost world. I am extremely fortunate to live in the great state of Maine, where nature and inspiration dwell in practically ever corner and turn.”

Grace graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a BA in Studio Art and Art History. In 2008 she was elected president of the Valley Arts Alliance (VAA). She along with Connie Henderson is a co-founder of Dirigo Road Gallery.  She was recently featured in the publication Creating the Future: 30 Stories from the Maine Economy, by Maine Centers for Women, Work & Community. Grace and her family live on a farmstead in the Dixmont hills, “far from the madding crowd,” and close to the heart of Maine. 

Recent Exhibits

2009                        

Mar-April:  Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit Union - Pittsfield

May:          Dirigo Road Gallery Member Show - Unity Center for the Performing Arts, Unity

August:     Bangor Public Library – Member Show -  Valley Arts Alliance

Sept:        Common Ground Country Fair - Juried Arts & Crafts

October:   VAA and Newport Cultural Center – season display group show

Ongoing:   Tim Horton’s Restaurants – 6 Central Maine Locations – group exhibits 

Winner:      20^th Annual Toboggan Nationals Poster Contest, Feb, 2010, Camden

     2008

May/June:     Valley Arts Alliance - Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit Union, Pittsfield

May:              Something Fishy­  - Juried Group Show  - Maine Art Gallery, Wiscasset

May:              Solo Exhibit – VAA Showcase Gallery, Main Street, Newport

June:             MPBNs Annual Juried Art Show at L/A Arts Gallery 5, Lewiston

    July/Aug:       Pastel Painters of Maine 9^th Annual International Juried Exhibit   for “Pastels Only,” Bath  (Entry - Salmo Salar –  chosen for the Dick Blick Art Supplies Award)

    Ongoing:       Tim Horton’s Restaurants – Newport & Bangor                             

    2008 MOFGA Common Ground Country Fair Poster competition winner

     2007

April:            MOJAS/Waterville Art Society Annual Juried Show, Winslow

July:            Arts in the Park – Annual juried arts festival, Belfast

Dec:            Fall Into Winter – VAA Group Holiday Show at Showcase Gallery, Newport

    Education

MBA             Dowling College, Oakdale, NY – Dec 1988                               

BA               State University of New York at Stony Brook – Studio Art. Minor: Art History  - May 1985 – Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude

    Teaching Experience

Fall 2009:     Afterschool Art Programs for grades 3-8, RSU 19, part of a 21^st Century Community Learning Center Grant

2008-09:     Newport Community Center – Adult Watercolor classes

2006-08:    Sebasticook Valley Middle School – MSAD 48. Various creative workshops for Gifted & Talented Program students including jewelry making and scratchboard art.

2005-07            Co-Leader Brownie Girl Scout Troop at EDS – coordinated arts & crafts activities