PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — For Judy Sherman, living deep in the North Maine Woods in Oxbow means that most of her neighbors are wild creatures such as deer, moose, fox and other animals who call Maine home.
Now Sherman is sharing pieces of that wilderness as part of a new exhibit at Wintergreen Arts Center in Presque Isle. Throughout the month of May, she will showcase more than a dozen acrylic paintings that primarily feature the landscapes, flowers and animals of the Oxbow region.
Sherman grew up in Oxbow, a small plantation just over 20 miles south of Ashland, and has only ever lived away from it during her teen years, when her family moved to the Brewer area. She and her husband Steven, who were childhood classmates, built their home in 1979 and operate Deep in the Woods Gift Shop and a Christmas tree farm.
“I started taking painting classes in 1988. A neighbor of ours had come home from Florida and told Steven that she took classes,” Sherman said. “I came home and Steven said, ‘I signed you up for art classes.’ After the first class, I was hooked.”
At the couples’ home it is not uncommon for entire families of deer to make the backyard their stomping grounds, Sherman said. She has often invited local children to stop by and feed the baby deer right out of their hands and witness the beauty of nature up close.
One of Sherman’s paintings, “Big Boy,” was inspired by a large male deer that used to frequent the property after the end of hunting season in Aroostook County.
“I called him ‘Big Boy’ because he was a massive buck, very stocky with short legs,” Sherman said. “He would come right up to our shop door.”
Through the years, Sherman has been deeply involved with the local art scene and has contributed artwork to fundraisers for organizations such as Wintergreen, Masonic Lodge, Ashland Fish & Game, Veterans’ Cemetery, Elks Club, Rotary, MPBN Great TV Auction.
She also contributed illustrations for the book “Bon Homme” by Leonard Hutchins, the father of Wintergreen executive director Dottie Hutchins. Both Sherman’s and Dottie Hutchins’ mothers worked at the former Oxbow Lodge.
Sherman hopes that people who see her exhibit also appreciate the unique sights that the Oxbow area has to offer.
“I like painting what’s around and, for me, that means there’s lots of beautiful wildlife to see,” Sherman said.
Community members can view Sherman’s exhibit throughout the month of May at Wintergreen Arts Center, 149 State St.
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- Judy Sherman’s paintings “Big Boy” (right) and “Arrival of Spring,” now on display at Wintergreen Arts Center, reflect the many times she has seen deer roam the land near her home in Oxbow. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
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- “Red Fox” is one of many paintings by Judy Sherman that reflect her love of the nature near her home in Oxbow. Sherman is the featured artist of the month at Wintergreen Arts Center in Presque Isle. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
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- “Anderson Homestead,” featured in Judy Sherman’s new exhibit at Wintergreen Arts Center, is a copy of a painting she originally created for a local family. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
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- “Cats on a Mailbox” is one of over a dozen paintings by Judy Sherman, of Oxbow, now featured at Wintergreen Arts Center in Presque Isle. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
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- “Mount Katahdin Lupine” is one of several paintings, now on display at Wintergreen Arts Center, that Oxbow resident Judy Sherman has created of the Katahdin region. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
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- The acrylic paintings of Oxbow artist Judy Sherman, including “Mount Katahdin and Holstems,” will be on display at Wintergreen Arts Center throughout the month of May. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
