Inn With Art: On The Walls And On The Plate!

Inn by the Sea's new art installation defines the region through diverse lenses

Camden Hills by Maine native Eric Hopkins, or a string of Lobster Buoys by local artist Stephen Etnier are just two of the paintings in the new permanent collection of works by renowned regional artists on view at Inn by the Sea. Seeing familiar land and seascapes through each artist's eyes creates a fresh look for familiar surroundings.

Hopkins paints an aerial perspective with sky high views of islands and hills, while Etnier's engineering background is understood in the lines of buoys strung in the foreground of his coastal landscape. Laurence Sisson is well known for his depictions of actual Maine locals, but re-imagined through his appreciation of traditional Asian landscape painting acquired while billeted in the army in Japan. His painting of fish houses on the Maine coast is a representation of this stylistic interpretation of Boothbay Harbor where he lived.

While art is sprinkled throughout the Inn, most works are on view in Sea Glass restaurant. Fittingly, Pemaquid Lobster painted by Maurice Freedman, is a luscious reminder of the sea's bounty just outside the restaurant's windows, and how lucky we are to have lobsters in Maine!

Art on a Plate:

Sea Glass Chef Andrew Chadwick creates culinary inspirations

While the art hanging in Sea Glass is created with oil or acrylic, Chef Andrew Chadwick plates culinary masterpieces, filled with color and texture, everyday in his kitchen. The Chef's artistic inspirations don't have the durable quality of a painting, but are momentary marvels- limited to the short time a guest takes to appreciate his meal before eating it.

My relationship with food is as much about the visual as it is about taste, says Chadwick, Executive Chef at Sea Glass. First and foremost food has to have great flavor, but creating a visually beautiful presentation is vital to the total dining experience.

According to the chef, translating art onto a plate works well with enhancing complex or even simple flavors- adding a strong, contrasting brush of color with butternut squash puree or avocado paste to a plate adds both taste and visual impact. He'd like the guest to feel the plate is beautiful when it arrives, but then be thrilled when it tastes even better than it looks!

About Inn by the Sea:

An idyllic oceanfront escape, located on a mile of unspoiled sand beach, just 7 miles from Portland, Inn by the Sea is Maine's premier beach destination offering elegant hospitality in 61 upscale rooms and suites, with full- service SPA, cardio room, heated pool and captivating cuisine served in ocean view Sea Glass restaurant. Children and dogs are warmly welcomed to this Preferred LVX® member and Virtuoso® property.

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