PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Wintergreen Arts Center in Presque Isle was a gathering place for friends, family and community members on Sunday when Aroostook County natives Anne and Jeff Hemphill and their granddaughter Megan Hemphill, 15, displayed their various artwork as the center’s featured artists of the month.
The Hemphills are all self-taught artists who became involved with Wintergreen over 10 years ago when the community arts center first opened. Anne Hemphill showed many of her watercolor, acrylic and colored pencil paintings while her husband Jeff displayed leatherwork and Megan showed her Japanese anime drawings. Jeff Hemphill also showcased hand-carved and painted geese and hand-woven baskets and snowshoes and pottery jars that his late father, Frank Hemphill, made.
“I’ve taken just about every class that Wintergreen has offered and taught myself how to use art supplies from the internet. I’ve taken pen and ink drawing, watercolor, and portrait painting and I’ve taught some of the Ladies’ Art Night classes,” Anne Hemphill said. “I enjoy painting birds and flowers and anything that requires a lot of details.”
Over the years the Hemphills, who live in Presque Isle, have volunteered at numerous Wintergreen events and Anne served as a board member for three years.
“All the people at Wintergreen are like family to us, so it means a lot that we were able to do our show here,” Anne Hemphill said.
Around 40 people, many of whom were friends and relatives of the Hemphills, chatted with all three artists while they explained some of the stories behind their artwork. Jeff Hemphill mentioned that when the store Aroostook Shoe closed, he bought some of their leather and a leather sewing machine.
An avid sportsman, Jeff Hemphill has made everything from fishing wallets to shotgun cartridge holders to leather handbags and gun holsters, many of which were on display at Wintergreen. His leatherwork was placed on a table opposite his father’s hand-crafted geese, baskets and snowshoes, and pottery jars that reflect the love of art passed down through generations.
“My father was someone who created art as a hobby. He did everything from pottery to snowshoes and baskets. He was someone who liked to keep busy,” Jeff Hemphill said.
The youngest artist featured in the exhibit, Megan Hemphill, lives in Fort Fairfield and is a freshman at Maine Virtual Academy, an online public charter school based in Augusta. Like her grandparents, she has learned about art on her own time and is most interested in drawing characters from Japanese anime TV shows.
“I started taking Megan to events at Wintergreen since they started and she’s been volunteering ever since she got too old for the children’s classes. I’ve been wanting her to showcase her work and it was Dottie’s idea to do a show with the family,” Anne Hemphill said, referring to Wintergreen Executive Director Dottie Hutchins.
Due to the recent winter storm, the Hemphill family show was rescheduled from Friday, Jan. 5, originally as part of the First Friday Art Walk, to Sunday, Jan. 7. During the show, Anne and Jeff Hemphill sold eight paintings and 11 leather pieces, which totaled $978, with 20 percent of the proceeds going toward Wintergreen programming.
Many community members who attended the show expressed amazement at the Hemphill family’s talent and spent much time admiring the diverse work of all four artists.
“I think the whole family has a sheer talent for art and it’s wonderful that Wintergreen decided to do a show that featured all of them,” Denise Harrington, who teaches classes in Wintergreen’s After School Arts program, said.
Her husband John Harrington agreed. “This is the type of show that people of just about any age can appreciate because it’s so diverse and colorful. It shows just how much talent we have throughout The County.”
Anyone who was unable to attend the Hemphill family show can still view all the artwork throughout the month of January at Wintergreen Art Center, located at 149 State Street in Presque Isle. A Victorian-style table, handcrafted by Ashland native Terry Kelly and painted and donated by Anne Hemphill, is up for bid at Wintergreen and on the center’s Facebook page until Jan. 31.
(Photos by Melissa Lizotte)
