*When Kevin Beers was in art school, abstraction was all the rage, and although Beers was clearly in possession of great talent, his professors constantly tried to dissuade him from representational painting. Instead, listening to his own muse, Beers was drawn to the powerful realism of Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, and George Bellows, all of whom had fallen in love with the coast of Maine, especially Monhegan Island. Years later, Beers visited Maine, seeking out the very places painted by Hopper, Bellows, and Kent-- craggy islands, dramatic headlands guarded by lighthouses, sun-dazzled white buildings, and intense blue skies and seas. As with so many artists before him, Beers was struck by the quality of light in Maine, by the way it bounced off surfaces everywhere, creating sharp shadows and brilliant colors. Capturing the dazzling light of the world in a painting has become Beer's muse. His plein air paintings feature a loving and detailed view of the landscape, reflected of the places most beloved by him such as Monhegan island and other locations associated with American artists like Edward Hopper, Robert Henri, George Bellows, Rockwell Kent and The Wyeths who have painted there. "A tiny island of rugged rock with dramatic headlands and crashing surf, it can give you a pretty intense experience of nature." Every summer after, Beers packed up his car and headed to Monhegan Island for the summer months, becoming one of that island's most recognizable artists. Reluctantly, he always returned to Brooklyn, New York, come fall. Three years ago, that all changed. Beers and his wife Amy decided to move to Maine, settling in a spacious 19th-century sea captain's house in the midcoast village of Thomaston. With the freedom to explore Maine's coast. Beers soon discovered a veritable treasure trove of spectacular points and lighthouses--Pemaquid, Owls Head, Two Lights, and Boothbay Harbor's Burnt Island. With "Points of Light," his new show at Gleason Fine Art, Kevin Beers delights us with the joy he has found living in Maine, painting the rugged beauty of Maine's coast and its simple, stark-white buildings. His work is affiliated with Gleason Fine Arts in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth, Maine, Lupine Gallery, Monhegan Island, Maine, and Todd Bonita Gallery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Beers has been featured in Maine Home + Design, DownEast, American Art Collector, and American Artist magazines.