Monhegan Island Open Studio/Gallery 2015

Hello, Friends!

I am excited to say that we are less than a week away from opening our studio/gallery on Monhegan Island, Maine! Throughout this post, you'll see several new paintings that will be exhibited in the studio this summer.

Bradley Hendershot

Monhegan Island study No. 36: Lobster Crate

watercolour, 9 x 5-3/4 inches
signed lower left

The Open Studio:
Katharine Krieg (see www.katharinekrieg.com) and I will be opening our studio/gallery on Fish Beach Road on Monhegan Island on Saturday 04 July 2015. The studio will be open to the public daily from 12:00 noon until 3:00pm or by chance or by appointment. The dates of the open studio will continue through Friday 31 July. If you are on the Island, please stop by and say hello; we'd love to chat with you. Both Katy and I will be out painting at various locations around the Island as well as in the studio.

Bradley Hendershot

Monhegan Island study No. 37: Blue Oars

watercolour, 9 x 5-3/4 inches

signed lower right

Evening Receptions:
Looking for something to do during the evening hours? Watch for our announcements on the Island Rope Shed, at Shining Sails Bed & Breakfast, and on the Freight Shed on the dock as we will be having a couple of evening wine and cheese receptions in the studio. We look forward to meeting you and sharing stories of Monhegan!

Bradley Hendershot

Canvasback Decoy and Grappling Hook

drybrush, 6-1/2 x 11 inches

signed lower right

Workshop:
Katharine Krieg will also be offering a three-day workshop on Monhegan on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 13-15 July.

Here is what Katy has to say about her workshop:
"This 3 day plein air workshop is about what goes into laying the groundwork, or armature, for a successful painting. Design, composition, value, shape placement, limited color palettes, and keeping things simple will be the focus throughout the 3 days. After a short demo in the morning, students will create paintings using knowledge discussed from the morning demo. Watercolor and oil mediums will be used although drawing will be demonstrated for creating field sketches. Group is kept small for individual attention."

Additional information is included in Katy's blog at www.katharinekrieg.blogspot.com.

There are still spots open. If you're interested, contact her through her web site at www.katharinekrieg.com for further information or to sign up. As in the past, I'm sure that an informative and fun time will be had for all!

In Conclusion:
Look for us on Island during the month of July!
All for now. Until next time...

"A New England Summer"

I am pleased to have my work included in the upcoming exhibition entitled "A New England Summer" at Patricia Hutton Galleries in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The opening reception will be on Saturday 20 June 2015 from 5:00 until 8:00pm. I hope to see you there!


Here's what Patricia Hutton posts on her Facebook page: "For many years Bradley Hendershot has spent his summers on Monhegan Island. Like the legendary artists who proceeded him, he records the history of the village... dwellings and the rugged natural beauty of this remote island off the coast of Maine. Come meet Brad at our opening reception and learn the intriguing story behind this dry brush painting entitled "Island Rental." Join us at an Opening Reception for "A New England Summer" on June 20, 5 -8 pm."



ISLAND RENTAL
Drybrush, 17 x 28-1/2 inches
signed lower right


Here’s a statement that I wrote several years ago about the house in this painting:

“From the first time I ever got off of a boat on Monhegan Island, I have been intrigued by the large, rambling, old house that sits atop Wharf Hill overlooking the harbor. You can see it’s present owner, sitting on the knoll most summer afternoons, at the top of Wharf Hill, watching the events in the harbor. Known officially as the John Sterling House, it is one of the oldest houses on Monhegan, dating to 1809. It is in disrepair—boards falling off, dark and looming. To me, it conjures up images of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables, and Stephen King’s Marsten House (in ‘salem’s Lot). I have never been in the house—maybe it’s best that I don’t go in; maybe it would take all of my feelings away, when I saw that it was just an ordinary house inside instead of the haunted house I’ve imagined.”

Well, in the summer of 2006, I went into the house, as the owner, then in her 90’s, had moved off-island. The house had been fixed up, with new roof, new windows, and new clapboard siding. It’s now divided into two halves, each one a rental unit. I decided to do this drybrush of the front façade as it was before repairs, and for some reason I’ve placed a placard above the door with my initials, “BJH”, carved into it. This must’ve been some sort of sign, as several weeks later, I decided to move from my Monhegan home of a dozen years and rent the right-hand half of this house, now called the John Sterling Harbor House, beginning in Summer of 2008. My front door was none other than the door over which I placed the initialed placard! I have since moved again, and now share a studio/gallery on Fish Beach Road with artist Katharine Krieg.

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”
Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House


Here is another Monhegan Island painting that will be included in the exhibition:



FOG WALK
watercolour, 18 x 29-1/4
signed lower right


John Sterling’s Cistern House, also known as Uncle Henry’s, was built on Monhegan Island around 1815. Originally known as the Cistern House, as it protected a water supply, it became known as Uncle Henry’s in the 1930’s when Henry Shaw used it as a place from which to sell his fresh produce and milk, which he brought to the Island once or twice a week. The painting depicts Uncle Henry’s in the fog, as a woman walks down Wharf Hill on her way to greet the morning boat from the mainland. An American flag on the upper deck gently waves in the breeze.


All for now,
Until next time,
Brad

Happy Valentine's Day 2015

VALENTINE'S DAY

Watercolour, 2002

19-1/4 x 29-1/2 inches

signed lower left

I discovered this building one day in late 2001; it is part of the Haines Brothers mill complex near Dorneyville, Pennsylvania. The building has the distinction of being the first schoolhouse in Pennsylvania outside of the city of Philadelphia. The schoolroom actually was on the second floor; the schoolteacher lived in the building and reached her quarters by climbing a ladder to the attic area beneath the gable. The first floor served as a springhouse. Upon close examination of the building, one can see slots in the walls, which served as rifle ports used to ward off attacking Indians. I was most interested in the heart-shaped metal sculpture hanging on the outside wall. This inspired the title of the painting, VALENTINE’S DAY.