Gulls and Rocks

Gulls and Rocks
plein air oil from Monhegan Island, Maine
6" x 8"
25 off of 25
$75.00 + $10. s/h

Sea gulls can be seen dropping shell fish and clams from the air to the rocks below.  This allows them to open the shells.  I guess they're smarter than I thought!  So, if a seagull drops a shell while flying 12 feet up, how fast is the shell moving when it hits the rock?!...sorry, I couldn't resist!  I never did get those high school math problems.  You know, the ones that went something like:  If a train departs from Chicago at 10:00 and another departs from New York at 11:00, how fast will they be going when they meet in Ohio?  Why did we have to figure out the speed of 2 trains when they collided?

Anyway, back to Monhegan Island...

This is out on Lobster Cove.  I guess this ship wreck has been there for decades!

I loved all the cairns.  I built one, too!

Turn Of The Century

Turn Of The Century (I think)

plein air from Monhegan Island

oil  8" x 10"

25 off of 25

$149.00 + $10. s/h

I have paintings at two local galleries, Summerland Gardens and G44 Gallery, both which had Holiday Open Houses this weekend. As I was getting paintings ready for these shows I thought that I should also get my blog ready for the holidays.  So, I'm going to offer 25% off of all small paintings, 9" x 12" and smaller, in my next 25 posts.  I'm going to make an effort to post every other day and have that many posts before the holidays!

Back to our trip to Maine...

Monhegan Island is located 10 miles off the coast of Maine.  In the summer there are ferries from three locations.  However, when we went in October, there was only one ferry daily from Port Clyde.  I can only imagine the number of people on the island in the height of the tourist season!  But, I understand why so many people head out there...it's beautiful!

The architecture on Monhegan Island represents what I think of as classic, coastal Maine.  It seems to be something that many people are looking for...a slower, simpler way of life.  

Monhegan Island is a center for fishing, lobstering, a haven for artists, and a summer retreat for people attracted to its' scenery, rugged shore line, hikes, nature, and history.

Buoy Shacks On Monhegan Island

Buoy Shacks On Monhegan Island
plein air oil  8" x 10"
$149.00 + $10. s/h
that's 25 off of 25!

Here's another plein air painting from our trip last month to Monhegan Island, Maine.  Every where that you turned there was another painting just waiting for you!

And below are some more photos from our trip!

This shows many lobster traps being dropped off at the dock.

Usually these chairs on the front porch of the hotel had lots of people in them! 

I could imagine the hundreds (at least) of times this dingy has been used!

Veteran's Day #2

Veteran's Day #2

Oil 8" x 8"

25 off of 25

$149.00 + $10. s/h

SOLD 

(I'm offering 25% off of the next 25 small paintings!)

I posted a similar flag painting last Veteran's Day and decided to post another one this year...and maybe every Veteran's Day, who knows!  Below is the same information from that post also.

This is the flag that my dad received for his dad's service to our country.  My dad passed it down to my son.  I have painted and posted it before.

Saturday was the big Veterans Day Parade in downtown Colorado Springs.  We have a lot of Vets here as the military is a strong presence in the town with Fort Carson, NORAD, Peterson Field, Schriever Air Force Base, and the Air Force Academy.  Many Vets stay and make Colorado Springs their home and many Vets return to live here when they retire.  Monday is Veteran's Day with closures in all of the government buildings as well as our local schools.

I come from a family of Veterans.  I'll introduce you to some of them again this year:

This is my mom, Rosalie Phillips Johnson (1921-1971).  She became a pilot after college.  She served in WWII as a WASP, Women's Air Force Service Pilot.   The WASPs flew new planes from factories to embarcation air fields where they were either flown or shipped overseas.

My dad, Oliver Sidney Johnson (1920-2004), is on the far left in the back row.  He served in WWII as a radio operator and machine gunner on B-24s and B-17s in the 490th Bomb Group flying out of England.

My grandfather, Charles Thomas Johnson, (1890-1964) is the one circled.  He served in WWI and also was a Colonel in WWII.  This is General Patton's staff (you may recognize him in the front row.)  I can't imagine how it must have been for my grandma to have her husband and only child both in Europe during the war.  She also served our country as an ambulance driver taking soldiers from Midway airport to the hospital.

