PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Ever since Tammy Dube moved back to Aroostook County in 2013, she has been exploring both the famous and hidden spots of the region’s landscape and preserving its beauty in her numerous paintings.
During the most recent First Friday Downtown Art Walk on Jan. 3, Dube showcased 12 paintings of Aroostook rivers and lakes at the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library.
The oil paintings in “Aroostook Hidden Beauty” depict some of Dube’s favorite places to visit such as Square Lake, Cross Lake, Long Lake and Madawaska Lake, as well as family adventures like floating down the river on inner tubes in Guerrette, or picking fiddleheads by the Aroostook River in Caribou.
“My favorite painting comes from a photograph I took at Square Lake in the morning,” Dube said, referring to a painting called “Good Morning — Boat Landing, Square Lake, ME.” The painting features the rocky shore of the lake. “The view was gorgeous and I wanted to capture how I felt in that moment.”
Dube has been an avid painter since high school and continued practicing her art while living in Minot. She and her family now live in New Sweden. Though she works full time at Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital, Dube devotes much time to her artwork and always seeks out landscapes and wildlife to capture in her paintings.
Throughout the opening night of her exhibit, Dube gave out maps of the regions she portrays in her paintings in hopes that folks will want to witness the scenes of nature in person.
“So many people don’t realize all the beauty we have in Aroostook County,” Dube said. “I hope the paintings inspire people to get out and enjoy what’s here.”
Dube’s “Aroostook Hidden Beauty” will be on display at the library’s Akeley Gallery, located on the first floor, until March 12.
The library took advantage of First Friday to showcase the various landscape paintings of Washburn-based artist Filomena Irving in her exhibit “White On White,” on the second-floor Glass Gallery.
Originally from Toronto, Irving has devoted time to her art since retiring from her career as a middle school science teacher. The acrylic paintings in “White On White” feature vibrant, colorful flowers and images of coastal and rural scenery.
Irving also appeared at The Common Gallery Friday evening for the opening of her exhibit “Florals, Fields and Forests.” She wrote in her artist statement, “For me, art is a language that crosses all boundaries and highlights the beauty, diversity and mystery in nature and life.”
On the third floor of the library, artist-in-residence Cliff Boudman gave people a tour of the Fort Road Gallery’s ongoing exhibit “Past Is Present,” a collection of 30 photographs of Presque Isle from 1900 and earlier.
Several photographs depict how, before the advent of motor vehicles, everyone from the local fire department to lumber mills and everyday residents depended on literal “horse power” — carriages pulled by a pair of horses.
One photograph shows fire chief Bird Macey standing in front of the former firehouse, now preserved by the Presque Isle Historical Society, with two horses named Fred and Madge.
The exhibit shows Presque Isle’s once thriving opera houses, including the Perry Opera House, Hone Opera House, Third Opera House and the Bridgham Brothers State Movie Theatre, all of which burned down at various times throughout the early 20th century.
The Perry Opera House was originally built from wood from 1884 to 1890 and burned in a 1900 fire. Though it was rebuilt with brick, the Perry burned again in 1946.
Boudman said that both the wooden structures of the opera houses and storage of film reels made devastating fires all too common.
“Early movie theaters used nitrate film stock to project film reels, but the nitrate was highly combustible,” Boudman said. “There was nothing they could do to stop the fires.”
In keeping with the exhibit’s title, the collection features many photographs of the area around the former Fort Road, which is now State Street. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the road was home to The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and the Dudley Homestead, which was torn down to make room for the Northeastland Hotel parking lot.
While “Past Is Present” originally opened two years ago, Boudman said he has kept the photos up as a reminder of how Presque Isle’s past has shaped the city’s present.
“These photos tell us a lot about Presque Isle’s history,” Boudman said. “Most people, when they look at this exhibit, have never seen the photos before.”
