The Damariscotta River Grill welcomes spring on March 21 with an exhibit of colorful photographic flower and nature studies by Joan Atkinson, Kathryn Simpson Bean Davis and Lisa Mossel Vietze. An opening to meet the photographers and sample appetizers by Rick Hirsch and his staff will be held on March 22 from 4-5:30 p.m. All photographs are for sale.

Joan Atkinson, from New Harbor, started her artistic explorations with an old film camera transforming her photographs into watercolor paintings of Formula-1 racecars.

“Transitioning to digital photography opened a new artistic door that allowed me to post process the image to what my eye sees and not the camera lens,” she said. “I enjoy photography and sharing my voice through my camera lens. I don’t restrict myself to one particular subject and I like trying new things. With my photography, I try to evoke a sense of stillness, a reminder that little moments are often overlooked.”

Kathryn SB Davis, from Kennebunk aims to capture beauty in the everyday in her daily photographic practice.

“This winter I filled the house with cut flowers and photographed blooms from budding through flowering stages and think of these new works as ‘dreaming of spring,’” Davis said.

Drawn to the subtleties of petal and stem, photographer Lisa Mossel Vietze, from Appleton, creates intimate, powerful studies of flowers.

“ I’m often in awe of the color, design or expression of form when I’m in the company of flowers,” she said. “My search for beauty in my surroundings is much like my own search for the Divine. A flower is the plant’s highest potential and promise of a new generation, giving of its energy for creating seeds. For me, it’s verification that goodness does exist and how spirit is tangible.”