Monhegan Sojourn

Now that our Sojourn is Over......New BLOG!

2011-06-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Please stay with us as we continue to weave a new BLOG, from terra firma in New Haven. This BLOG chronicles the career moves and interesting things that happen to a person (Frank) who long ago took the plunge into being a full time, career artist. Join us on this journey by clicking here.

Frank's MONHEGAN Exhibit: This Saturday!

2010-09-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, October 2nd 2010, from 12-5pm New Haven's Citywide Open Studios continues and will include Westville studios

Come see Frank's paintings from our Monhegan Sojourn. We are really excited to show everyone what kept Frank busy for almost 7 months, thru winter, spring and summer on that endlessly inspirational island.

For your GPS, we are at 418 West Rock Avenue, New Haven, CT 06515. you can call us too at 203-389-5865

See you this Saturday, Oct 2nd!

A Tour of Frank's SOLD paintings from Monhegan and OPEN Studios event!

2010-09-08T19:43:00.001-07:00

Frank started what will become a rather large body of work, though the parameters of that "body" of work are constantly changing, as one painting is begun, finished or scraped down, another painting sells. His client list has swelled, as we were thrilled to find some of his work is being purchased by serious Monhegan art collectors. Below, a photographic tour of what has SOLD so far....

NOTE the DATE: ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 2ND, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN MEET US IN NEW HAVEN, WE WILL BE SHOWING FRANK'S MONHEGAN PAINTINGS IN OUR STUDIO, AS PART OF THE 2010 CITY-WIDE OPEN STUDIOS EVENT.

And below, the SOLD tour begins:

Blue Snow 14 x 18" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Oil Tank 6 x 8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Big Surf 36 x 48" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Partridge House 6 x 8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Fish Beach 6 x 8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Main Street 6 x 8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Rocks and Water 11 x 14" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Wharf in Winter 11 x 14" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Winter Surf 18 x 24" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Coast Guard Station 11 x 14" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Sunset 6 x 8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Monhegan Marsh 24 x 38" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Blue Seas 11 x 14" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Sunset from Cemetery 6 x 8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Springtime 12 x 16" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

King of Manana 6 x 8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

IF you are able, please visit us on OCTOBER 2nd, in NEW HAVEN! 203-389-5865

our studio/home address: 418 West Rock Avenue •New Haven, CT 06515

in Closing....

2010-08-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

We ended our island sojourn with trepidation as uprooting was intensely bittersweet....

Riding to the ferry, for the last time, with his pine tree from the woods peeking out from the top of his pack. To be planted in CT.

Too much stuff...thank God for the Bracy truck.

Monhegan's fairest at the dock, with flowers to ensure our return, and to bid farewell to Jorgie, Arlo and our cat, Lala.

More tradition....Susan and Ali preparing to plunge into the freezing waters to say farewell. Now THAT is love.

Look at those faces!!!!!! And so this chapter comes to an end. Thank you for reading along.

Farewell! party and things i'm gonna miss....

2010-06-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

A very proper send off...

Alison hosted a great party last night to send us off. Everyone for came with delicious food and words to sort of encapsulate our 6 month experience here with the island community....

after dark, sparklers....Alison's gorgeous LR, showcasing her work...

Look closely, see the house with the fish on the roof and bright blue trim? That's where we have been calling home, and today, we walked the 36+ steps up into the lighthouse and got a bird's eye view.

roses climbing

what a yard!

Too beautiful to not post

2010-06-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

Pics from a gorgeous twilight tonight

Frank painting Uncle Henry's cabin, just above the wharf

Tillie, weaving her way thru Rusty's wares

The "Kathleen", in the harbor

Really knobby knees...(click on image to see knees up close)

The odd halo on the sun from last night, sunset, from the Bracy's porch. God, we're going to miss this place.

Taking a walk....

2010-06-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

The kids and i braved big heavy, dangerous looking clouds and went for a walk...along the way, we visited Frank painting with the other island artist painting greats, Don, Alice, Alison, David and Frank ofcourse, and headed south to Lobster Cove...

this is a pic of Frank's sweet painting where he is "pushing color" as Don recommended in the painting critique he held in his studio, yesterday.( i think it was very successful)

...everyone listening to Don giving critique....some clutching white-knuckled to their wine glasses...but with his quips and witty remarks, there was a lot of laughter too.

discovered down on Lobster Cove....beach peas. kids were competing with how many peas "their" pods held, and how many they could eat.

so sweet

dinner picnic tonight. we got ice cream to go-before dinner. never have seen the kids eat their dinner that fast.....(as in-i gotta just choke this dinner down so i can get to my melting Novelty ice cream) And after ice cream, we went to hear our fave new bluegrass+ band play, starring Frank Stettner, with Linda and David, and their daughter Allie.

Lupine! Lovely Lupine

2010-06-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

Frank had to paint the lupine at least once....they are just about over now, it was a treat to experience their rise and fall in the meadow across from the aptly named "Lupine Gallery", which the owners Jackie and Billy say... for at least one month a year, the gallery's name makes sense.

Lupine Meadow 11x14" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

please click on painting for enlarged view

Dead Tree-6x8" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

There are many a dead tree on monhegan, they are all over the landscape on the back side, particularly between gull pond to gull rock. Usually the subject is not the first choice for artists to paint, but Frank obviously was inspired...

Father's Day edition

2010-06-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

I took a bunch of pics of the kids serving breakfast in bed to frank, but really, no one needs to see them. i mean, everyone is tired, messy hair, rumpled sheets, badly lit, so i spared you from that. After we gave him his coffee in his cool new coffee mug that is ceramic , but looks like a takeaway paper coffee cup with a rubber top that looks like a takeaway plastic lid, from Elva's, along with the world's coolest head massager, Frank declared we hike to Blackhead thru the woods.

We finally saw a baby gull, see that little fluff of speckles?? just last week i posted pics of her (or him-after all it is father's day) roosting on the 2 eggs, and today, one had hatched, the other still incubating.

Jorgie cannot walk through Cathedral Woods without checking in with the fairy house she built in February with pal Riley. Frank was suggesting she add a portico. That didn't go over so well.

Arlo walking with a big stick, after forming the FHRC, self appointed commissioner of the Fairy House Regulatory Commission...who's #1 function is to destroy any and all fairy houses that are built using living material, the biggest offender, torn up moss. so, if you plan to build a fairy house yourself, and you don't choose already dead stuff, Arlo may just be on your heels with a big stick.

