The Kathleen Horst Studio Gallery, Damariscotta, is open for business. Horst spent the winter transforming her garage into a studio and gallery to display her watercolors. She gives credit for the renovation to husband Michael, who worked tirelessly to create an open, welcoming space for visitors, and a functional, well-appointed studio.

Horst’s gallery showcases her watercolors of coastal landscapes and hillsides covered in spring flowers. Her art is both luminous and dramatic. She also paints on commission creating watercolors of homes, cottages, and boats.

Horst grew up in Florida where she developed a love of nature's luxurious colors and then moved to Macon, Georgia. She found herself drawn to Macon’s historic architecture and “lush, intensely colored gardens.”

Horst’s first artistic endeavors were in ceramics. She was a studio potter for 20 years and sold her creations at art shows around the southeast from Coconut Grove, Florida, to Nashville. Horst then began making hand-made, painted, and glazed tiles of people's homes, which became an easy transition to the house portrait part of her watercolor business.

Horst has also been an educator and retired from teaching at the high school level five years ago. Since then, she has had more time to pursue her love of watercolor.

“Having been a summer visitor to the Damariscotta area for almost 20 years, I relish the opportunity to live in the area permanently and to paint the coastal landscapes and cottages that make the area so special,” she said.

Horst is a member of the Bristol Road Galleries, a collaboration of four galleries on the Bristol Road, just a short drive from downtown Damariscotta. All of the galleries are within walking distance of each other, and frequently host workshops and other events throughout the summer.

Drop by Horst's new studio and gallery at 179 Bristol Road, Damariscotta, and is open most afternoons, by appointment or by chance. Contact the artist at 207-478-550-8372 and visit www.houseportraitsbykathleen.com.