Consider the Lobster!

Toast to Lobsters, oil on linen, 22" x 30"

Maine and lobsters. An obvious connection, maybe too obvious, but Ron Watson, owner/director of the gWatson Gallery in Stonington, Maine had the brilliant idea of putting a new creative spin on this universally recognized connection. He asked a group of artists, including some well-known ones, to participate in a show all about lobsters. Anything goes, as long as the Maine lobster is the theme. The response from the artists--and the public--has been overwhelming!

The exhibit will open June 26th and run until July 11th. There will be an informal reception on Friday, July 3rd, 4-7 p.m., along with First Friday Night event at the Stonington Galleries.

Another great thing about this show is that it has become a benefit for the local lobster hatchery! There will be an event connected with the benefit, tentatively scheduled for July 10th. Check with the gallery for updates.

Special Delivery

Last week, my artist friend Nancy Bea Miller and I managed to carve out a time to make a trip to Maine. Not a vacation, but a business trip! We delivered paintings to a total of three galleries and then headed home. The weather was not exactly cooperative. It varied between blue skies and torrential downpours, but we made it without mishap.

Highlights of the trip included walking and driving around Portland, where we visited galleries and saw the wonderful old brick buildings in the downtown area. We went to Stonington where Ron Watson, owner/director of the gWatson Gallery, treated us to a delicious lunch, ice cream, and coffee for the trip. Then we headed to Rockland and the Dowling Walsh Gallery where we enjoyed the artwork in the expansive new gallery space. The food was great, too. We found a Thai restaurant in Brunswick whose ingredients come straight from an organic farm--an artistic and culinary delight. On the way home we stayed overnight with Nancy Bea's relatives who run a restaurant, Bella Luna, in Jamaica Plain, MA. Her brother-in-law made us a gourmet breakfast that could only have come from a man who knows food.

Even though it would have been nice to stay longer in Maine, it was not so bad for a business trip!

"Monhegan" Show at Dowling Walsh Gallery

For the second year in a row my work will be included in the summer group show, "Monhegan," at Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, Maine. Starting this year I'll also be one of the artists represented by the gallery.

This can't help but be a good show. The island of Monhegan is a microcosm, a jewel of a place. It offers rugged and varied terrain, and a fascinating combination of architecture and natural beauty. No wonder so many excellent and accomplished artists have painted there in the past, and are still painting there. I can't wait to go back there in September to paint for a week with my fellow Maine Landscape Guild-ers.

The Dowling Walsh Gallery is located on the main street of Rockland, just across from the Farnsworth Museum.

There will be an opening reception on Wednesday, July 15th, 5 - 8 p.m. Please come if you can!