Last Days of School on Monhegan

2010-06-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

The Monhegan school kids were taken to Manana, across the harbor, in the cool dory that belongs to Rusty. Then, i heard, they hung out with some very friendly goats....If you look closely at the above photo,or click on it to make it bigger, you can see what i saw from our 2nd floor balcony, the kids and the goats on their school trip across the harbor...have you ever been able to look out your window, or if you are lucky enough, from your lovely 2nd floor balcony, and watched your children, across a harbor, having a school field trip? pinch me! but please, don't remind me that our time here is almost over....

a most special visitor on graduation day......all the way from st. croix!

this year's graduate chose to eat pie and play frisbee golf after graduation ceremonies ended (nobody warned me, btw, that the graduation ceremony is such a crying fest). so there we were, walking down main street, looking for a badly thrown frisbee...

"goodbye!!!!" to quinn and dalton, from all the kids and the teacher at school, who jumped off the dock as their ferry took them away for the summer.....

just me, in the kitchen mirror at susan and victor's where i swear i always look 10 years younger. ok, maybe the visor isn't quite the look, but you should see my skin in that mirror in the light of that particular kitchen....

Workshop: Critique Night

2010-06-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Before getting busy critiquing the work, everyone filled up their wine glasses and ate some very good hors d'oeuvres. Frank asked us all to select just one painting, of everyone else's, that we liked and we brought them all to one side of the porch. And then one by one, talked about why we felt the painting "worked". Later, Frank gave pointers on how to work them up even better.

still smiling and lovely, even though they'd been painting inside with inclement weather. the sun burst through the clouds by late afternoon, and we were had some of the loveliest light later that night...

very actively critiquing!

look at all those canvases, stacked against the railing of the ice pond house! a prolific bunch.

good stuff!

ML painting on Fish Beach in the foreground....Frank questioning someone's color theory..."is cerulean blue a warm blue, or a cool blue"?

the aforementioned late afternoon light:

the blue splotches on the purple shirt are the long shadows from the buttercups sprinkled all over the trail to the beach.

found page of poetry washed up on the beach, which i stuck on a boulder. anyone recognize this verse?

Spotlight on JORGIE

2010-06-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight the Monhegan School held it's very first Variety Show. All the school kids played their ocarinas, as solos, duets and as a whole group, including their teacher and music teacher...also the school invited the community at large to bring in an act to show off their "talents".

We were blown away by the nerve of my girl, who got up on stage and sang her heart out with the excellent accompaniment of Linda and David.

Frank's Workshop...gets to Work!

2010-06-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

From L to R: Frank, Sandy, Annette, Susanne, Jane, Mary Louise, and Natalie on Whitehead where we hiked to see the headlands, which were shrouded in mist and fog.

who cares if it's foggy??? the ladies (who were dubbed as "Frank's Harem" the moment they docked) got out their gear early Monday morning and hit the beach with lots of gumption and instruction.

nice work too!and this is just the first day....stay tuned.

Jane Darling Ellis, who has never missed a workshop taught by Frank! She's been with Frank as long as i have, and even made it to the South of France to paint with us...

wonder why they think Frank would have a harem?

Walk in the Woods: Flora (and some Fauna) edition

2010-06-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Misty walk thru cathedral woods and along the maple trails for lunch. great timing for seeing all the greens in the flora and the rich soil and dark tree trunks, after a nice spring rain.

Cricket same size as 9-year old's eye teeth!

fairy house in cathedral woods....

never knew gull eggs were speckled and lovely

silvery tree roots on maple trail

fern whorl

bunch berry, relative of dogwood. i have been learning the names of plants on morning walks with my artist friend susan, who seems to know them all!

Workshop Begins, Strawberry season and outdoor parties

2010-06-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

The painting students (for Frank's first Monhegan workshop) arrived, and not a one packed light! they have enough food and art supplies for 3 weeks. after a sunset dinner up at our place, frank walked them home to their house by the ice pond and made them set their alarms for a 10 am painting demo...

The kids and i hoofed it to pulpit rock today, in search of wild lupine growing, but instead, we found wild strawberries!...the egg is a regular chicken egg, or rather, one of the locals' chicken eggs we buy, in the photo for scale. the strawberries may be tiny but mmmmmm! good.

the photo just above is a gathering to celebrate the new caretakers of the andrew winter house...and this impromptu musical group was such a treat. above that are the lupine standing tall outside the home of other friends' hosting a BBQ last night.

Walking down Main Street...

2010-06-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

I have been very chatty about spring arriving here on the rock, but as of yet, haven't shown that thru Frank's paintings...but here...behold....spring with lilacs, bright green grasses, and new notices on the rope shed (which is an old fish house that serves as a community board)

Rope Shed study - 11x14" original painting Frank Bruckmann©

the larger version is in process...will post upon completion

all paintings available for purchase....feel free to inquire

Extreme Close-up...Rocks on Monhegan

2010-06-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Gabbro Series #2. oil painting by Frank Bruckmann© 14x18"

we have trod over the rocks on Monhegan for years now, marveling at the granite and gabbro rock with the quartz intrusions, those white "stripes" that appear to be slashing thru the dark gray masses.....

here, Frank has somehow managed to capture that texture, using layers of thick paint which he builds up over days and days. then, when you think by the way he wields that palette knife that he might be changing into an abstract painter, he pulls out a paintbrush and turns what looked like chaos into a pretty exacting replication of those rocks.....when you get close up, you see the multiple layers and ridges....but from across the room, it IS Monhegan rock. he's chosen compositions with intersections of quartz, lichen, granite, other kinds of veins, moss, some rainwater, crevices, those forms that were created from the last ice age. this is one of about 10 so far that he has painted.

Can it get any more beautiful?????

2010-06-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

this picture, storms have passed....'tis soooooo worth a full day of rain, especially when your house is filled with 4 kids under 10....

i think today i am a photographer.....

a little diversion, cloudy with a chance of meatballs, loved by the adults, and i heard no complaints from the kids, either.

Puffin Cruise to Eastern Egg Rock

2010-06-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Captain/Owner of the Hardy Boat, Al Crocetti, invited the Monhegan School on a Puffin Cruise! The school board gave permission, we met at the wharf at 10am, rode the 6 miles to the Project Puffin, had lunch on board, and the kids were back at their desks by 12:45. Thank you Cap'n Al for your time and corny bird riddles. There are an estimated 225 pairs of Puffins nesting here on Eastern Egg Island, as well as many other shore birds. We saw most of the birds listed here on the Hardy Boat website.

