Sunday, October 14, 2012

mountains, lupines & fiddleheads: 2 artists' love-affair with Maine

 
As you may know from my previous writings---I have long had a love-affair with the state of Maine.



beaver pond, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell






From spending my childhood summers with my grandparents in the northwestern mountains to living as an adult along the rocky, wave tossed shores of the state-- I have always felt this beautiful place to be home.


going back to camp, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches. ©2009 Kristina Wentzell


The first time I put brush to canvas, scenes from Maine have been a seminal inspiration for my art.  Dusky blue mountains rising from jewel colored lakes, purple lupines covering every meadow & roadside, spring green curls of fiddleheads, dark conifer forests dotted with slender white birches--these are the images I draw from again and again.



lupine field, oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell

I happily make my home in the lovely Monadnock region of New Hampshire now (complete with its own set of unparalleled inspirations) but Maine will always have my heart.


So, when my friend and fellow artist, Frances Clements Fawcett agreed to guest post on my blog and asked if she could write about her own love affair with Maine--I was beyond thrilled.


Frances (AKA The Delight Detective) hails from the pacific northwest. Her blog, The Delight Detective's Universe of Yes and Yay, is a whimsical and wonderful place.  Filled with Frances' delightful fiber creations and her musings about life are just brimming with happiness and positivity. I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and stop over and spend a while.  A couple favorites are this post about Frances' belief in a friendly universe and this post about the unexpected delights that await us when we drop everything and just go.


In the meantime, stay tuned--on Tuesday Frances will be posting here about her own inspirations from Maine (including that very special & ethereal Maine water bird beloved by many--can you guess which kind?)




dead river evening, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches. ©2007 Kristina Wentzell






3 comments:

challenging behaviors said...

Ah, Maine, the way life should be! From one Maina to another!

Gabrielle said...

Lovely paintings of your favorite place! I grew up in Massachusetts, so I have many childhood memories of Acadia NP, wild blueberries, and the beach.

Frances Clements Fawcett said...

Hi Kristina - it's so fun to experience Maine through your memories and beautiful paintings. Thank you!

When I sat down to write my guest post it was four times as long and chock full of LOTS of my Maine memories. Gosh, how do you condense over 22 summers (and a few autumns/winter visits) into less than 500 words? I finally narrowed it down by focusing on a favorite experience, as you'll soon read.

And in my editing I found a bigger gift: more stories/memories to share at a later time! ; )
Thanks again my dear - to Maine!