Despite my business partner’s best efforts to keep me on a plan, I tend to make decisions off-the-cuff. This latest one was based solely on the fact that Susan Lewis Baines asked me.
Sue used to run the Kelpie Gallery in South Thomaston. She had an incredible eye for pairing paintings. More importantly, she could sell paintings, which is a trait I find highly desirable in a gallerist. So, when Sue suggested I join the Red Barn Gallery in Port Clyde, I responded, “Once more into the breach dear friend.”
There were some issues that I hadn’t quite thought through. One was how I expected to run my own gallery in Rockport-which is open five days a week-while simultaneously honoring my obligation to a cooperative. The second was how to stretch my body of work to fill both spaces without sacrificing quality. About the middle of May I took a good look at my commitments and nearly took early retirement. They include a very full schedule of workshops and classes and a pledge to turn out seven interactive painting lessons by the end of this year. There’s this blog, which does not write itself. And then, occasionally, I like to paint.
I’m glad I didn’t panic. For one thing, the other Red Barn Gallery members are very nice people. They are bending over backwards to help me balance all the things on my very precarious plate. For another thing, Port Clyde is a lovely, unspoiled bit of coastal Maine. It’s refreshing to spend time there, watching the ferry toing-and-froing from Monhegan. And last but certainly not least, I realize I can paint gazing out the gallery windows when it’s my turn to gallery-sit. The views are wonderful.
I did, however, sneak the setup in during stolen time. My long-suffering husband rode to Port Clyde with me on Father’s Day to help me hoist my paintings up the stairs. It was an all-afternoon affair, and I reneged on buying him dinner afterwards. We were both just too tired.
But it’s done, and I think it looks grand.
If you’re going to be anywhere in the Port Clyde area on Friday, please join us for our opening:
Red Barn Art Gallery
Opening reception, Friday, June 23, 5-7 PM
5 Cold Storage Road, Port Clyde Rd, St George, ME 04860
Regular hours:
June and July – Thursday-Monday – 10:30am-4, Sunday 12-4
August – Daily – 10:30am-4, Sunday 12-4
September 8th-10th and 15th-17th – 10:30am-4
Open Late on most Thursdays
207 372-2230
If you want to visit me in Rockport:
Carol L. Douglas Studio and Gallery
394 Commercial Street, Rockport, ME 04856
Regular hours:
Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-5.
585-201-1558
My 2024 workshops:
- Art and Adventure at Sea: Paint Aboard Schooner American Eagle, September 15-19, 2024.
- Immersive In-Person Workshop: Rockport, ME, October 7-11, 2024.
Carol,
Wishing you much success at the Red Barn and your coop experience…everything you have posted about your obligations as a member rings very true…I love being a member of the Adirondack Artists’ Guild coop in Saranac Lake, NY and the sense of camaraderie and support only such an arrangement can bring.
I miss Port Clyde …so much inspiration!
Paint away while you sit! Can’t wait to see what you. come up with!