See the yellow thing? it's a scarecrow for gulls, and it has a mechanism to pop up and push down for frightening the gulls, but i see no evidence of it working.
Leaving Eastern Egg Rock behind are some school kids and future school kid and mom.
Puffins are small, only 10" from beak to tail.
Outta here! They can fly up to 55mph. no kidding. i'd like to see a puffin and a cheetah race.

The Meadow (painting by Frank) and visitors

2010-06-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

Soft Day on the Marsh 24 x 36" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann ©

this is the view from the water station across the meadow, where i visited frank on this soft day with a large water bottle full of margaritas. the kids challenged each other to walk on this not so sturdy boardwalk, and i sat and watched an oriole moving around the meadow.
sprites coming out of the woods....head pieces and dandelion chain necklaces woven in a flash by a most amazing crafter, hadleigh, age 13.
Dean and Jo visiting, on our evening walk to lobster cove.

Whoopie! New art by Me and The Novelty is now Open!

2010-05-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

"Muffy's Room"(my cottage business of funky art for kids' rooms=muffysroom.com) merges with monhegan above, with tillie the cat down at the beach. the "friends of monhegan school" are raising money for the school thru donated art from local artists which will be auctioned off at the Carina.
the lupine meadow.....blooming weeks early

but the big news around town today...and this is a big deal when you have not had a choice of going out to eat for many months....the kids' got pizza AND ice cream for lunch. but not just any pizza and ice cream, really really good stuff from the novelty, dangerously located right at the bottom of the hill from our house...

Sue and Tobey welcomed the islanders and many visitors...with 3 flavors of whoopie pies that sue started to bake at 4am this morning and i spied pecan squares and lemon bars. they are smiling even though they don't know yet about the ferry that just unloaded 75 middle schoolers! hope they all went in for ice cream...

Quintessential Spring

2010-05-26T06:35:00.000-07:00

Kids' bikes came back with us from New Haven.... which has done so much for their spirits, and mine too. seeing them zoom thru town, with playing cards rigged up to make that tick-a-tick-a-tick-a sound.

go Jorgie... get up that hill!

the Stahl's house with an amazing mantle of that flower who's unfortunate name sounds like chlamydia.

Gull Pond swim

2010-05-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

SWIMMING IN GULL POND-spring is the only time you can swim here, b/c it is still cool enough that the algae growth isn't out of control and there isn't too much gull poop yet...

should i go in???

teasing arlo to come into the water...
10 seconds later, we were all in...even me.
algae flinging war!

Landscape with Jorgie

2010-05-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

i was very happy that jorgie took over this painting i started. also to come... i will post the oil paintings the kids made under the tutelage of Frank...

Kid-Built Raft from Flotsam

2010-05-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

the second the weather warmed up, the kids declared it was warm enough for swimming, or better, launching the raft they built on their own during "break" time at school.

here they are, hitching a ride from a lobsterman from the school to the beach

success!

trouble with steering....the kids started drifting off
giving a little help to the wayward raft. have i mentioned how much i love these experiences that our kids are having???????

Bogdonave Cottage-revised

2010-05-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

Frank finished this piece, and I love the muddy wheel ruts and the snow, leading up Horn Hill to the Bogdonave Cottage, just lit above the tree line.

Bogdonave Cottage 18x26" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

My view of these three, watching the "three stooges" coincidence?

ME-CT-PA and back

2010-05-23T05:34:00.001-07:00

Road trip highlights....from our last week in transit.

family wedding in reading, PA. nephew josh and his bride denise make such a lovely couple....

"the play" that our girl and her friends in new haven decided to create

3 generations getting pedicures- taking a picture into the mirror, now that's a fresh idea...

my mom and her newish pup "luc" around her pool. we will miss these days, around the pool, as my mom will be moving to her new home soon...

laying in a field (or an unmowed lawn at the intersection of central and edgewood aves.)

headed back to monhegan....on the ferry

New Haven Edition: Frank wins a fellowship grant from the CT Commission for the Arts, and paintings adorn Smilow Cancer Center

2010-05-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Frank was awarded an FY10 fellowship from The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism !!!!

He received the grant to support his "continuing artistic development and creation of new work." Specifically, Frank plans to continue painting the series I mention below...

Last week we went home to New Haven for a quick visit...besides seeing our friends and drinking great coffee, we bee-lined it to the brand new $467 million Smilow Cancer Center downtown to view Frank's Occupational Spirit, the series he painted of mom-and-pop store owners that rule the Westville section of New Haven, where we have lived for 12 years.

This pic is taken from the glass bridge/walkway over York Street that connects the cancer hospital to the other parts of the Yale/New Haven hospital.

These paintings adorn the 4th floor corridor, there are 10 of Frank's paintings on display, probably through the fall, and we were very impressed with how well they looked, this is not your typical garish fluorescent hospital lighting... Apparently, art was a serious objective when they built this facility.

This lovely painting, (of Paulette arranging a mannequin in her store window at Simonae) is hung at the end of a very long hallway and is now part of the Smilow permanent collection! Yea, Frank!

If you are not yet familiar with this body of work, please take a look at the Business section on Frank's website...

Frank Teaches the Monhegan School how to Paint

2010-05-07T19:39:00.001-07:00

It was a gorgeous sunny and windy day, perfect weather for an outdoor art class at the Monhegan School.

Frank set up his easel, and gave the kids a few pointers to consider while painting, but mostly, we all just watched and saw a painting come alive.

with just a few quick strokes that seemed random and haphazard, but were in actuality, masterfully laid in, Frank began the sketch....

Here, Frank instructs us all to "step back" to see the painting from afar, to make sure it is composed and coming along correctly.

Painting really coming along...and yes, he did add in the tie-dye shirts drying on the clotheslines, to which the teacher gave an audible silent cheer...

the dogs posing like they wanted to be painted in

Demo over....oh, let's just go climb a tree.

oh, and earlier i wanted to do a quick sketch of the harbor, but someone kept getting in my way....that's Tillie and she'll follow you anywhere.

kites, cats, lots of girl time

2010-05-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Spent loads of time with my girl last weekend. The guys went "inshore" and we plotted a weekend that included watching Pippi Longstocking, having a tea party with a couple other "girls", painting toenails while having breakfast outside on the porch, walking, talking and singing camp songs.

