Speaking of members and the food drive, join us in Camden on November 8! Shanna will collect donations during the meeting (and members may also take what they need from the bins). See the UMVA event calendars for details on both! theumva.org

Artists Helping Artists @umva-members.bsky.social To my fellow artists in the union, I’ve organized a little drop-in-the-bucket grocery card/food drive. Donate *or request a card.* Details at link. ❤️ (Requests are open only to members at this time, but may expand.) theumva.org/event/artist...

“Big Fish in a Little Pond” Acrylics on stretched canvas, 20 x 16 DebBergmanArtist.com #debbergmanartist #localcolorgallerymaine #maineartist #acrylicpainting #fishpainting #koipainting

A week from tonight—Monday, 5/5, 7 pm SPACE @spacegallery.bsky.social 538 Congress Portland ME @johncotter.bsky.social & Shanna Compton, The Color of Sound We’ll be reading/talking about hearing & visualizing sound. John’s got a new story & I’ve got a fresh slideshow. Copies of our books too too.

Monday

The yearly spring snail parade to the garden, immortalized on this mug! #ceramics #pottery #art #garden

TONIGHT in Portland! Washed Away: 60 Maine Artists opening reception at Lewis Gallery, Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square. 5–7. Come say hi & check out the artworks selected by juror Carl Little! mainehomedesign.com/showcase/was...

UMVA member poll! Do you print these things as a Maine artist? Would you like to? UMVA members are invited to respond at theumva.org/printing-ser... We’ll create a members-only resource page from the answers we collect. Stay tuned! #MaineArtists #theUMVA

Woke up wayyyy too early & nailed down the pages for DEEP WHOOSH, figured out how to deal with the landscape orientation #collages (most are portrait), and tapped the printer. Wanna blurb it? Tight timeline but it could be real short. 😉 Thinking about the cover & colormatching the scans is next.

New book coming soon! One I’ve been wanting to exist for a few years now. Suddenly the stars have aligned. DEEP WHOOSH, 50 closed-caption collages + an essay & a few poems. (Black Square Editions, 2025).

Looks like I’ll be reading/conversing on stage about writing/poetry/art & hearing loss with John Cotter in early May in Portland at SPACE. Stay tuned! #Maine

Made some colorful postcards to send to our reps. Link in bio. 💌 #snailmail #penpals #art

Are you a UMVA member? Tag us and we’ll help boost your news here on 🦋. And be sure to take advantage of the DIY options on the new website: Create and update your Artist Page for the Meet Our Artists gallery, and post your events whenever you like! #MaineArtists

Posted around NYC, Chicago, DC and other cities. Be creative. Do something!

@umva-members.bsky.social In conjunction with the Dark Skies Exhibition at Waterfall Arts in Belfast ME this event will happen this coming Saturday February 15th waterfallarts.org/event/dark-s...

Next Midcoast / Downeast Chapter meeting: Saturday, March 8, 11-1 at Camden Public Library Details on the site: theumva.org/event/midcoa... #MaineArt

This show is really looking amazing, very happy to be included and able to fill this space with so much color, light and love! All works created from repurposed or reused materials.

Thanks! The call for art for WASHED AWAY is now closed. 100+ UMVA members offered artwork for consideration. Our juror, Carl Little, is reviewing entries now. Mark your calendars: WASHED AWAY, Portland Public Library, Lewis Gallery, May 2–June 21, 2025. #MaineArtists #WashedAwayExhibition

“Half a Boat is Better than None” Acrylics and pen on stretched canvas, 14 x 11 Available DebBergmanArtist.com #maineartist #debbergmanartist #boatpainting #acrylicpainting

Judith Greene-Janse • Art Rocks 3 Watercolor and Acrylic Paintings of the Maine Coast + figure drawings Opening: Sat, 2/1, 5-8pm Come & enjoy the company! Food cart options & the Belleflower libations available Belleflower Brewing 66 Cove St. #PortlandMaine

Attn: Maine artists. As the web admin for the Union, I get a little peek into the process, and this is going to be another complex, varied & important show in Portland. It’s not too late! $35 annual membership in UMVA. No fees for shows. You heard me. #Maine

REMINDER: Tomorrow—Sat, Feb 1—is the last day to submit for WASHED AWAY. UMVA artists may submit up to 3 images of 2D, 3D or video art. As always, no fee. Our juror, Carl Little, looks forward to reviewing your work! Details & application form here: theumva.org/event/call-f... #maineart

As I was taking this simple product photo today, I suddenly felt a little bit emotional... thinking about how little gestures of kindness and statements of love and support are especially important right now.

I've got an exhibition coming up at the Foundry in Biddeford, Maine this February! "What’s Old is New Again"

4x6" mail art card I'm sending to my niece Sara who is recovering from a broken leg... it's an ink monotype with an encaustic wax monotype with sheet music chunk and piece of dried acrylic paint peeled off a palette...so very #mixedMedia ... @art.bsky

This was my final painting of 2024, “Lobstah”. Acrylics on stretched canvas, 14 x 11. AVAILABLE DebBergmanArtist.com #maineartist #lobsterpainting #debbergmanartist

This exhibition continues through February, and the response has been very lovely. Thanks to everyone who came out to the opening last weekend. I have two #linocut prints in the show, which also includes paintings, assemblages, and photographs. Press clips are here: theumva.org/press

DARK SKIES runs Jan 17– Feb 28 at Waterfall Arts, in Belfast An exhibition of 40+ artists & related activities. Saturday 1/25, 1:30-3:30 at Belfast Public Library: Documentary screening of “Wilfred Buck,” a Cree elder overcomes a harrowing history by reclaiming ancestral star knowledge. #Maine

More great press or our DARK SKIES exhibition in Belfast! Most of the video clips are too long to share here, but we’re collecting them on the site’s press page: theumva.org/press

Psst: If you wanna follow me personally also I am at @shannacompton.bsky.social

Vendor applications for the 2025 Norway Maine Arts Festival are open! To apply go to Maineartsfestival.org The deadline for submissions is Monday, March 31st.

I’m looking forward to this upcoming 3-person show with artists Isabelle O’Donnell and Tom Jessen at the Lord Hall Gallery at UMaine Orono. Opening reception is Friday Feb. 7. Curated by Diana Baumbach

“Through the Trees” Acrylics on stretched canvas, 16 x 20 DebBergmanArtist.com Available #debbergmanartist #landscapepainting #treesilhouette #maineartist

Brand new WIP today, hopefully the beginning of a series about Ash Point, Maine, a place very dear to my heart. We all need beauty.

The Dark Skies exhibition that just opened this weekend at Waterfall Arts in Belfast is enjoying some great local press coverage. Here’s a little clip from Friday night’s ABC 7 News, Bangor. #DarkSkiesExhibiton #MaineArt #MaineArtists #theUMVA #UnionOfMaineVisualArtists

Hi! We’re on Bluesky now. The Union of Maine Visual #Artists is a nonprofit organization founded in 1970, still going strong today. Give us a follow if you love the arts scene in the big, beautiful state of #Maine. We have our first exhibition of the year running now, Dark Skies, in Belfast, ME.