Jerry Day Mason Westport Island artist, Jerry Day Mason, displays several of her paintings, left to right, Early Summer, a vase of red poppies with yellow and white irises, Fog Bank, and Broken Window. (Photo Charlotte Boynton)

Jerry Day Mason of Westport Island will exhibit her recent paintings at West Island Gallery, in Georgetown, from May 3, to June 7.

The public is invited to a reception on Saturday, May 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. to meet the artist and help celebrate the beginning of the gallery's 11 th season.

Mason, will soon be 89 years old, paints just about every day in her studio, located on the second floor of her home overlooking a cove near the Sheepscot River, on Westport Island.

She has been exhibiting her work for nearly 70 years in galleries from New York to Maine. This will be the fifth season with West Island Gallery, now her exclusive dealer.

Mason's talents are not limited to being an artist, she is a poet. Her book of poetry "Speaking to Strangers," is a combination of paintings and poetry, and has been highly praised over the years.

She has been involved in the theatre, with leads in "Auntie Mame," "On Golden Pond," "Close Ties," and others. She also enjoys gardening at her home on Westport Island.

Mason is the widow of Fredrick "Dike" Mason, whom she affectionately refers to as "Bear." They were married in 1964, and share six children, several grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The paintings of Mason will be exhibited at the gallery include: The Broken Window; Fog Bank; Early Summer; a Summer Swim; Shells Basking in the Sunlight of a Windowsill; Red Tomatoes in a Skillet Ready for Lunch; and others.

According to Susie Westly Wren of the West Island Gallery, these scenes "combine strong compositional structure with perceptive and subtle studies of light, mood, and sense of place."

The gallery was established in 1997 and offers the art and craft of over thirty Maine artists including, Peter Asselyn, Mary Cupp, Charles Goodhue, Dahlov Ipcar, Jenifer Jane, Tracy Johnson, Katharina Keoughan, Sally Loughridge, Peggy Clark Lumpkins, Karen McManus, Richard Sears, Lois Strickland, Ken Wise, and Susie Wren.

The gallery also continues to represent the estate of the late Jason Schoener.

A recently discovered collection of Schoener's early work will be on exhibited during the 2008 season of the gallery, with scenes of Boothbay, various views of the Kennebec River, Bay Point, Parker Head, Robinhood Cove, and Lowe's Point. Also included in the exhibit is an early World War II painting, one of many that Schoener did as an official war-time artist.

The gallery is located at 37 Bay Point Road, in Georgetown; from Route 1 in Woolwich, take 127 South to Georgetown, turn right on Bay Point Road, and the gallery is the third building on the right.