The illusive "Rocky". As his owner says, "such a specimen".

Kite flight at sunset tonight

after the sun went down, ready to launch the kite again....

Small beauty, Propane Tanks in Limbo, tie-dye clothesline

2010-04-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Look at the brush and palette knife strokes below on this little beauty...and scroll down for more art and a bit of island "news"

That house near top of Horn Hill again. 6x8"oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Propane Tanks in Limbo (finished) 18x24" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Intensely dyed tee shirts drying in the morning sun, just outside of the school house. These will be worn by all players (and scorekeepers) during the whole island kickball game, happening May 11th. The Monhegan School will host the event. Thor, get ready, we have thrown your name into the ring.

Paintings: Cribbage Tournament, Under Burnt Head, Sunset @ Fish Beach

2010-04-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

Cribbage Tournament-oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

The winter tradition of Cribbage in Sherm's Fish House. The tournament players and some artists crammed into the fish house and spent the afternoon doing their thing. This is the 2nd painting Frank painted, his first was a small quick study. He refined all that stuff in the background in this painting which brings it alive.....i'm sure this painting reminds many of you of Frank's Business Series from Westville.

Under Burnt Head-oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Sunset at Fish Beach-oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

More Spring! Mexican Dinner NIght! Ole!

2010-04-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

Spring has been lovely. Daytime temps can range from 40 degrees to 70, so we can't quite pack away cozy sweaters yet. Most of the splotches of color are from forsythia, dandelions, and daffodils...so yellow is the prominent accent to accompany the greening of every blade of grass and bush. Across the meadow, the straw colored clumps are giving way to green centers that will eventually take over. but for now, it is great to be here and observe the changes.

The Monhegan School is in full gear, providing tons of entertainment for us all, once again:

suited up and ready to serve

Jessie took this pic of the "locals hanging out at the cantina" aka virgin margarita bar.

She loved her painted on eyelashes...The boys had great mustaches too.
ummmm. taco bar toppings.

Prepping all day at school, in character with sombreros, and party shirts (on the "bartender"). The whole community came, paid $8.00 a piece, after we got presented the "bill", and of course we all tipped the staff, who are raising field trip money.

May Pole celebration! Beautiful afternoon on Horn Hill to celebrate a little girl who turned one year old yesterday, along with 3 other island birthdays (4 b-days on the same day, in a population of 53-now that is crazy)

round and round until everyone's noses were touching the pole!

The school kids are preparing for the annual community-wide kickball tournament. To prepare, we met yesterday to tie-dye printed tees. No vat dying anymore, it's all about squirting intense dye out of bottles onto t-shirts that have been wetted. More pics to follow....

Spring/Earth Day/Garden

2010-04-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Spring on Monhegan.....

Spring! soft fuzzy light and yellow buds and blossoms-daffodils, dandelions and forsythia-and purple flowers mingling in the grass that smell of spearmint.

More visitors from New Haven! Terry Dagradi, Travis and Jim Martin made their debut on Monhegan for 2 absolutely sunny, warm and perfect days...we dragged them out for a 3 hour hike practically right off the boat and they not only enjoyed it, they loved it. Here we are on the grassy patch up high on the North side of Whitehead...then they participated fully in all the Earth Day events with the Monhegan School. Even picking up trash, (not what one usually does on vacation) playing kickball with the community, and an hour long "Lights Out" walk through town from 8-9pm. We imagined getting a gang together for a Full Moon Hike through Edgewood Park. It can happen. Someone call FOEP!

The kids are putting in a garden for lettuce and potatoes, in front of the school, and i came by to help pull out sod, rocks and turn soil with them.

Here it is, just about ready for the seedlings the kids started inside. Why, lettuce? Captain John Smith (in the late 1400's) landed on Monhegan and apparently, planted the first lettuce garden in New England. Our resident master gardener thought it'd make sense for the school kids to follow in tradition. The pole in the center of the garden says "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in many languages, a sculpture that was erected a few years ago.

And this cheerful little logo my girl put on her Earth Day T-shirt ... she explained she really wanted to draw a sun, but she was supposed to draw her "dream for the world" which was that "everyone on the earth had a house to live in"...so here she combined those two things. wasn't it Picasso who said he spend decades trying to draw like a child?

More propane tanks , Waves crashing over shipwreck

2010-04-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

I want to show you another painting of island fuel tanks, and if you've ever been to Monhegan, you have passed these old tanks many a time, but I am sure you never thought to yourself, what a lovely thing to paint. but Frank did....

Fuel tank outside Elva's- 24 x 36" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann ©

click on image to enlarge

Waves crashing over the DT Sheridan 9" x 12" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann © click on image to enlarge

Party for kids and dogs

2010-04-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

Our daughter wanted to have her 7th birthday with all the kids and all the dogs on Monhegan. kids=8, dogs=4 (the rest of the dogs were busy). we baked dog treats (never again, yecchh!).

at her request we baked a cornbread with nutella cake that was dog shaped....

and we made a pinata to look like her teacher's dog, Maya, which the kids destroyed in no time.

sporting some new pretty hair clips, a beaded necklace and a felted wool hair twisty from island friends....a great way to celebrate 7.

Lobster Cove and the Wreck of the DT Sheridan

2010-03-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sun! Sun! oh back to a vibrant palette....I happen to know (because I am privy to such juicy info) that Frank is considering using one of these below as a study, to paint a much larger version. Informal poll: which one do you think would be the best choice??

Looking to Lobster Cove Beach-oil on canvas. painting by Frank Bruckmann©
The Flotsam from the DT Sheridan-oil on canvas. painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Paintings are available for purchase.

Paintings with soft light and snow

2010-03-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

This gang of 3 paintings show such softness, peace and quiet. I loved the quiet calm in February, and remember visiting Frank while he painted the gem below. Manana from all angles, with that little shack up top always reassures. So much color in a gray, cloudy sky.

From Deadman's Cove- oil on canvas. painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Different Angle, from Deadman's Cove-oil on canvas. painting by Frank Bruckmann©
Rocks upon entering the Harbor-oil on canvas. painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Paintings are available for purchase

Spring Break Highlights...

2010-03-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

This was the day we had the scavenger hunt. I gave the kids a list of things they had to do or collect, and the first team (of 2 teams) back with proof of all the things, including candy wrappers from candy hidden in an infamous island tree, rubbings from the cemetery gravestones, photos of fishermen, etc, was the winner, and then both teams got to search for "treasure" we'd buried on Fish Beach.

