Mimi Gregoire Carpenter

Mimi Gregoire Carpenter received a degree in Art from the University of Maine at Gorham in 1969 and taught until 1975 and the birth of her daughter Tessa . Mimi painted while Tessa napped, but the paint dried . The hardened palate, the use of black and white paint and the tiny brushes used to create the detail, became part of the signature of her "opaque" technique. With Tessa and their frequent visits to any coastal area from Pemaquid to Islesboro, she worked on illustrations for several children's picture books. The first to be published was
WHAT THE SEA LEFT BEHIND Down East Books 1981 followed by
THE CROSS-EYED CAT Beachcomber Studio 1984,
MERMAID IN A TIDAL POOL Beachcomber Studio 1985,
SEASHORE TREASURES Talk Toys,
OF LUCKY PEBBLES AND MERMAIDS TEARS 1994,
SUMMERWEEK by Judith Monroe Fir Point Press 2003

During this time and continuing now, Mimi has visited schools from Van Buren to Kittery as an "Artist In Residence" working with children to create their own picture books covering her love of Medieval Dragons, Gargoyles, Illuminated Manuscripts, and Castles as well as her Environmental themes of Maine Shell Identification,Tidal Pool Trolls, Beachbots and Sandcastles.

She has designed fabrics, note cards, and paper products as well as cups and magnets.You may wish to play with a made to order, hand-cut puzzle created from Mimi's work by ELMS PUZZLES in Harrison, Maine.

Mimi is a genuine "beachcomber", collecting and celebrating the treasure of flotsam and jetsam in every nook and cranny of every tidal pool and beach along the coast of Maine from Eastport to York Beach. Her treasure trove is brought back to her studio where she lovingly poses her shell characters as if on stage and presents them with meticulous detail from a palate of dried watercolors much like the palate she used in her childhood. Her metaphorically staged "plays" often include Mermaids and sea creatures from out of her imagination.

"I love the world of make-believe, and I have tried to live my life somewhere in between. Play and work are one and the same for me."
    from a featured article "Mermaid's     Tears" in the 2008 Down East     publication A PASSION FOR SEA     GLASS by C.S.Lambert.

Mimi's move to her home near Goose Rocks Beach in 2001 was a dream come true. Living near the ocean she now joins her muse, her passion and her work altogether. The colors in her palate have evolved from her early paintings (from which there are still several lithograph reproductions no longer shown in this website).

"My early paintings were muted - a bit bleak, but now I use hot pinks, the bluest of blues and bold golds and oranges. I paint with the wetness of the sea still on the shells."

Being able to beachcomb and gather any day of the week and in every season, changed her compositions as well. Although negative space is very important to her, her "Bach" compositions leave no negative space, but several layers of detritus consisting of urchins, mussels, razors, periwinkles, moon shells, crabs, etc. atop driftwood, pebbles, and seaweed.

A widened matte separates the the swirling compositions, which though it separated the artwork from the space in which it hung, something was missing. The problem was solved by choosing an archival matte with a hot press surface just like the paper she painted on. Breaking the rules (matte is meant to absorb dampness and keep water away from the paint) Mimi broke out of the box of the composition and added a Remarque or bit of original painting, allowing a shell or strand of seaweed to flow out onto the matte.

The highlights of Mimi's year include a photo shoot in her studio/gallery and on Goose Rocks beach with La Vie Claire Magazine (Claire Murray rugs and a Claire Murray coffee table book) Summer 2009 as well as Coastal Living Magazine.

She has been previously features in :

  Mimi says one of the greatest compliments ever paid to her was when the Farnsworth museum referred to her as an environmentalist. Indeed her appreciation for the natural world is clearly evident. MAINE BOATS AND HARBORS - Dec./Jan. 1992
  Her delicate watercolor paintings might be termed "tide-pool art" . The intricate designs depict the oft-overlooked sea creatures and objects cast up on the state's craggy shoreline. "I paint all the things people step on," she says smiling...Most of the works combine marine subjects ...and present them as thought they had been dumped from a bag after a day of beachcombing." DOWN EAST MAGAZINE - August 1998
  Mimi 's watercolors remind you to look down while walking at the water's edge. "People travel the world collecting shells without realizing what's here in Maine", she says. At Goose Rocks Beach, Carpenter finds a rainbow of biodiversity. "There are creatures in colors so vivid that when I paint, I tone them down because otherwise people don't believe they're real." ACCENT MAGAZINE - July/August 2007

The UNIVERSITY OF MAINE'S SEA GRANT program has used her paintings to promote the sale of Scallops and Oysters in Japan. This work has also resulted in a CALENDAR of 12 Images of Maine "Sea Products" from Shrimp and Scallops to seaweed and Salmon for Maine fishermen (which will be available as Giclées in the spring of 2009). She has also worked with the Mount Desert Island Labs, and The Institute of Oceanography on Mt. Desert Island and Lobster grants in Wells.

When it was time to decide on giclée reproductions, Mimi chose HUNTER EDITIONS in Kennebunk. The quality of the paper and the color and the expertise and attention to detail, produces a reproduction difficult to distinguish from the original. Mimi does add a Remarque onto most of the Giclées, which makes them one of a kind - if not completely original. One new Giclée or series is produced per year.

Mimi's Original Opaque Watercolors are available for Sale :

Through this Website (mimigregoirecarpenterstudio@gmail.com) and

 
THE WRIGHT GALLERY
5 Pier Rd / PO Box 7131
Cape Porpoise, Maine 04014-7131
Tel: 207-967-5053
Cell: 207-590-0445
www.thewrightgallery.com

info@thewrightgallery.com
 

ARTWORK IS ALSO AVAILABLE:

Giclées only - from the NONANTUM RESORT - Ocean Ave. Seasonally in Kennebunkport, Maine

Original Opaque Watercolors and Giclée Reproductions - from Hurlbutt Designs in Kennebunkport, Maine

Mimi can be reached at:

Mimi Gregoire Carpenter Studio
PO Box 7701
Cape Porpoise, ME 04014
(Click here for directions)

E-mail address: mimigregoirecarpenterstudio@gmail.com
Phone: 207-284-7021

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