Jill Hoy has never needed to look far for inspiration. The plein air painter spent her summers in Deer Isle starting when she was nine, and is now a part-time resident of Stonington. “There is something deeply authentic, profoundly raw, and beautiful here,” she says. “Maine is a hardworking culture, close to the bone, and that essentiality and struggle is a rich combination for inspiring visual work.” Hoy paints Maine and its people by sweeping bright colors dramatically across the canvas. She considers herself a documentarian who paints places in their natural state, especially “places un-touched by gentrification.” She says, “I am drawn to landscapes that have maintained themselves from the beginning of earth’s existence.” For the past 32 years, Hoy has run her own studio, Jill Hoy Gallery in Stonington, where she displays and sells her work. Recognizing her good fortune to be able to support herself while doing what she loves, Hoy often donates her work to town offices, hospitals, schools, libraries, and other public places. She says it’s important to her that people get to experience art for free.