Hurry, hurry! Racing to find the buried treasure.

Proof that they found a rooster..

Using the shovel from burying treasure, the gang spent the rest of the afternoon building elaborate ways to divert the water running off from the meadow into the harbor, barefoot (!)

The next day we woke up to this! A snow covered island and here the spring flowers out in front of Carina were in shock!

So then it got cooooollldddd! Chris, Megan and Diane Bruckmann came for a visit-all the way from NJ, and smiled as they landed on Monhegan for the first time, despite the snow and cold and we still managed to get out and about, had some lovely sunny but chilly hikes, ate really good food, including the Spanish-ish dinner Chris made with all the fixin's from his favorite Latin grocery store in Bridgewater, NJ.
The day we took the kids into Cathedral Woods to do a little service work, to rake and clear up the path, I finally took a pic of this lichen on the spruce trees. It's so wonderfully crusty.

Spring Break Is......

2010-03-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Monhegan School has a 2 week long Spring Break, which is perfect for those going off island for a vacation, but for us, and the other mother at the school, I knew we'd need to get creative, since we were staying right here. So, we are scheduling the mornings with something to get the kids going every day....

So far, Spring Break is.....

Tree climbing...

Snake catching, or rescuing this defenseless snake from the jaws of our cat, and putting it somewhere else...

taking a break in between games...

building a "bridge" with flotsam...

discovering new cool places to explore...

beachcombing, to find treasure...

witnessing how they deliver dirt to the Rock...(there were 3 fully loaded dumptrucks that were barged in from the mainland, where they drove onto the beach across that ramp, and then when emptied up by the schoolhouse, they drove back to Fish Beach, and BACKED up the ramp and onto the boat....

and finally, Spring Break is...spending way tooooooo much time with your little sister. Now into week two, if anyone has any other suggestions of what we can do with 4 kids on Monhegan, feel free to chime in! Actually, when the weather is right, we are taking them lobstering.

Winning Awards in New Haven

2010-03-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Frank entered this painting in the New Haven Paint & Clay Club's 109th Juried Annual Show, and we just heard it grabbed the 2nd Place Award. For those in New Haven this weekend, the opening is this Sunday, March 21st from 2-5pm. For more information click here.

Tidal Pool -oil on canvas 36 x 48" painting by Frank Bruckmann ©

Please click on image to enlarge.

Happy Birthday Frank, presents for everyone, kids clean up Lobster Cove

2010-03-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

It was Frank's bday on 3/16 and so we regaled him with the finest of presents and cake and bday trimmings, but then he announced presents for US, and took us down to his studio, and there they were...3 paintings (in progress) of each of us, that he's been doing in secret! They are to be mementos from our Monhegan sojourn.

Arlo painted this tee shirt for Frank, it says "the War of Art" and he drew Frank as a warrior (what else does a 9 year old boy draw?) and for his weaponry, he has a brush and palette.

Day 2 of Spring Break: the kids collected ALL this trash from Lobster Cove and carted it back in Angela's truck...

Junked lobster traps, more trash and kids loving the spring weather and riding in the back.
South of the harbor.
myself and my girl

New and revised artwork

2010-03-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

Love this painting (which is still in progress, but i had to post it). Love the composition. Love the quiet of the wharf in winter, contrasted with the propane tanks, offering the proof of human existence.

Propane Tanks in Limbo(in progress)- 18x24" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Just Frank, the propane tanks, and a chilly Westerly wind. can you hear the gulls squawking? I also love this painting because i always thought those tanks marred the beauty of the wharf...i don't think that anymore.

The cemetery painting with a new look. On a previous post, Frank felt the blue was too strong and taking away from the cemetery in the foreground.

Peering Across the Cemetery-revised, 16x20" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann ©

The light across the top of Manana, windy day with rough seas, lobster paraphernalia lining the path to Swim Beach.

Lobster Corridor- 12x16"- oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

You can almost walk right into this painting:

Looking North, Road Outside the Bracy House-16x20" oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Prices for all paintings upon request. Some images enlarge when you double click on them (and for some reason, some don't)

SUGARLOAF ski trip!

2010-03-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

We were on our way....to a 2-days of skiing, but 4 days of traveling, ski trip to Sugarloaf mountain, in Carrabassett Valley, ME. Jessie, the kids' schoolteacher and her father teach disabled skiiers how to use incredible equipment to augment their disabilities, and therefore with their years of service, we were invited to really experience Sugarloaf in royal form. Thank you Paul and Jessie for all your incredible assistance....

The Monhegan School Ski Club (ha ha) and their teacher, Jessie.

Day 1 , the kids had their skiing lessons and here i caught up with them as they were being pulled up the mountain on the "Moose Caboose", a snowmobile with a 2 sided sled to drag kids back up the bunny slope.

Up up up they go on the chairlift

Up at the tip top of the mountain with one of the middle schoolers. We had a great run down the mountain where he invented the new kind of crash, called "the frog"

helmut, check....goggles, check....blonde bangs dangling haphazardly in front of eyes, check.

post skiing slumber

For all our family and his friends, i promised Arlo i'd post this video.

"Signs of Spring," as the kids like to say

2010-03-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

Spring is springing all around us here.....the kids and I have been going on "signs of Spring" walks, sometimes with our sketchbooks, to identify how Winter is being replaced by the lovely Spring....here are a few examples...

St Patrick's Day Bingo at the Monhegan School for instance....Take a look at us! We really cleaned up. Frank won the coveted award of March Bingo Champ, and his picture will be displayed on the wall, just 2 months away from my pic, as I was the January Bingo Champ....and look at those Shamrock earrings, headbands (thanks Lisa), and the yard ale beer glass Arlo is happily displaying.

Last weekend we spent hours at pebble beach, and no one complained about being cold or wanting to go home! The kids collected periwinkles and made up names and stories about them all, and the tide came in to wash them away. Sadly, we found a dead baby seal that wasn't any larger than a rabbit, which I threw into the surf, away from the dogs.

The harbingers of Spring themselves, a patch of snowdrops on Newt's front lawn.

