Washburn artist joins First Friday at NMCC
PRESQUE ISLE — Northern Maine Community College will take part in the First Friday Art Walk Sept. 4 at the E. Perrin Edmunds Library on campus.
Sponsored by the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce, 
the First Friday Art Walk is an event where people can meet, unwind and enjoy the arts on the first Friday of every month from 5-8 p.m. The activity has grown in recent years, offering an array of art and entertainment for patrons.
The artist featured at NMCC will be Gary M. Cole, a watercolor artist from Washburn who began his career in art after his retirement from teaching.
“I get my inspiration from the beauty of nature in Aroostook County and in Florida,” said Cole, who taught school in Woodland and Presque Isle. “My subjects are inspired by my photographs of rural scenes, county farming, barns, churches, and the beauty I find around me.”
In this exhibit will be still life, landscapes, portraits, birds, flowers and horses. The artist has painted a series of works on rural nostalgia at King’s Landing village in New Brunswick, and a series of paintings on the American space shuttle program.
His self-taught watercolor painting style is unusual, resembling acrylics and oils. Cole gets his greatest pleasure from sharing his art with others.
“I am truly grateful to Northern Maine Community College for the opportunity to display my work,” he said.
