Camden — Camden Falls Gallery will wrap the summer season with a show of work by three marine artists and illustrators who work in a traditional, realist style and who share a fascination with traditional working watercraft and the strength and beauty of the Atlantic Ocean.

“Wood and Water: Traditional Watercraft —Featuring Todd Bonita, Paul Garnett and Loretta Krupinski” will open with a 5 to 7 p.m. reception Friday, Aug. 31. Also feted during the reception will be the “plein air paint-out” artists participating in the inaugural Camden Windjammer Weekend wet-paint auction, which is hosted by Camden Falls.

Bonita’s eclectic career includes stints as graphic designer for commercial gaming machines, commissioned artist of large-scale murals and assistant to the world champion chain-saw sculptor Barre Pinske. As a highly respected illustrator, Bonita has worked for many large publishing houses including McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin. As an oil painter, his focus often is on small watercraft.

In contrast, Garnett is known for his meticulous depictions of majestic sailing vessels. Growing up in the Boston area, he spent much of his free time on the waterfront. On discovering the historic replica of HMS Bounty, created for the classic film “Mutiny On The Bounty,” was moored in St. Petersburg, Fla., he moved south to work as a shipwright on the vessel for seven years. Garnett has completed commissions for retired Coast Guard officers and his illustrations grace the covers of William H. White’s historical naval trilogy about the War of 1812. He is a longstanding member of the National Maritime Historical Society and the International Society of Marine Painters.

Like Garnett, Krupinski of South Thomaston creates paintings that capture a rich bygone era of working sail craft and hardscrabble New England coastal life. Using a variety of archival photographs as reference material, Krupinski transforms antique historic documents into vibrant full color compositions. Painstakingly applying stippled glazes of color that re-create the style and manner of the period, she builds subtle tonal and color shifts that convey precisely detailed surfaces, both natural and man-made. Like the two other featured artists, Krupinski also is a highly sought-after professional illustrator, who has authored and illustrated more than two dozen children’s books.

“Wood and Water” will run through Sept. 13. Camden Falls Gallery, located on the public landing, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call 470-7027; visit camdenfallsgallery.com; or check out the gallery’s Facebook page.

Courier Publications' A&E Editor Dagney C. Ernest can be reached at 207-594-4401 or dernest@courierpublicationsllc.com.