Getting creative hauling beach garbage. thanks to Chaco's leash and Arlo's hood, we were able to make Pebble Beach nicer (at least until the next storm contributes its flotsam)

Warming up for the Workshop

2010-03-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

Painting with Dan Sharkey from Ridgefield, CT, on the backside. Frank and Dan caught the afternoon light and shadows under Burnt Head, looking toward Whitehead. They started the day drinking lots of good strong coffee over breakfast, and then headed out to paint at the wharf. When the Westerly wind ended that painting session, they found refuge here, on the other side of the island, after a quick "lunch and a beer". Both were happy to get a good start on their paintings, and to return back to the house for the Monhegan fishermen's specialty.... LOBSTER!

Thanks for coming up Dan, it kind of felt like a warm-up for Frank's painting workshop, June 12-19th. Send us pics of your finished paintings!

Rocks and water, blue snow

2010-03-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

A few more finished paintings to show .....Frank painted a ton while the kids and I were off learning to ski. I love the soft color of the snow and sky, considering it is the dead of winter. For every time I've walked up this hill, I have never "seen" this view but Frank saw the composition, and I love how he expressed it on canvas.

Blue Snow -14x18" oil on canvas-painting by Frank Bruckmann©SOLD

I wish you could see the painting below in "real life". It is large, it is dramatic, you can hear and feel the waves thrashing against the rocks.

Waves Curling in, South of the Harbor -36x48" painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Frank bidding us farewell from the dock, heading back into his studio.

Punishing Surf!

2010-03-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

We have run to the backside of the island many times over the past few days. While most of the NE is getting hit with snowstorms, Monhegan has not a drop of snow or ice, but the most dramatic, riveting surf. Standing there, watching, you just want to harness all that power. It is, in the true sense of the word, awesome!

At Gull Pond, check out the cascading water filling up the pond!
The overlook, looking North. What a thrill to come up over the crest and see that feisty ocean
Check out that wave spraying over Gull Rock! and the water pouring into Gull Pond, where we were all safely playing the other day, during low tide. not a soul would step out there with surf like this....On the down side, it is the weather that is delaying the Monhegan School Ski Trip to Sugarloaf...we were supposed to leave this morning, but with 15foot waves and wind gusts up to 50 knots, and pelting rain, it looks like we'll wait for the next ferry off the island, tomorrow. But, being in NEngland, in 5 minutes the sun could be shining....One way or another, the next post will be about the ski trip!

Cemetery, Cathedral Woods, Sunset looking South

2010-02-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

February has been mild and mellow as far as weather, and if we hadn't had our first round of visitors, I'd say it would have been an extremely quiet month, which is really what winter is about.

Peering Across the Cemetery- 16x20" oil by Frank Bruckmann©

We meet the kids for their lunch break at school, and then found a sunny corner out of the wind up at the cemetery. As you see, Frank painted... while I sketched and drank in the sunshine.

In the quiet of Cathedral Woods, I met up with Frank and snapped this shot. It was beastly quiet in there that day, and I wanted to just sit and listen and watch the sun hitting all the trees, rocks, snow effects, it was so lovely, but my toes and nose had froze. See Frank's painting, finished, below.

In that Open Spot in Cathedral Woods-12x16" oil by Frank Bruckmann©

Sunset Looking South- 16x20' oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Italian Restaurant Night

2010-02-26T19:44:00.001-08:00

I was lucky enough to participate in preparing for Italian Restaurant Night at the Monhegan School. Curriculum was suspended for one whole day while the kids transformed the school into an Italian Restaurant....The kids decided on the kind of restaurant they wanted (Italian), the menu (pizza, garlic bread, salad, iced tea, and cookies), they estimated how much pizza dough we "kneaded" to make, how many baguettes for garlic bread, they made placemats that had their drawings on one side and Monhegan School trivia on the other side, they borrowed real tablecloths from the Trailing Yew and set up 3 long tables for 30 total, and when the guests arrived, they greeted and seated and served them, and finished up with presenting them a bill which asked the diners to rate their restaurant experience! The students sat at their own staff table, behind a divider and roamed around the "restaurant" making sure everyone's glasses and plates were filled. Another parent helped bake pizzas, and a grandmother orchestrated the whole effort....it was highly successful, and very tasty.

4th graders got some experience kneading the dough for baguettes/garlic bread.

Cookie making teammates

Setting up the tables with centerpieces of scented geranium and placemats of kids' drawings was a very nice touch

The kids named the restaurant "Pizza Alla Mare", translates to "Pizza by the Sea". see the fish eating all the menu items?

Full house! Full bellies
Monhegan School Trivia time....see the little Italian flags on the table? our kids' finishing touch.
The waiter asking diners if they'd like more. note waiter's hairstyle.

The VIsitors

2010-02-25T05:02:00.000-08:00

We have had some fun distractions the past couple of weeks...first Mr. Frank Curran of New York's Hudson Valley arrived, with enough art supplies and provisions (read: wine) to last through the winter. Hey Frank, we still have that last couple fingers of AppleJack left for you so you can claim the FREE shot glass! When he wasn't out painting with my Frank, or skinny dipping in the tide pools under Burnt Head (true story) he was making chocolate French toast for our kids, antagonizing me, or on the phone with his family, who were swimming with dolphins and other tropical things in Mexico.

Here is Curran waiting for the rest of us to suit up before getting going....i like the Mike Stiler seagull in the background. We were sorry to see you go Frank, but with your departure came the arrival of Margi, JoAnne and 5 out of 6 of their kids. Jo's teenager opted to stay home with Matt (read: hang with his friends)

What else would 5 kids want to do but find the biggest rocks they could carry, and dump them onto a frozen brackish pond?? Only 2 kids fell partially in.

Beachcombing on secret beach...kids each set up their own "shops" to sell and trade their treasures of sea glass and other flotsam, to the other kids who had set up their own shop to sell and trade treasures.If they hadn't gotten cold, we could have stayed there all day. me too. love to beachcomb.

Jr. Paparazzi, taking pics of us as we all said goodbye on the dock. i love the size of camera/size of Scott ratio.

And these were my most unique birthday greetings. thank you my boy, the legomaniac, and to frank curran the whittler.

this was my bday gift, a floatrope basket, woven by Monhegan resident Rusty, who's studio is in the corner of his very teensy tiny kitchen, where he is very organized, as you'll see here:

he's created a loom out of found objects. i won't give any secrets away. but very impressive. he also weaves doormats and square boxes, of all different colors. even takes commissions. of course, he has no website or email, and as we found out, you cant wait until the last minute to purchase something from him...on the way to the wharf, my friends went to purchase doormats, but he'd moved his stash to the other end of the island....