My husband Peter's parents were also Veterans.  They both served in the Navy.  This is their engagement photo.  My father-in-law, Peter Carl Holnback, was a fighter pilot in the Pacific.  My mother-in-law, Olive Hird Holnback, was a WAVE:  Women Accepted for Voluntary 

Emergency Service.

Monhegan Harbor

Monhegan Harbor

Plein Air Oil  8" x 10"

25 off of 25

$149.00 + $10. s/h

I've been getting paintings ready for holiday shows at two local galleries....both with Open Houses next weekend.  This made me think that I should also get my blog ready for the holidays.  So, I'm going to offer 25% off of all small paintings, 9" x 12" and smaller, in my next 25 posts.  I'm going to make an effort to post every other day.

This painting was done last month when we were on a painting trip to Monhegan Island, Maine.  I've heard so much about the island and seen so many paintings done there by other artists.  Now I know why so many artists love it!

We arrived for "trap day"and could hardly get off the ferry!  Lobster traps were piled high. 

Every where you walked around the island you saw Lobster paraphernalia.

Monhegan Harbor from near our hotel.

And They All Went To Heaven...

And They All Went To Heaven...

Oil  8" x 6"

$100.00 + $10. s/h

Recently I posted pieces that were painted on a trip my husband and I took this fall to Vermont.  That trip continued into Maine.  This little row boat was done late one afternoon in the harbor in Rockport, Maine.  I love the abstractness of this close-up view.

There aren't a lot of big bodies of water in Colorado, so it seems that many of our trips end up near water.   I've taken so many boat photos during our travels.  One of my goals is to paint more boats.

The pictures below are from one of two sunrise outings to Rockport harbor.

Autumn Glory

Autumn Glory

Oil  6" x 8"

$100.00 + $10. s/h

This is another piece painted from the colors in Bear Creek Park last week.  That day was a warm 60 degrees.  Today when I walked in the park it was in the 30's and I was bundled up in hat, gloves and a warm jacket.

Autumn Afternoon

Autumn Afternoon

Oil  6" x 8"

$100.00 + $10. s/h

Yesterday was another spectacular, warm fall day.  We've been having one of the most beautiful falls.  More colors than we normally have in Colorado.  I walked down to the park to paint.

Bear Creek Park is right near my house.  I've done dozens of paintings, from all seasons, of the park.

Green With Envy

Green With Envy

Oil  6" x 8"

$100.00 + $10. s/h

This is another plein air piece from our trip to Vermont last month.  This, like the last post, is painted near Lincoln, Vermont.  I couldn't get over how green it was everywhere;  a brighter, bolder green than we have here in Colorado.  

We stayed in the most beautiful old farmhouse on this road.

I felt like I could see the fall colors changing right before my eyes.  It was as if each morning 

when I woke up Mother Nature had taken another little pass across her canvas of nature. 

Fall Colors

Fall Colors

Oil 6" x 8"

$100.00 + $10. s/h

SOLD

My husband and I recently got home from a 3 week trip to Vermont, Maine, and Nova Scotia.  The idea for the trip started with an artist friend showing pictures of a trip she had taken to Monhegan Island, Maine in the '70's.  For several years a group of us kept saying that we should go there!  Well, one day last winter the trip got planned.  16 of us: artists, husbands, family, ended up on Monhegan Island for 4 days in September/October...more about that soon!  My husband and I have friends from high school who have Vermont connections.  Since Vermont is near Maine, (relatively speaking when you live in Colorado!) we went to Vermont for a week at the beginning of the trip.  I'm pretty biased toward the fall colors in Colorado, but Vermont was spectacular.  New England in the fall is every thing that they say it is!  Each day got more colorful and more beautiful!

This painting was done near Lincoln, Vermont.  We had wonderful weather, stayed in a quintessential Vermont farmhouse and a wonderful lake house, went for walks, visited, laughed, saw the sites, had fun.  And, I managed to do a little bit of painting.  Every thing that a trip should be!

Bear Creek Nature Center Art Show

Ber Creek Path
14" x 11"  Oil

This is one of the pieces that I have in the upcoming show at Bear Creek Nature Center.  The show, held Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19, is a fund raiser for the Nature Center Education Programs.  If you live in Colorado Springs I hope that you can stop by Friday from 4-8 pm or Saturday from 9-4.