Gladee's at Hirtle' s Beach
U.S. artist Don Lynn, is grateful for Lunenburg County where he finds a wealth of inspiration.
The painter explores the world of landscape and quickly credits the marvelous surroundings where he and his wife, Harriet, live nearly half the year. "I'm a great devotee of looking at what the eye can see in nature," he says, "and sometimes that translates into a picture."
Depicted here, the small village of Riverport in Lunenburg county, where Don is most inspired to paint.
Each June, for nearly two decades, the Lynns have left their home in the Washington, D.C. area, then headed north to Nova Scotia. Their first experience of Lunenburg County was in Kingsburg, home to Gladee's at Hirtle's Beach. At that time, Gladee was feeding locals and visitors alike, at her beachside restaurant. The Lynns and their daughters, granddaughters and son-in-law were only too pleased to take up the tradition. "She had the best fish chowder around," Don recalls.
At Gladee's, the family met Kevin Creaser, artist and now host of Gladee's at Hirtle's Beach. "We struck up a friendship," Don says. "We admired his carvings. He is one awful nice guy." Typically, Don did his own framing, but now the U.S. artist is pleased to leave that job to Kevin's expertise.
The Lynns were delighted to find a Cape home in Five Houses. The community is a 10-minute drive from the beach. Although it had been carefully modernized, they saw plenty of potential. "We've spent the last 17 years or so un-modernizing it," he notes. Gone is the front picture window, back are all the doors and six-over-six windows. In most ways, their Cape is now as it was when constructed circa 1840.
Don enjoys relaxing and looking out his studio window to the landscape's ever-changing flow of line, color, light and form.
During World War II, Don worked as cartoonist for a base newspaper. After finishing his army air corps stint, he returned to college in D.C., from which he graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in painting.
"Most of the artists who influenced me," he says, "were ones I studied under in the 1940s. Bill Calfee and Robert Gates were well-known in the Washington area. In New York, action painter Jack Tworkov was an excellent teacher. He was associated with de Kooning, Pollack and others in New York and all that bunch."
Don managed a gallery in his senior year. "We put on some good shows for a little university. I had the honour of carrying Edgar Degas sculpture, the Little Dancer. These days, you'd have to have an armoured guard. We'd take a panel van, load it up and drive it back down without all kinds of insurance. Calfee was very well connected in New York."
"Bushes flowing like water." The view here overlooks the bay where Don lives. He watchs and studies changing tides as they flow in and out every day. Here, he captures that feeling of movement so well.
Although Don trained in oils, Bob Gates got him going with water colours. Later, acrylics were a natural progression. Don paints on site. "I like to see what I'm painting, there's so much to look at," he says.
Early in his career, he made a living as an illustrator, art director and graphic artist. He painted throughout those years, but with three kids, he had to make a living first. One of his still-life paintings hangs in New York’s Hudson River Museum. After retiring in 1985, the Lynns bought their Lunenburg County home. That’s where the artist really flourishes. "Back in Arlington, I rarely have a chance," he admits. Dealing in antique toys and trains keeps him busy Stateside.
For a time, after retiring, he taught at George Washington University. That stint didn't last as long as it could have -- it meant leaving Nova Scotia in August, rather than lingering until late-October.
"Hills of Grey Sky." He pays homage to the sky's constant transformation of the landcape below.