Getting back down to the wharf, Monhegan style.Thanks guys for coming all this way and bringing that infusion of Westville to Monhegan. It was sorely needed.

seals, sweets, art

2010-02-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

Frank spent a lot more time on this painting of lobster cove. Now the snow is long gone from here, though my mom and sis in law in PA have sent footage of their snowstorms, keeping kids out of school almost all week long. how we long for another big storm up here!

Painting from life out on the rocks, and wielding her artistic license.
surface of a beautiful Valentine's Day cake with frosted hearts, and the Monhegan Harbor beyond. Thank you Susan for inviting us to help you eat it! it was soooooo good.

outdoor desktop of juniper shrubs.

check out this guy! he was sunning himself on the rocks, until we got too close. this is up at the North end of the island, pebble beach. the seals in winter seem very sociable, swimming in close to check us out. We saw over a dozen on this hike, splashing around as if to show off. i was riveted!

Two-sided Whitehead

2010-02-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

From Whitehead, looking South- 12 x 16" painting by Frank Bruckmann©
From Whitehead, looking North. 12 x 16" painting by Frank Bruckmann©

Bingo again, clanging bells, and walking the cat?

2010-02-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

Looking out my bedroom window is the first thing I do every morning, to make sure Manana (the island across the harbor) is still there. On this morn, the glow was so beckoning, i went out on the porch to get the full view....

It was a very sunny day, and after we took the kids for a picnic and sent them back to school, frank and i headed up to paint at the cemetery....can anyone find the backwards "N" on a headstone, and more importantly, does anyone know WHY the "N" is backwards? typhographical error?

yes, we are walking our cat, to get her used to the surroundings before letting her loose. isn't that silly?

it was Monhegan School Bingo night tonight. Look at those sweets made by the sweets. there were also sugar cookies shaped like sea creatures and sprinkled to death with all sorts of valentine's confections....
For a 360 degree view from the lighthouse, and a very creative use of the last bits of icy snow, press "play" for this riveting (hee hee) one minute movie. please excuse the wind.

Art from the whole family

2010-02-08T18:17:00.000-08:00

On the way to lobster cove, you happen upon these clues that you are about to pass a fisherman's house....I like how Frank can paint all that gear to look pretty.

We tell people there are no cars on Monhegan, and that is true, but there are trucks, which are needed to haul all that fishing gear (above) from here to there. So we all get around on foot. On an island that is just 1.5 miles long by 1 mile wide, there isn't really anything that is far away, but when it's cold and the wind blows...it takes an extra coffee and layer of clothing before i agree to walk with the kids to school. still, i find myself walking and walking and walking, i'm outside so much more here than back at home. by the way, there ARE 17 miles of hiking trails on this tiny island....

so here is a truck...maybe someday i'll recognize who's truck is who's.

shunning the papparazzi, she is, while i give 'em my best smile...

who was busy on the frozen pond before us? okay, birders, i want answers here...
road kill with buoy!

when kids take your camera and then alter their pics in photoshop...

the kids and i met frank and some others who were painting overlooking boar's head, near burnt head, and we got there in time to have a quick picnic and for me to get out my brand new sharpie paint marker, do a lightning speed sketch, and then fill in with watercolors. i felt like i was a hunter...saw the view i wanted, attacked with the ink, finished up the scene with watercolor before returning back to my cave.

Painting in Snow

2010-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

It gently snowed all day today, and Frank got this block-in down before the snow turned his oil paint into colorful crumbled gook.

aforementioned gook, above

oh and then it cleared a bit, and all those scudding clouds and grayness and light over Manana. so pretty!

The Wharf in Snow and Approaching Lobster Cove... new paintings, AND skating AND shrimp!

2010-02-03T05:06:00.000-08:00

The white stuff is falling again, and looks lovely swirling around and blanketing the view from here. Frank is satisfied with the wharf painting he painted with fellow artist Susan, one afternoon last week. He's touched it up and here it is below:

Island Intrigue:

And then it was time again for Monhegan School's "Community" Gym Class, this time on the Ice Pond. My kids aren't skaters, yet. It was cold and sunny and everyone was happy, especially the pug dogs, brothers, named "Port" and "Starboard" that were harnessed to a red plastic sled with their one year old charge, dragging him across the pond. Another mom brought hockey sticks and pucks and I tried that for a while and felt empowered gliding round the ice with a hockey stick wrapped in hot pink tape.

We never knew the fisherman netted shrimp out here. And I didn't realize that shrimp....are kind of cute, but I still watched (kind of looked away) as Frank threw them into their bubbly death...fried 'em up with garlic, served over rice. ummmmmm. Oh, we got a phone call from a fisherman (who over the years rather keeps himself scarce)..."Hey Frank, do you guys like shrimp?" Uh, yea. So he came over with the catch, Frank said he had a huge bushel, and was very generous to us.

oh and my mom will be so proud to know that I have had now 3 or 4 gatherings with a few others, just to sing! some strum the guitar, we all sing, sea shanties, folk songs, whatever, and I found that the bible is that "rise up singing" book that all my musical friends in new haven carry with them at all times when there might be a chance of song. now, maybe, i will finally make the cut and get invited to the hoot a nannies (sp) that happen around our 'hood!

Broomball and bagels

2010-01-31T18:18:00.001-08:00

My first culinary feat this year...homemade bagels. even the ugly ones taste great.

A few creatures, great and small, met on the Ice Pond after lunchtime to play "broomball". you wear boots (not skates), use regular household brooms and a soccer ball. knee pads and snowpants recommended to pad your fall. oh yes, you will fall.

look in the background and you'll see an easel, an artist painting the scene. how could she paint us with our quicksilver speed? or capture our grace?

don't you love the moms that bring the hot chocolate and brownies for all?

First Time Painting Workshop on Monhegan!

2010-01-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

Usually he keeps Monhegan to himself, but this summer join Frank for his first painting workshop on Monhegan...

Come and Paint Monhegan Island

with Instructor Frank Bruckmann

June 12-19th, 2010

$450 for the 6-day workshop includes the following: Saturday night welcome reception,

Tuesday night critique with wine and cheese, Friday night farewell dinner and final critique.

Daily schedule: for Sunday thru Friday

•Morning Session: 3-hour instructional with Frank

•Lunch break on your own, or with others

•Afternoon painting session: you can choose to paint alongside Frank as he paints a landscape, or paint elsewhere, explore the island, etc.

