Groton Public Library
99 Main Street, Groton, MA 01450
June 8 to Aug 31 2007

For hours and map see www.gpl.com
or contact the Library at 978-488-8000.

An exhibition of oil paintings by Lunenburg artist
and sailor Michael Cunliffe Thompson.
See www.cunliffethompson.com

Reception
Saturday June 9 from 12 - 2pm.
All are welcome to a gallery talk by the artist at 1 pm.
All paintings for sale. Admission free.


Left: "Duck Harbor #3" Oil on Canvas, 36 x 48 inches.

Julien on Board
On my sailboat at anchor in Duck Harbor, I painted a small sketch for
the large studio painting shown above.

The sea never stands still and neither does a boat.
When I am painting from my sailboat in Maine,
the boat sometimes decides to turn through 180 degrees.
Wind or tide can't be controlled and the only solution is to
paint fast and get the composition quickly onto canvas.
Such sketches provide the inspiration for the studio paintings
presented in this exhibition.

Seascapes
Some years ago, I kept a sailboat at West Island
(near Fairhaven, MA), which gave a easy reach
over to Woods Hole.
Coming back in the afternoon however was quite
another matter. My boat GRACE was only 25 feet long
and the famous Buzzards Bay breeze had whipped up a chop.
The distant water tower remained distant for an interminable time
during which guests sometimes longed for the mercy of death.

Left: "Crossing Buzzards Bay", Oil on Canvas, 18 x 32 inches

Landscapes
I love nature, and also paint landscapes and snowscapes.

On the left is "Cherry Hill Farm, Lunenburg, Massachusetts"
Oil on Canvas. 24 x 32 inches.
One of a number of farms like this contribute to the special Lunenburg landscape.
This was painted during the first annual "Lunenburg Landscapes" festival in the Fall of 2006.


I hope you will visit the show. You are warmly invited to the Reception.

Mike


This exhibit and artist lecture are funded by the GPL Endowment Trust
and the Groton Trust Fund's Lecture Fund