Kim Ferreira ends nine years at Portsmouth’s Three Graces Gallery with her first solo show.

In classical mythology, the Three Graces are goddesses of human creativity, and have stood for and served as muses for many artists.

Three Graces Gallery in downtown Portsmouth has done much the same. It has forwarded the careers of all the talented artists that showed their work under its sign, an image of the goddesses immortalized by Italian painter Raphael.

While owner Kim Ferreira is understandably proud of how the gallery has promoted other artists for the past nine years, she has made personal sacrifices to do so, including putting her own artwork last.

For this and other reasons, Three Graces will close at the end of this year. Its last exhibit will be the first solo show of paintings by Ferreira, opening with a reception during Art ’Round Town on Friday, Dec. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m.  

The show, “Repeating Patterns: The Tortoise and the Hare,” is a series of about 25 new paintings that play with the old fable of the slow and steady tortoise and the impatient hare.

Like much of Ferreira’s work, these works incorporate a self portrait, since the artist says she is just more comfortable using herself as a model. And, while the moral of the story is always universal, this one is personal for her.

“I related to the hare and I have a tortoise in my life,” Ferreira said.

But the paintings took off in directions other than a comparison of two speeds. There’s also the solid, protective shell of the tortoise and the soft fur of the hare. The shell serves as a lifeboat, a helmet and a parachute, and the hare obviously takes comfort in this.

All are set against or aside “repeating patterns,” which add another layer visually and symbolically. The phrase is appropriate for a series analyzing relationships, especially in the context of a single fable.

The patterns were encouraged by a textile design book. Ferreira says she likes the play between art and craft—the way an artistic design becomes crafty when applied to fabric.  

Before founding Three Graces, Ferreira worked at the Pierce Gallery in the same location while completing her art degree at the University of New Hampshire. It was a more typical gallery with the kind of local scenes that might serve as souvenirs for tourists. At age 25, Ferreira bought the business and changed everything about it.

She brought in an eclectic mix of contemporary art that was unified under her strong aesthetic vision, showcasing the best of local art and exposing the community to standards set elsewhere.  

“Very simply, I choose artists whose work I love. It’s purely emotional,” she said.

This genuine purpose set Three Graces apart in an increasingly higher-end market. It has been an important contribution to maintaining the city’s cultural identity, from the relatively affordable and often edgy art on the walls, to the unpretentious handmade crafts on shelves, right down to the creaky floor boards.

But Ferriera says the gallery has not been profitable since before the recession, and she was never able to hire help as she had hoped. With all the time and creative energy spent on promoting other artists and arranging their exhibits, there was none left for her paintings. “This whole place was kind of like my artwork,” she said.

Along with painting, she now plans to focus on her web design company, which will keep the Three Graces name. Look for Ferreira’s artwork at Nahcotta’s next “Enormous Tiny Art Show,” which formerly coincided with a “Teeny Tiny Art Show” at Three Graces.

A small part of her feels a sense of failure, she acknowledges, but “closing is a choice,” and she is looking forward to having weekends free and whatever comes next. She recently became engaged to her “tortoise,” Bob Marino, so there’s a wedding to plan, for starters. 

Her customers remind her that the venture has been worth it. One couple has marked several special occasions with a piece from the gallery, from their first date to their first child.

“I remember every piece they bought,” she said. “To be a landmark in someone’s relationship, that makes me feel like such a success.”

Three Graces helped people think differently about galleries and made art accessible to many first-time collectors, which in turn helped launch the careers of emerging artists.

Many of the artists were just starting out when Ferreira approached them, and with her help, they have developed a following and earned a living. Some of the notable work includes ethereal encaustics by Robin Luciano Beaty, abstract patterns by Shiao-Ping Wang, nostalgic things painted by Cindy Rizza, handbags by Becky Oh, ceramics by Erin Moran, jewelry by Sara DuLong, and modern furniture by George Beland.

In addition to the solo show, the rest of the gallery will still be filled with the work of Ferreira’s favorite artists throughout the month.

“All of them inspire me,” she said.

Ferreira hopes to sell as much as possible for the gallery’s artists before it closes, so paintings are on sale for the first and last time. And, in a final act of selflessness, the 20-percent discount is being taken out of the owner’s commission so that the artists receive their full share of the sales.

Three Graces is located at 105 Market St., Portsmouth, 603-436-1988.