•3 of the evenings, we will have something planned,(see above) but on the "off" nights you can decide what to do on your own or with others.

Students are responsible for their own Accommodations and Transportation, please

click here for more information.

Return to painting

2010-01-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

Look below at the painting of Manana, all lit up, peeking out behind a few frozen tidepools on the way out to Pebble Beach....

Frank is back on island, the kids are back in school, and I should be outside in this sunny and clear and brisk weather... a quick post with paintings Frank had completed last week.

Be sure to click on the images, to make them bigger!

Here are some of the differences...

2010-01-25T06:39:00.000-08:00

With Frank in CT this week, readying the house for a subletter, I have no art to post, so instead you can suffer thru my observations...here are a few examples of how things are different, living up here on Monhegan...

What is living in my crisper....

The view beyond the monitor....

For whom we compost...

New friends + dogs+ daily hikes.

That's it for now, more art next week, but here is something poetic....the kids at the schoolhouse wrote poetry from photographs they took on a hike last week....check out the monhegan school blog

Bingo night at the Monhegan School

2010-01-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

We'd only heard about monthly Bingo night at the Monhegan School. Last night we arrived and the classroom was transformed-the Bingo banner hung, furniture all rearranged, snacks and refreshments had been prepared by the kids, each had their part in presenting the evenings events, and the room was filled with about 20 Monheganites ready to give it all they got with some seasoned players handling several cards at a time... Bingo cards cost $1 a piece, and all the money went to relief efforts in Haiti.

A bingo enthusiast!

The class' "to do" list

The kids take turns calling numbers....all very cozy and a bit kitschy, but i like it that way.

And a couple pics from a long walk with Frank to the back side of the island.
very cool freezing pattern down at Gull Pond
Looking for more compositions to paint...a monocular and a chapeau....so "Frank"

More! Snow on Monhegan

2010-01-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

We set out to snowshoe this morning after sledding the kids to school. Everything was just clumped with snow.

across the meadow
snowshoeing out to the backside
kids sledding to school...how cool is that?

At the end of the school day when the teachers thought the snow would hamper their "camera hike", they went sledding instead, and all were invited...the kids created a derby format, whomever made it the farthest down the slope, without getting knocked over was the winner.

New paintings and Extreme sledding!

2010-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

A few new paintings, these are a bit larger, they range in size from 11x14 to 16x20...he is really getting a hang for painting these winter scenes, i would say. And then, scroll down to the bottom for some excellent sledding footage!

Below: See Frank crash and burn!

Snow Day!!

2010-01-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

We woke up to this! and, it was a school holiday! and we found 3 sleds at the house, and a sled dog to come along with us! we spent 3 hours on the hill, which is called Horn Hill, and the route we walk into town daily, and the way the kids go to school, became the hub, as about half the island residents showed up to sled, snowboard or watch.
looking across the harbor from Fish Beach, and onto Manana.
The starting gate: our family and our friend and her dog, the best snow dog in the world. we tried to reacquaint him with his instincts, to remind him how to mush by harnessing him to a kid on a sled, which he did!

2010-01-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

You know when the snow has melted and it is snow cone perfect? Today the sun was shining so warmly on the backside that Frank painted for a couple of hours before we met him with rations and we picnicked (in January! in ME!) to start off a long afternoon outside...

then a snowball fight ensued...

Frank dropped his easel(literally) to photograph the surf, which was churning and exhibiting gorgeous aqua shades where the sun shone through

Then I went off and played poker with the women of monhegan...what a crew...i merely broke even.

A Balmy Friday

2010-01-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

Pictures from around town, yesterday and today. It is warmer and softer outside, but the surf kicked up. SO different from yesterday's dead calm water and crisp air.

soft morning sun on Manana, viewed while walking the kids to school.

quick sketch from my new journal, a gift from the wonderful Maddie Dagradi of New Haven, a woman who has been creating and teaching for most of her numerous years...

after school, down the "sliding board"

in Cathedral Woods yesterday, see how the light cuts thru the trees, bouncing on the snow. note Frank in his muck boots. muck boots,oh how we LOVE thee...NEVER have my toes stayed so warm.

the big one that did NOT get away!

NEW PAINTINGS, FRANK BRUCKMANN-MONHEGAN IN WINTER

2010-01-14T17:30:00.000-08:00

this tree always "gets" me when we are hiking to the north end of the island. so many pictures i've taken, picnics eaten nearby, canvasses painted while my babies were snoozin'...but here it is rendered in oil paint, and i like that...

all paintings are for sale, prices given on request.

Little Adjustments

2010-01-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

here is the view of the most popular part of the house...looking into the kitchen and LR which are both upstairs. there is a deck beyond, and a glorious view of Manana, and the harbor which is too vast to capture.
a favorite place of ours in the summer, this brackish pond on the backside is frozen solid, and i love the winter light shooting across.
how we shop....i fill out a form, hand it in with a blank signed check, and at the end of next week it all comes in on the boat, and then we all gather and sort groceries. (aren't you glad you can just run to the grocery store on your own?)
this is a much better kitchen for baking cookies, the view makes everything taste better.

ONE WEEK IN...

2010-01-11T05:10:00.000-08:00

family arrives

First week: leaving our native New Haven, CT behind, and settling into a lovely home that overlooks the harbor and the Atlantic Ocean to the ME coastline...introducing the kids to their new island school, 2 teachers, 2 dogs.

running to school, 1st day

under the welcome banner

...back at home, plopping into the HUGE beanbag chair with the kids to watch the sunset from our living room...the evening visit from a neighbor and her infant son with lobster and seahorse shaped cookies, followed by her fisherman husband darkening our doorstep (if you've ever seen this guy, you'd understand)bearing a milk crate loaded with the real crustaceans, with a booming, "Welcome to the neighborhood!"...a hike out to Pebble Beach on the north side of the island where a "bunch" (gaggle? pod? school?) of seals swam in to check us out...the setting up of our "account" at the grocery store, which consisted of saying hello to the proprietress. When she is not there we write down the groceries we've taken on the legal pad provided, and pay the tab at the end of each month.

schoolhouse -end of day

hiking on the backside

winter light

Frank is finding his groove and having NO problem finding paintable subject matter. We've been walking the kids to school (when they allow us) and then hiking for inspiration. He has painted with other island artists,decked out in extra warm clothes!