"Rock Island - Mooselookmeguntic, 2000"

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f8dfc3.jpg"> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="165b5880.jpg" border=0 width="181" height="136" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> Our rock island sits about 20 feet offshore and is a well-known landmark for kayakers and fishermen.</div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003366" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B>Susan and Chester Bowles</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Susan and Chester Bowles"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>"Rock Island - Mooselookmeguntic, 2000"</I></div> <div> <IMG SRC="15cf17c0.jpg" border=0 width="497" height="380" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This painting was done by Eric Wolf, a painter-friend who lives in New York City.  It depicts the small rock island that sits just offshore from our cabin on Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Rangeley, ME.  The island is visible in the center of the painting surrounded by the water.  Mountains rise in the distance as roiling clouds fill the sky.</div> <div> We first met Eric during his stay at the MacDowell Colony in 1994.  At the end of Eric's sojourn at MacDowell, Chet helped him move his supplies and canvases from Peterborough to Blue Mountain, another retreat for artists in upstate New York.  We've stayed in touch with Eric over the years, trading occasional letters, announcements of openings, etc.  </div> <div> Eric's style is stark black/white abstract landscapes that incorporate some of the oriental techniques of sumi-e.  Eric also paints on location--never from photographs--and completes each painting in a single "sitting."  Here's a definition of Sumi-e:</div> <div> <I>Sumi-e means, literally, black ink on white paper.  Sumi-e is simple, elegant and serene; an economy of brush strokes are used to communicate the essence of the subject.  Influenced by Zen, sumi-e focuses on clarity and simplicity of expression.  It stays close to the two Japanese aesthetics: hayku and wabi sabi. The subject of many Japanese sumi-e paintings are  elements found in nature such as plants, animals or landscapes.  Sumi-e also expresses some of the more abstract concepts of life--its bright and dark sides--and is very  symbolic in its appearance.  </I></div> <div> Eric now has his own web site--you'll see that many of the images he has included on his site were done at the cabin.  We are flattered and honored!  Click <A HREF="http://www.artistericwolf.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.artistericwolf.com/"><U>here</U></A> to go to Eric's site.</div> <div> In 2000 Eric spent a week at our cabin where he did a number of paintings including a large (36" x 48") canvas that hangs over our fireplace in Sharon--a work Chet "commissioned" as a Christmas present for Sue. </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="584" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 264 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="268f4b70.jpg" border=0 width="244" height="183" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2663fef0.jpg" border=0 width="319" height="239" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="450" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 173 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1ccdaa70.jpg" border=0 width="218" height="167" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="202"><bR> <div> Eric has been able to spend time at the cabin almost every year since his first visit in 2000.  This picture of Rock Island was done in in 2003 and now graces one of the log walls in the cabin.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>