After School Activities, Monhegan Schoolhouse
watercolor, approx 10x14, $350
In Memorium
watercolor, approx 10x14", $350
I am proud to announce that for the sixth year my work has been accepted into the Fire Island Lighthouse's Annual Art Show. (The two paintings above.)
This show means so much to me for so many reasons. In addition to being the first show I entered after beginning to paint (as in "fine art" paint) it is one of my absolute favorite places.
Growing up on the south shore, the Fire Island Lighthouse was the first lighthouse I knew about - the only one I could see from out little town beach. There it was winking at me across the Great South Bay, every 7.5 seconds, "Hello....hello...hello..."
When I was about 10 or 12, the Junior Audubon Society took a trip over there and we stood under its (crumbling) magnificence. The guide explained how, once-upon-a-time, the end of Fire Island was less than 200 yards from where we were standing (it's now approx 5 miles away). How the mail and supply boat could pull right up to the base of the lighthouse (the bay is maybe 200 yards away now). I was fascinated – and hooked.
By 1973 it was decommissioned and the beacon moved to the Robert Moses Causeway water tower to the east. There was serious consideration to knocking it down. I was heartbroken – how could they? Luckily, local outcry got results and they stopped the plans. Long story short, in 1986 the Lighthouse was recommissioned.
Today it's part of the Fire Island National Seashore, but much of it's day-to-day funding and the maintenance of the beacon itself, comes from the work of the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society, a non-profit that gives tours, puts on events and collects donations to keep the place running. It's still one of the prettiest places I know of – far from the hum of suburban life. Few cars are allowed here – the salty air is filled with only the call of red winged blackbirds, gulls, and other birds, the crash of waves and the occasional happy "ting!" of a bicycle bell. It is peaceful.
So – I would be delighted and honored for you all to join me (and about 100 other artists and their guests) for the Artist's Reception, Thursday June 26 from 6 - 9 pm. (Details HERE).
