"Goliath", 2002 by Ronald Frontin. Donated by Ronald Frontin and Bob Bird of Bird Enterprises/Shoreline Home Sales. Signed and numbered unframed printers proof 2/3 (2 of 3). Giclée print, 23" wide x 17 1/2" tall. For more information on Ronald Frontin's art, please contact Bob Bird at 207-354-3600.

Note: this item has a reserve price.

ABOUT RONALD FRONTIN

Ronald Frontin is a contemporary Maine painter who continues the American realist tradition of Winslow Homer and Thomas Eakins with his fastidiously rendered figural images set on the coast and in the countryside. His subjects include the hardworking fisherman and farmers of Maine and his family and friends.

Frontin was born in Camden, Maine, in 1962 and today resides near the town of Rockland. Indeed, he only lived out of his home state briefly, while attending the Philadelphia College of Art (1981-85) and while apprenticing in Andalusia, Pennsylvania, with the noted realist painter Nelson Shanks (1985-88) .

Frontin's outdoor scenes portray the hardy individuals who make their living from the fields, rivers, beaches, and bays of Maine. The artist, who himself enjoys working in the open air, is interested in painting people who are physically engaged with nature and who are unaware that they are being studied; the opposite of posed works, these images convey respect for the grueling and absorbing tasks of outdoor life and capture the particular light and mood of the Maine landscape.

In Winnower (Cat. 5), a pale and bony shirtless boy in a broad-brimmed hat and gloves performs his field chores on a cold morning; his lithe yet strong physique and indifference to the day's chill epitomizes a particular brand of Maine hardiness, while the light has a cool glow that is also especially characteristic of the state.

In Harvest (Cat. 7) , another boy, seen broadly against a starkly foreshortened field, clutches a heavy basket and wears the intent expression of someone already well used to the daily rigors of outdoor work.

A similar mood is expressed in Overwhelmed (Cat. 10), which portrays a fisherman resting in shallow water on the edge of his rowboat, the stunning breadth of Maine's wildness revealed in the way that the figure is dwarfed by the dense forest rising from the rocky shore. The light is hard and sharp, augmenting the solitary feeling evoked by the subject.

Below the Surface (Cat. 1) depicts a view of a shallow bay where clammers are at work. Here a stillness is evoked in the composition's repeated horizontals, the slow moving ripples on the water's surface, and the isolation of the men from each other. Portraying the man in the foreground so engaged by his work that he is unaware that his shirt has slipped down, Frontin pays homage to the degree of concentration, patience, and steady effort required by this arduous type of work. The wispy cumuli, isolated against a crisp blue sky, suggest the piercing clarity of Maine's atmosphere.

In his portraits, Frontin is inspired by the great art of the past. Whereas many contemporary artists use portraiture to their own ends, Frontin is interested in a traditional approach to the genre in which the artist's style is subservient to the subject, and in which the finished work is true to its sitter. He has created many commissioned portraits, including several depictions of prominent Maine figures, but he also paints subjects of his own choosing. An example is his three-quarters length standing view of his eleven-year old niece Avens (Cat. 2) , which evokes the art of John Singer Sargent in its controlled light, realism, and format. Here Frontin portrayed a pretty girl, but his painting looks beyond the subject's attractiveness and youth, conveying a wise, introspective nature that would normally be associated with a much older sitter.

With their poetic undertones and personal subject matter, Frontin's paintings have an affinity with those of Andrew Wyeth. Soundly crafted and thoughtfully composed, Frontin's works reveal his desire not to impose his own point of view on a subject, but rather to derive inspiration directly from it, allowing its intrinsic nature to emerge.

ABOUT SHORELINE HOME SALES

At Shoreline Home Sales, our company goal is simple. We want to satisfy as many customers as possible.

We are home planners. We want to help you plan your home, whatever your needs may be. Whether you already have subcontractors in mind or whether you need us to take you from start to finish, your satisfaction is our ultimate goal. Our work has allowed us to build relationships with top-notch subcontractors in the mid-coast and central Maine areas whom we would be glad to recommend. We will never recommend a subcontractor we have not worked with or have not thoroughly researched. Once you have chosen your subcontractor, Shoreline Homes will act as project manager, overseeing all work to ensure that when the the house has been built in the factory and is ready for delivery, the site will be ready to go. The house is then set and once the finish work is complete, your home is ready.

Our customers are the most important part of our business and we show this by providing a few different estimates for each job so that you may come to an informed decision about which contractor to choose. Estimates will include all work to be performed so there will be no surprises or extra costs. From state fees and taxes to transportation costs, from electrical hookups to the cellar stairs, your home will be completely finished with no hidden costs or extra charges.

Our president, Bob Bird, is from Mid-coast Maine and has been in sales and marketing throughout the state for over 20 years. He saw a huge void in his area for high quality, high-end modular homes. After researching modular home manufacturers from Canada to Pennsylvania to find the best homes for his customers, he was offered the opportunity to become an Independent Builder for New England Homes, Inc. and he jumped at it, recognizing their high production standards and superb value. His first order with them was for five homes! The people in Mid-coast and Central Maine can finally have high quality modular homes at very affordable prices.