Maine has long been home to visual artists of national renown, and contemporary artists have continued the tradition. Schoodic Arts For All will celebrate that heritage with the 2006 Maine Masters Project Film Series. Starting March 15, seven films featuring the work of Clark Fitz-Gerald, Dahlov Ipcar, William Thon, Alan Magee, Robert Hamilton, Harold Garde and Olive Pierce will be screened at 7 p.m. Wednesdays at Hammond Hall in Winter Harbor.

“This is a part of Maine, a part of where we live,” said Mary Laury, executive director of Schoodic Arts for All. “These people are known worldwide and they live right here.”

The Maine Masters Project is an ongoing series of documentary films created by filmmaker Richard Kane, art writer and poet Carl Little, painter Robert Shetterly and videographer Deb Vendetti. A panel discussion with the filmmakers, artists and family members of deceased artists will follow each screening.

The films provide a view of the artist that extends far beyond the canvas.

“We were really driven by this idea that people ought to know these artists, get to know them better and appreciate them,” said Carl Little, who will speak April 5 about his interview with William Thon. “It’s wonderful to see artists in their studios. They really come alive versus something you see in a book. And they’re Mainers.”

Though Thon wasn’t very talkative, their conversation left Little awestruck.

“In the film, my mouth is so wide open it’s embarrassing,” Little said. “His real purpose in life was to paint and that’s where he really spoke to us. That’s where he was most comfortable.”

Laury hopes the series will appeal to people who live in Maine year-round.

“There’s quite a bit of interest in film as an arts medium in our area,” she said.

With that in mind, Laury plans to include more films in Schoodic Arts for All programming. A member of the group recently donated a state-of-the art projection system. Because the group doesn’t want to compete with area theaters, the films will be highly specialized.

Admission costs $5 per person, and Laury hopes to entice art students from the University of Maine with a reduced rate of $2.

“We’d love to have people from not only our area,” she said.

The following is a schedule for the Maine Masters Project Film series. All sessions begin at 7 p.m. at Hammond Hall in Winter Harbor: Clark Fitz-Gerald and Dahlov Ipcar, March 15; Robert Hamilton and Harold Garde, March 29; William Thon and Alan Magee, April 5; Olive Pierce, April 12. For information, call 963-2569 or e-mail info@schoodicarts.org.