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| Ann Lynch |
Letter to the Group
From Dustan Knight
What a fabulous art year for the Merrimack River Painters.
Once again we have managed to pursue our artistic journeys and be moms,
sisters, wives, aunts and grandmothers. We know that we need balance in our
lives, time for others, as well as for ourselves.
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| Ann Lynch |
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| Claudette Gammon |
So we continue our regular monthly meetings where we can
talk about the ups and downs in our creative journeys, our artistic goals and
how we celebrate our lives.
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| Claudette Gammon |
As time goes by, (we have been together for more than 15
years) I appreciate our group more and more.
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| Betsy Janeway |
There are not many folks around to talk about art with. Not
just the exhibition-marketing stuff, but the feelings we encounter when we are
actually making art.
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| Dustan Knight |
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| Mary Ruedig |
We talk about new materials, share workshop tips, travel
experiences and the reasons we paint, what we paint and how we feel about it.
We trust each other to understand, and that is pretty darn special.
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| Betsy Janeway |
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| Mary Ruedig |
This past year we have gotten together at the July New
Castle workshop. Marilyn’s painting day in Ogunquit, Susan had her clothesline
sale and we are currently having a HUGE show at Kimball Jenkins in Concord, NH.
Annie finally had a show at the NHAA gallery in Portsmouth,
NH, and Ann has been showing really interesting pieces that combine architecture
and exuberant foliage.
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| Ann Lynch |
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| Betsy Janeway |
Mary’s artwork has blossomed and her travel journals are
lovely. Betsy is drawn to wild and inaccessible places, and has been painting the Arctic tundra wildflowers in Northern Alaska. We are encouraging her to
pursue the book projects she has mentioned.
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| Kathy Tangney |
Claudette almost has her lake house sold, and continues to
explore her painting materials.
Marilyn is having tremendous success with her new book
“Ogunquit Etc.” and Susan’s collages are tapping into her powerful younger
artistic self.
I am peddling my book at various art groups and painting a
series of acrylic birches.
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| Mary Ruedig |
Terry is always such a delight when she is able to join us,
her no nonsense perceptive conversation is invaluable.
Jan radiates such happiness that we all bask in her glow,
and Bonnie’s works, especially the pieces she is showing at Kimball Jenkins,
are so strong and personal it just gives us a deeper insight into the
remarkable person she is.
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| Janice Wittmer |
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| Dustan Knight |
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| Dustan Knight |
Kathy’s self-portraits get stronger and she seems to be
embracing them with more love and less confusion. I wonder what that means. She
continues to be our front man, and along with Claudette, our social/techno
genius, I don’t know what we would do as a group without them.
Thank you all for being the Merrimack River Painters.
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| Dustan Knight |
PS Just for fun, we are adding images of our handmade
Christmas and Holiday cards.
This ‘suite’ of paintings
began after a recent trip to the Palm House at Kew Gardens in London. It was
March…cold, grey, drizzly. In the greenhouse it was warm, moist and smelled of
earth.
But…
There was also the sense of
things dying. Palms up at the ceiling trying to climb out. The rust around
glamorous Victorian decoration…the weighted humidity. 
