When I was doing my residency on Monhegan I made a series of portraits of the island residents, inviting them to sit for me in my Carina House studio. The people on the island said that it was the first time a resident had invited them into the studio (most folks who do the residency spend their time alone working outdoors) and they were glad for the opportunity to mingle. Alot of the people who sat for me are artists who live on the island year round, and they welcomed conversation and collaboration with someone from the mainland. Believe me, I did spend plenty of time outdoors roaming the island - that's all I did for my first few days out there. I even did some plein air work. I was spellbound! But the figure is my passion. I held weekly life drawing groups in the studio as well as working on my series of portraits. We'd listen to Robert's Mozart records and draw and laugh. It was such a wonderful place, and I met the most amazing folks. Posted here are a few of the people who sat for me. If you go back and look at my wall of portraits, you might just pick a few of them out!(The first pic posted is a painting of Orca Bates by Jamie Wyeth).
Jamie Wyeth
Jamie Wyeth
Orca, 1990
Dyan Berk and Mike Stiler
Harry T. Bone
2 comments:
I've met Dyan and Mike before. Mike is a real character. I didn't know Orca was still on the island at that time.
While I was there, I stayed with Tralice Roberts, who is (I think she still is) the curator for the museum at the lighthouse. She was in the midst of acquiring a few Robert Henri pieces for a show on him.
Was Jamie painting while you were there? He was spending more time on Southern Island in Tenants Harbor the time I was there, though I ran into him on numerous occasions when I lived in Rockland.
Your retrospective here REALLY makes me want to get back there and paint again.
I knew Tralice - she was good friends with Martha Cook. Yup, Orca sat for me 2 or 3 times. (His younger brother Cat is a jewelry/metalsmithing major at MECA right now - Jamie did some portraits of Cat, too). I met Jamie very briefly. He was on and off the island - I'd see him riding his bike around. He lives in Rockwell Kent's house.
So, you ought to go back! Monhegan House is a nice place to stay.
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