Bradley Hendershot Studios: Return from Monhegan Island

We're back from Monhegan Island and finally have the Pennsylvania studio up and running! Upon our return, there was a great deal of unpacking, data entry and tax accounting, and shipping out of paintings and prints. So, I'm finally getting around to writing a little bit about the summer.

This year marked my 20th year on Monhegan and Monhegan's quadricentennial (meaning 400 years since Captain John Smith landed on Island in 1614).

It was a fantastic summer, highlighted by beautiful weather, sea salt, ocean spray, lobster, wonderful friends, the open studio, and, of course, plenty of painting. Many thanks to Katharine Krieg (www.katharinekrieg.com) for sharing the studio with me and making Monhegan extra special. Thanks also to our many Monhegan friends for joining us at breakfasts, dinners, parties, or just for a mug-up in the studio or ice cream in the evening. And, to all of the people we met on Island or in the open studio--whether you are a long-time Monhegan person or a first-time day-tripper--thanks for the wonderful chats. It was a pleasure to meet all of you and we really enjoyed exchanging Island stories.

The open studio was a huge success. Katy and I were known to be constantly bantering to the amusement of many first-time visitors and Island regulars alike--gotta keep it interesting! Thanks to those of you who dropped by the studio on a daily basis to sit and enjoy a Moxie with us. The open studio allowed for the display of about thirty paintings gallery-style. In addition, visitors were able to learn more about the painting process itself from the numerous unfinished works strewn about the studio as well as being able to watch us paint and describe our most recent work. We had two evening wine and cheese receptions that were very well received and we thank all of you who came out to the studio.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, I hope that you enjoyed my posts from the Island. This year was the first time that I attempted shooting video on Island, and hopefully some of you who have not been out to Monhegan were able to get some sense of what life is like twelve miles out to sea on one of Maine's wildest islands. I also posted, on Facebook, a video tour of our studio and some still shots of works in progress. And, of course, personal experiences from Katy's lobster dinner to the early morning retrieval of a paper wasp nest from under a porch were shared as well.

Both Katharine and I have been asked to do painting workshops on Monhegan next summer. In addition to the 3-day workshop that Katy taught this year and will be doing again next year, she will be doing an additional plein air workshop for oil painting. My workshop next year will be in watercolour. Specifics, including dates, will be posted in an upcoming blog, on my website, and on Facebook, or you can e-mail me with questions and I will answer everything that I can as we develop the programs.

Finally, many paintings were "adopted" into fine homes and I thank all of my collectors, both repeat and new, for their enthusiasm and support. I hope that you enjoy your pieces. Please keep in touch.

And, in conclusion, below are images of some of the paintings that I did while on Island.