Native Batavian Maggie Capettini paints in the great outdoors around the Chicago area. This month, eight of her paintings hang at Lemont Center for the Arts as part of their "Local Artist Feature" program. Her paintings will be on display through Nov. 30.
Capettini majored in studio arts at Augustana College in Rock Island, but she credits discovering her true path as a painter to a workshop she took with Chicago-area artist James Swanson.
"Watching Jim paint and experiencing landscape painting for myself for the first time, I felt I had found my niche. Painting landscapes excites me, particularly in the wealth and richness of color in the natural world." Capettini has also studied under artist Clayton J. Beck, III.
Painting en plein air was a natural next step for Maggie. She paints in different locations throughout the area.
"It's always fun to talk with the passers-by," says Capettini. "That's one thing you don't get with a studio art-making experience."
Capettini's paintings have been exhibited in a number of juried shows in Illinois, and her paintings hang in private collections in Illinois and New Mexico. She received the Illinois Arts Council's Individual Artist Support Grant in 2013. Visit http://maggiecapettini.wordpress.com to see Capettini's paintings and learn more about the artist.
SOURCE: Lemont Center for the Arts
