ROCKLAND — Belfast artist Eric Leppanen got a call from a high school friend earlier this fall who had a great idea on how to propose to his girlfriend. Kevin Blackwell, of Owls Head, wanted to propose to Rachael Yandell, of Camden.

“He called me out of the blue and was like, ‘Hey, I’m ready to ask her and I was thinking it would be cool if we walked into a gallery and there was a piece of artwork on the wall that would ask her to marry me.’”

Leppanen hadn’t heard back from him for a couple of months, but right before Thanksgiving, Blackwell called him and said he had secured the ring from his grandmother and he was ready to ask Yandell.

Leppanen, who regularly shows his work at Asymmetrick Arts gallery in Rockland, asked owner and fellow artist Jared Cowan if they could use the gallery as the backdrop. Cowan went with the plan and Leppanen went right to work, throwing together a simple “Will You Marry Me” painting.

“I do my best work under pressure,” he joked.

On Nov. 28, the couple, on their way to dinner, walked into the gallery. Leppanen posed as the gallery owner and said they staged it like one of those reality shows. Because it was so last minute, he said,  “I wish we could have had more people in the room, but we had a couple of our friends as part of an audience.”

He recalled: “So they walk in and I said, ‘Hey, how are you guys doing tonight? Look around if you have any questions.’ They milled around for awhile and then came to the back wall of the gallery where we had the painting covered in a black curtain. I told them this was a new piece we hadn’t unveiled yet and I had Kevin grab the other corner so we could slide the curtain off.”

From Blackwell’s perspective, he was trying to play it cool.

“It was nerve-wracking,” he said. “I was trying to hide it from her for about a week. Then, I had to get a babysitter for our kids; it was crazy.”

From the moment they entered the gallery, he said: “I was ready to throw up. I was shaking ridiculously.”

When the curtain came off, the room was hushed.

“She looked at it and got this sort of perplexed look on her face,” said Leppanen. “Then, he got down on one knee and proposed then and she kind of got misty-eyed, all that great stuff. So, they rode off into the sunset and will be officially be married next fall some time.”

As a present to the couple, Leppanen gave them the painting.

“The painting is actually going to be at the reception when we get married in September,” said Blackwell.

The pair have come full circle, after knowing one another for 30 years, even dating in eighth grade. They reconnected six months ago.

“I knew when we got together, I was done looking,” he said. “I have found everything I ever wanted in another person. She is absolutely amazing.”

Look for Leppanen and Cowan this Friday night at during the final Dec. 5 Art Walk in Rockland from 5 -8 p.m. To see a list of other galleries showing new work just in time for the “shop local” holidays visit: artsinrockland.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com