The Woman’s Hospital Association (WHA) Rotating Art Gallery will feature paintings by Kate Cargile and Betty Mills through April. The gallery is located at 60 High Street in Lewiston, the main entrance to Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC).
Cargile, a middle school art teacher, works in a variety of media from painting and drawing to appliqué quilting and papier-mâché sculpture. Her work features subjects from her everyday life and images she creates in her imagination. Though her paintings (pictured) often have a clear narrative for her, she wants viewers to put their own stories into her paintings.
“I view painting like the act of quilting. I mix patterns and textures with diverse visual elements from my life—antique advertisements, knick-knacks and mementos, old family photos, obsessions from my past, emblems of my childhood—and stitch them together in a non-specific space saturated with color,” said Cargile of her work.
For Mills, painting had been a new hobby that she picked up just prior to her retirement from raising a family and working at restaurants in Gray and Auburn. Her current chosen medium is acrylic, but she’s quick to point out that it’s only “for now.” Since she couldn’t afford to take painting lessons, Mills has taught herself to paint through practice and many online videos.
“Painting has become a learning experience and passion,” said Mills. “I’m very appreciative to have this opportunity to share my painting progress along life’s journey of learning.”
The artists’ work may be purchased through the WHA Gift Shop, located adjacent to the main lobby at Central Maine Medical Center. A percentage of sale proceeds benefits CMMC.
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