FARMINGTON – SugarWood Gallery welcomes Francine Bitting as September’s Artist of the Month with an Open House Reception on Friday, Sept. 4, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 5, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Francine’s work will remain on exhibit and available for sale during the month of September.
Francine Erbe Bitting was born and raised in Delaware County, Penn., and received her BFA in illustration and painting at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia.
In her younger years her family always vacationed in Maine, and many of her earlier works were scenes of mid and coastal Maine.
“This is where my love for art began. I was always enchanted by the scenery and charmed by the people. Whenever I needed inspiration or a sense of serenity, I would always visit Maine.” Now a local resident of Wilton, Francine feels she has finally come home to her artistic roots.
After college, Francine moved to Brigantine, N.J., where she met her husband Kevin, and worked for the Brigantine Press and The Atlantic City Magazine. She also did numerous shows on the east coast and accumulated many awards for her illustrations and paintings. She was a member of Cape May County Art Association and the Galloway Artist Guild.
She has pieces hanging in the Cape May County Cultural and Heritage Association, the Baer Gallery, corporate and private collections such as Elton John, Peter Jackson and Sean Austin. She also has paintings in banks, hospitals and libraries in and around South Jersey.
In 1983, along with 49 artists from the United States, Francine exhibited five pieces of her work in Le Salon De Nations in Paris, France.
While raising her two boys, Brian and Joshua in the early 1980s, Francine was drawn into art education due to the lack of available art instruction within the Catholic School system. For 28 years, in three local parochial schools, she satisfied a fulfilling need to work with and inspire children in all mediums of art.
Between the years 2000 and 2004, Francine did a series of 12 paintings from the movie “Lord of the Rings.” It was a tribute to her husband who passed away in 1999, and their mutual love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings.
“Although Kevin never lived to see the movies, I felt him with me each time I saw them. I was inspired in a way I have never been before. I consider this group of paintings as my most prolific work.” From this group of paintings, Peter Jackson owns two. Sean Austin owns one and two were sold to private collectors.
In 2006 Francine retired from teaching and moved to Cape Cod, Mass., to be with her companion Lee. He is an artist in leather crafting and a musician. “We inspire each other and even work on projects together.”
While on the Cape Francine became a juried artist member of the Cape Cod Art Association, the Chatham Creative Art Center, Falmouth Art Guild, Yarmouth Art Guild and has paintings in the Bartholomew Gallery in Chatham. Her works have also been juried into county, state and nationwide shows. Two of Francines’ paintings, “The Lobsterman” and “Coastal Bloom” were selected in 2014 as menu covers for Daniel Webster Hotel and Restaurant.
Francine moved to Wilton, Maine, in October of 2014. “I am continuing to experiment in different mediums. theories, etc. In other words: anything and everything I always wanted to do,” she said.
SugarWood Gallery is located at 248 Broadway in Farmington. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
