Serene Moments, Mink Island, Maine

Artist: GARY AKERS (KY/ME, 1951- )
Title: Serene Moments, Mink Island, Maine
Medium: Drybrush watercolor on paper
Dimensions: Sight 13 x 9 in; Frame 23 3/4 x 19 in
Provenance: From the Haynes Collection
Condition Report: Good condition
Signature: Lower left corner, label description on the reverse side

Description:
"Serene Moments, Mink Island, Maine" by Gary Akers is a captivating drybrush watercolor painting that captures the rustic charm of island life. The composition features island buildings and a dinghy anchored just offshore. The body of water and the sky are rendered in cold blues, creating a stark contrast with the warm pastel hues of the shore. This juxtaposition of cold and warm tones creates visual tension, keeping the surface of the painting dynamic and guiding the viewer's gaze throughout the piece.

About the Artist:
Gary Akers is renowned as one of America's foremost contemporary realists, celebrated for his meticulous detail and mastery of light and shadow. Akers specializes in watercolor, drybrush, and egg tempera, a technique requiring painstaking application of hundreds of layers to achieve a luminous finish. His work often features landscapes and seascapes, capturing the natural beauty and tranquility of his subjects with extraordinary detail and richness.

Akers' paintings have been showcased in prestigious exhibitions at the Speed Art Museum, the Ogunquit Museum, the National Academy of Design, and the Artists of America Exhibition. He has received numerous accolades, including the top award from the Kentucky Watercolor Society. Akers is a member of both the American Watercolor Society and the Kentucky Watercolor Society, and he has been awarded a Greenshields Foundation grant to further his work in egg tempera.

Residing in Union, Kentucky, Akers spends his winters painting in his restored 19th-century log cabin studio, while summers are spent in Maine, where he captures the rugged coastal landscapes. In 1995, he and his family purchased the Georges River Road School, also known as The Green Schoolhouse, on the picturesque St. George peninsula, further enriching his connection to the Maine landscape he so beautifully depicts in his work.