Sally Giddings Smith announces a new show at The First National Bank at 77 Oak Street in Boothbay Harbor. Called “Where in the World? An Art Show in Black, White and Red (mostly),” it contains seven sketches from differing perspectives around the Peninsula. Place names are covered by question mark tags in order to engage the viewer more actively by having them guess where the sketch was done.

The East Boothbay artist uses Japanese Tombo ink pens for her sketches. She enjoys the textures they provide on cold-pressed watercolor paper. Sketching with the Plein Air Painters of Maine (PAPME) every Wednesday has provided needed decompression from her major project, painting 10 story panels illustrating the 250 years of Boothbay and the Congregational Church.

Educated at Wellesley College in history and art, and with architectural training from Vermont Technical College, Giddings Smith spent many years in California painting with a group called Local Color, associated with the Carmel Art Association.

She also discovered and restored two murals from an old Army building on Fort Ord. One was a painting done in a ‘Chinese’ style by Alison Stilwell, the daughter of General Stilwell. Another rescued mural was by Chiaro Obata, a Japanese watercolorist and friend of Ansel Adams. Obata and Adams hiked Yosemite and the Sierra together and their images – though in different media – reflect each other.

Boothbay’s major mural, the Lions Club's mural painted by Lonnie Sisson many years ago, inspires her.

“Art,” says Giddings Smith, “is everywhere. Just sometimes you need to add a trick or two, to engage the viewer more actively.”

… Like challenging the viewer to guess where a sketch was done!

Sally Giddings Smith’s studio, Fortunate Chance, is located on Route 96/Ocean Point Road.