The Plummer Gallery, one of the oldest galleries in the region, is celebrating its 50th season, featuring new paintings by Joan and Carlton, along with new stone sculptures by son Gerry.

New miniatures will be part of the new paintings at the Plummer Gallery along with large acrylics by Carlton, who continues to explore new horizons with his recent flights of fantasy and stylized abstractions with a touch of whimsy.

It all began 50 years ago on Route 96 at Grimes Cove, Ocean Point in East Boothbay when Carlton Plummer hung out his studio sign. It was called "The Carlton Plummer Studio" then. Carlton, who at that time was the Director of Art Education and high school art teacher in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, was also in hot pursuit of earning a master of fine arts degree in painting from Boston University.

A Maine native, Plummer brought his young family back to the state to spend the summer at Ocean Point. It was there he became inspired by the Maine coast and the rugged ledges which he has portrayed in his paintings over the last 40 years. In the early days, his wife, Joan, put her creative life on hold in order to help raise four boys and to fill in at the studio.

Carlton had made a transition from being an illustrator in Boston to becoming an art teacher. The next transition was in the making—becoming a serious painter.

The Plummer Gallery became more popular as visitors from all over the United States stopped in to view and buy paintings. Carlton always felt a debt of gratitude to all the people at Ocean Point who bought his work at a time when he needed the support.

In 1982, after designing a new home-studio and gallery high on the ledges of Boothbay Shores, "The Carlton Plummer Studio" became "The Plummer Gallery," after the introduction of Carlton's talented wife. With their boys fully grown and pursuing their own careers, Joan's paintings brought new and exciting life to the gallery, with her focus on florals and still life. As their reputation and skills improved, so did the Plummers' house, gardens, stone walls and overall landscaping.

Twenty years later and a labor of love had transformed a scrubby, dying forest into a beautiful, three-dimensional painting, consisting of 22 perennial gardens, flowering trees and shrubs, lily ponds and over 2,000 feet of curving stone walls and walkways, creating a visual delight for all who find their way to The Plummer Gallery.

But the story doesn't end here. Twenty years after Joan joined the gallery as a painter, in 2002, the youngest of their four sons, "Gerry," has joined The Plummer Gallery as a sculptor, working primarily in stone.

"It seemed like an overnight blossoming of talent," said Carlton. "We came home from Florida and Gerry had completed 21 pieces, all in granite with some weighing well over 250 pounds."

Gerry owns and operates a landscaping business, Earth Landscaping, in Westford, Massachusetts. He builds stone walls, patios, walkways and more. It seemed only natural he would turn out to be a stone sculptor. And the "gene pool" didn't hurt either. His work along with new paintings by his Mom and Dad, can be seen at The Plummer Gallery daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., June through October.

Several special exhibits, along with an open house reception in early August will be some of the events to help celebrate The Plummer Gallery's 50th season. The public is invited.

Route 96. Turn left onto Route 96 and follow it through East Boothbay continuing towards Ocean Point until you come to the Plummer Studio sign on your left, "Boothbay Shores Road" (about 5 miles from the start of Route 96). Turn left and follow signs to Studio/Gallery.