FREEPORT – Her 96th birthday having come and gone, Dahlov Ipcar pays no attention. In the studio of her rustic Georgetown farmhouse, she still paints, and art galleries eagerly exhibit her works.

For most of the holiday season, Frost Gully Gallery, located a mile or so north of Freeport Village at 1159 Route 1, has Ipcar’s newest creations to itself. Hung on the gallery’s walls are the last two years of Ipcar’s works.

The paintings represent Ipcar’s own blend of the new and the old – the depictions of farm animals and rural scenes in a new light.

“Her work is all about a world of her own,” Frost Gully owner Tom Crotty said last week.

Frost Gully held a reception for Ipcar on Nov. 17, and it was “packed,” Crotty said.

As Crotty spoke, Diana Stevens of West Point, a section of Phippsburg, was visiting the gallery. Stevens perked up at the mention of Ipcar’s name.

“I went to see her on Nov. 12, on her birthday,” Stevens said. “She and her husband were really good friends of my parents. When my mother died in 2009, she sort of became my mother. I love her art.”

Ipcar, speaking from her home, said that she appreciates Crotty and his gallery.

“He’s been very supportive and very appreciative of my art,” Ipcar said. “I think I’m dependent on that gallery because that’s the only gallery I’m consistently shown at.”

Crotty, who started the gallery in Freeport in 1966, moved it to Portland in 1973, then moved it to a couple locations in the city before bringing it back to Freeport 13 years ago.

“I think it’s a fine location,” said Ipcar. “It’s close enough to Portland.”

Ipcar said she also appreciates Crotty because of his dedication to Maine artists. When there was little else except for “canned art” – expensive exhibits featuring out-of-state artists – Crotty promoted Maine art, she said. Things finally began to change in the late 1980s, she said.

“He has always, for a long time, tried to establish artists’ independence with the so-called establishment, which he considered the museums. He’s contributed a lot to getting local Maine artists accepted. I’ve always gotten a lot from him and he’s done a lot for Maine art,” she said.

Right now, Frost Gully’s walls are adorned with 29 Ipcar paintings – 24 of them new.

“Farm Ruckus” depicts horses, sheep, deer, cows, chickens and other animals scurrying about. In “Garden Guardians,” Ipcar depicts two satisfied-looking cats “watching over” a flower garden. A bunch of hens and their chicks are feeding on grain in “Hens in the Sun.”

“It’s amazing,” Crotty said of Ipcar’s newest works. “We’re all very fortunate that we’re able to see this wonderful group of paintings. It’s very special and a very wonderful opportunity.”

In a May 2008 article in Downeast Magazine, longtime arts writer Edgar Allen Beem listed Frost Gully Gallery as one of “a dozen favorite art galleries in Maine.”

Beem wrote that Frost Gully “was the first year-round contemporary art gallery of the modern era and once represented a who’s who of Maine artists. It’s still the place to go for Maine masters such as Dahlov Ipcar, Laurence Sisson, Stephen Etnier, William Keinbusch, and Tom Crotty himself.”

A CLOSER LOOK

To see the Dahlov Ipcar works on exhibit at Frost Gully Gallery, log on to www.frostgullygallery.com.

The gallery, located at 1159 Route 1 in Freeport, is open Monday through Thursday, noon-5 p.m., or by appointment. Call 865-4505. The Ipcar exhibit runs through Dec. 28.

Tom Crotty, owner of Frost Gully Gallery in Freeport, and artist Dahlov Ipcar take a moment together during a Nov. 17 reception at the gallery.“The Fox is on the Town” is one of the new Dahlov Ipcar paintings on display at Frost Gully Gallery in Freeport.“Shere Khan’s Domain,” by Dahlov Ipcar, is another on display at Frost Gully Gallery.