Afternoon at Monhegan Harbor, 2007 acrylic on panel, 40 x 48

Courthouse Gallery Fine Art is pleased to feature Maine artist Philip Frey for the month of March. Frey is inspired by color and how he can use light and color to recreate Maine's incredible landscape. His unique style has emerged over the last decade with recent paintings becoming more realistic. Throughout this evolution, Frey has continued to use strong, vibrant colors.

Frey's sense of color stems from an interest in Fauvism, a major avant-garde European art movement in the 20th century. Henri Matisse, who Frey credits as a major influence, embraced this expressionistic style characterized by vivid, exuberant color. Other European artists, whose work Frey admires, include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Edouard Manet.

Frey is most influenced, however, by his love of life, and his enjoyment is evident when viewing one of his paintings. In Afternoon at Monhegan Harbor, the brilliant green and turquoise water betrays a realistic scene. Colorful boats await their captains in Crimson and Teal, and the explosion of purple in Crow Island (Twilight) captures the brilliance of a Maine sunset. You are drawn in by the intense colors, but you stay engaged by Frey's energetic enthusiasm for his subject.

Although Frey holds a BFA from Syracuse University, NY, he began his training early on as an artist. He is a graduate of Ellsworth High School, which is known for creating a large pool of fine artists under the direction of former art teacher Ken Mike. Frey went on to study printmaking at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and painting at the Columbus College of Art and Design and Syracuse University.

Frey has received several grants and awards throughout his career and has appeared in numerous group and juried shows throughout the state. His work can be found in private and corporate collections across the country and abroad, and several entities have commissioned Frey to paint major murals. Frey has been featured in several Maine newspapers.