River Arts in Damariscotta is featuring Martha LaMarche in a West Gallery show from June 13-26. Martha’s large, abstract paintings fill the space with exciting color and wonderfully imaginative forms and textures. There will be two opportunities to meet the artist and enjoy Saturday afternoon refreshments at River Arts: Saturday, June 15 and Saturday, June 22 from 2-4 p.m.

Having enjoyed creative expression from early childhood, Martha remembers taking her mother’s chiffon scarves out of the closet and artfully arranging them on tables and across lamp shades. She still has her first painting, completed when she was 13 years old. A Portland, Maine-based painter, poet, writer and graphic designer, she works primarily with oil, sometimes acrylic, and frequently introduces mica into her compositions.

She painted for a time with Portland’s Dooryard Collective and has exhibited regionally in juried shows. Her “Biology of Biography” garnered Best of Show at Maine Artist Collective’s “Form and Flow” Exhibition in 2014. (Jury: Gibrian Foltz, Andrea Helm, Alex Rheault, Ariette Scott.)

From 2014 through March of 2015, her work was featured at The Old Port’s As 1 Gallery on Exchange Street. Her work at the venue was described as “… abstract oil paintings in her ethereal, satisfyingly grounded ‘Elements’ series. These works carry fascinating color transitions which make it a pleasure to venture the eye over every segment of the paintings, leading to the inevitable discovery of hues which should be bottled up for future use.”

She is affiliated with The Reflectionist Painters in Kent Lakes, New York, Arts on the Lake and has studied extensively with Alexander Shundi. She now studies at MECA with Portland artist Diane Dahlke.

River Arts is located at 241 Route 1 (north) in Damariscotta. Regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information call  563-1507.