The next time you're in Wiscasset, stop in at BIRCH, if you haven't already. The shop is full of fun, interesting, tasteful items, and the walls are covered with some fabulous art.

Francine Sokol’s mostly floral paintings are full of rich, vibrant colors and an obvious innate knowledge of composition. Sokol, who lives in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, and Boca Raton, Florida, was born and educated in New York, earned a BFA in Fine Arts at Brooklyn College, and studied in studios of some well-known abstract expressionists, including Mark Rothko, Frederick Reinhardt, Clyfford Still, Max Ernst and Burgoyne Diller.

Sokol studied fabric and design in Europe, and went on to work in the decorative design/home furnishings field. She had a studio and art gallery in Long Island, New York, exhibiting her art along with works of other contemporary artists.

She met the owners of BIRCH, Brad Sevaldson and Greg Uthoff, in Florida, and the three bonded over their love of (her) art.

"Fran's art is this vibrant, colorful magnet,” Uthoff said. “People are drawn to her work as they enter the shop.  We witness it time and again — her paintings are mesmerizing and bring countless happy smiles to the viewers. Fran the person is a beautiful soul, and it is no surprise that she imparts that same beautiful spirit to the canvas."

Sokol's art has been featured in BIRCH since the shop’s opening in April, when many of her paintings were of birch trees based on Sevaldson's photographs. Sevaldson said Sokol's art has been one of their biggest sellers. At the July 28 Wiscasset Art Walk, the paintings were virtually flying off the walls. As of around 6 p.m., the shop owners said they had sold over 75 since they opened.

“This is like a second career for me,” Sokol said. “It's like a fairy tale. I am being featured in many botanical gardens venues and fine home furnishings shops, and Brad and Greg are my heroes, with all the works they've sold here.”

Sokol's paintings are done with acrylic and ink, and some are reproduced as hand-embellished giclee prints on watercolor paper and canvas, using archival pigmented inks that are fade, scratch and chip-resistant. Many of the paintings and prints in BIRCH are floral and garden themes. All are vivid and full of color and light.

Sokol’s work has been shown in the Brooklyn, Newark and Montclair Museums, and several galleries and shows. Her original paintings and giclee prints are featured at the NY Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Longwood Gardens, Chicago Botanical Garden, Wave Hill and The National Cathedral.

She is the recipient of several awards, from National Academy Galleries, Locust Valley Annual Juried Show and the Montclair Museum.

“I think about it, I sketch, I paint, and take notes about what I want to work on,” Sokol said.

“I paint every day. I have a feeling that if I don't eat, live and breathe something of my artwork every day, I haven't lived that day.