The East Coast Draw for Artist C. J. Kendrick – Retracing the steps of artists from the early 1900’s visiting two of the east coast’s artist colonies.

The East Coast Draw for Artist C. J. Kendrick – Retracing the steps of artists from the early 1900’s visiting two of the east coast’s artist colonies.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts is a popular summer retreat where locals and visitors marvel at the natural breathtaking scenery of the dunes and beaches. When on vacation on the Cape most enjoy luxurious accommodations; however, artist Claire Kendrick will be experiencing the preserved natural landscape in a much less lavish but connected way. Kendrick has been awarded through the Provincetown Community Compact, an opportunity artists around the world dream of, a residency in the Peaked Hill Bars National Register Historic District. Kendrick’s residency in Provincetown will be primitive only allowing for basic essentials in an effort to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the Cape reflected in her paintings. She will be residing in one of the 19 well-known Dune Shacks; where there is no electricity or indoor plumbing, and little connection with the outside world. The Shack is tucked away from civilization, but it has lodged several famous artists and authors throughout time who have been in search of seclusion in which to work.

Claire Kendrick is an accomplished and celebrated artist of the St. Augustine, Florida art community. She is an active member of the St. Augustine Art Association, one of the oldest non-profit art organizations in Florida with deep ties to its Northeastern counterparts.

During the mid-1900s, St. Augustine was the winter home of many artists from the Provincetown and Rockport art colonies. Acclaimed artists Ross Moffett, Tod Lindenmuth and his wife E.B. Warren and William and Lucy L’Engle of Provincetown, along with Anthony Thieme of Rockport and others were instrumental in growing the St. Augustine Art Association and establishing the historic Florida city as a premier art destination.  Art historian Robert Torcia referred to these artists as “the lost colony” in his book “The Lost Colony: The Artists of St. Augustine 1930s-1950s.”

 

“Claire is an extremely talented artist who is constantly perfecting her craft and seeking new and inspired forms of expression,” said Elyse Brady, Executive Director of the St. Augustine Art Association. “Her Artist Residency in Provincetown revives the tradition of traveling to far-flung artist havens to capture the essence of the coastal landscape,” she added.

Kendrick has received numerous awards…. Most recently she earned a top award in the National Parks Centennial Find Your Park Plein Air painting event at the Fort Matanzas and Castillo de San Marcos national monuments in St. Augustine. Her work has been exhibited on historic Aviles Street–the oldest street in America–where the studios of “the lost colony” artists flourish today as art galleries.

Over the course of Kendrick’s career she has produced a fabulous series of seascape and dune paintings. During her residency she will explore and paint the landscape that inspire her. This will not be her first time capturing the North East’s coast. In 2011 she accepted an invitation from renowned landscape artist Anne Packard to paint at her home in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Anne Packard outside the Packard Gallery Provincetown, Cape Cod. MA
Anne Packard outside the Packard Gallery Provincetown, Cape Cod. MA

Artist Claire Kendrick is thrilled yet apprehensive to embark on such a rare artistic opportunity that will take place in such a historically rich natural atmosphere. She states “It’s both marvelous and frightening, life will be stripped of the unnecessary—no cell phone or computer—only the essentials, paint supplies, a gas ring to cook on and gas light to read with at night, perched in the dunes with uninterrupted views, this is escapism and a chance to observe and emotionally connect to nature in its raw and finest moments. This is the thrill of the plein air painter.” Kendrick will be taking in every second of her Dune Shack experience and transferring it onto canvas, creating brilliant works of art which will reflect the magnificence of the Cape. Follow her blog at www.cjk-studio.com.

By Claire Kolodziejczak

 

If you are interested in any of the paintings featured in this blog they are available via

Grace Hopkins
Manager

Berta Walker Gallery
208 Bradford Street
Provincetown, MA  02657
(508) 487-6411
bertawalker@bertawalkergallery.com

Thanks to

Elyse Brady, Executive Director of the St. Augustine Art Association.

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Jim Zimmerman at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum who shared files from the archives on Lucy and William L’Engle he also introduced me to “Art in Narrow Streets” by Ross Moffett outlining the first thirty three years of the Provincetown Art Association 1914-1947.