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July 3rd, 2012
Beautiful Mackinac Island - Photography and Paintings
One of my favorite islands to travel to is Mackinac Island up in Michigan. We ferry over to the Island from Mackinaw City and usually ride on the boat that sprays the water in a huge tail out the back. Once over to the island we walk. A lot. There are no cars allowed on the island so we either walk or get a ride on one of the many Island tour vehicles. If I could ride a bike and still shoot photographs I’d do that but won’t be trying any time soon. Don’t want to fall and break my camera, let alone myself!
My paintings are inspired by memories and photographs that I took during our visit in summer of 2009. Hopefully viewing the following images will inspire other artists to make a trip to the Island this summer, enjoy the serene beauty and create some memories of their own.
Iriquois on the Beach is one of the nicest hotels on the island and this is how I like to remember Mackinaw Island … Flowers, sunshine and bicycles.
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“Mackinac Island is quiet and beautiful. It is filled with gardens and flowers, unique homes, quiet little B&B Inns, hotels and other interesting places. This is a painting inspired by photographs I made while visiting the Island in summer 2009, a quaint little cottage nestled at the end of a cobblestone walkway that meanders through lush gardens with gas lamps to light the way to the door. Carriage House is etched on the sign above the door.”
“Automobiles are not allowed on Mackinac Island so one means of transportation to get from one side of the Island to the other is horse drawn carriages. This painting of a surrey with the fringe on top is inspired by photographs that I made while visiting the Island in summer 2009.”
“Painting of Round Island Lighthouse at Mackinac Island, seen in the distance from a park along the shoreline at the far end of the Island. Painting inspired by photographs that I made while visiting the Island in late summer 2009.
From Wikipedia: Round Island is an uninhabited island in Mackinac County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The Native Americans called the island Nissawinagong.
The sole building on the island is the vintage lighthouse Round Island Light, currently under restoration. The ship channel between Mackinac Island and Round Island, lighted by Round Island Light, is called Round Island Channel.
The lighthouse is off-limits to anyone who may visit the island. While it is rare for Round Island to see any visitors, there is a small harbor on the north shore that attracts occasional inhabitants of Mackinac Island who sail to the harbor's sandy beach for a secluded, quiet visit.
Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour can be seen sitting near the lighthouse in the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time which was filmed primarily on Mackinac Island.”
“Memories of Mackinac Island in summer 2009. The Island is filled with flowers and bikes so I named this painting “Petals and Pedals”. Mackinac Island, Michigan is an Island where no automobiles are allowed so transportation is by horse drawn carriages, bicycles or on foot. This painting is inspired by photographs that I made while visiting the Island in summer of 2009”
“Arnold Transit Co is located at 7271 Main Street on Mackinac Island in Michigan. Arnold Transit Company is the longest running ferry boat company serving Mackinac Island in Michigan. Arnold Line currently features high speed catamaran ferries, slower traditional ferries, and freight boats. When you arrive on the ferry, you may ride on one of the surreys that transport vacationers and luggage from the docks to their hotels. This art piece is inspired by a photograph of Arnold Transit Co that I made while visiting the Island in summer 2009.”
‘Harbour View Inn Bed & Breakfast is a quaint little Inn on Mackinac Island. Historic Harbour View Inn, coined Mackinac’s Most Romantic Inn, offers one of the most picturesque vistas on Mackinac Island.
Madame La Framboise kept a lookout for arriving and departing fur traders in their birch bark canoes.
Today, you can observe the yachts and ferries in the harbor from an antique wicker chair on the hotel's veranda.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline_La_Framboise):
Madeline La Framboise (1780–1846), of mixed French and Native American descent, was one of the most successful fur traders in the Northwest Territory. Fur trading was one of the most difficult and dangerous occupations of the time according to historical accounts.[1] She conducted business in the territory that later became the state of Michigan. Due to her success, she was one of the most prominent early businesswomen of Michigan. La Framboise, a very wealthy woman, retired to a stately home on Mackinac Island at 41 years old. Her house, next door to St Annes Church, still stands, and is now the Harbor View Inn.
Painting from memories and photographs that I made during our visit in summer 2009.’
“One of the beautiful scenes of Mackinac Island from a visit in 2009.
Lovely gardens, garden gates, entryways, greenery and bushes and flowers. This wooden gate made me wonder what secrets or treasures were behind it and I decided to paint it and share with everyone. Inspired by photographs that I made while visiting in summer of 2009.”
“Surrey with the fringe on top. No automobiles are allowed on Mackinac Island so there are a lot of horse carriages and surreys to give visitors a ride from one part of the Island to another. It is very old-fashioned, quiet and slow over there. It's peaceful and beautiful. This is a painting inspired by a visit to the Island in 2009 and photographs that I made during our visit.”
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I hosted a contest on the theme Mackinac Island Photography and Paintings so other artists could show their art works of the Island and would like to feature our favorites from that contest here in my art blog as well.
We enjoyed looking at all the entries, but these were the ones that stood out to us for one reason or another.
“On the shore of Mackinac Island. Mackinac, Michigan.”
“Mackinac Island was America's 2nd national park, following Yellowstone. It later became Michigan's 1st State Park. No automobiles are permitted on the Island, though (as you can see) snowmobiles are right at home. Fort Mackinac which dates from the American Revolution can be seen on the bluff.”
“Sunrise over Mackinac Island in Lake Huron, Michigan.”
“Lilacs at Ste. Anne Catholic Church on Mackinac Island.”
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Thank you so much for sharing with us. Annie
LINKS:
http://anne-kitzman.artistwebsites.com/myblog.html
June 30th, 2012
We recently returned from a trip to Cape Hatteras National Seashore at the OBX. This was our second trip to the Outer Banks in two years. We love the area, it's quiet and peaceful and if you stay down near Rodanthe and Waves or further south, you don't have to deal with all the 'touristy' stuff, it's more down home. While there we visited the Rodanthe Pier and paid our two dollars a person to walk out on it and see what goes on out there and we saw lots of guys fishing. Nobody seemed to be catching much but they certainly were having a good time trying.
So I decided to hold a contest on this theme and see what other artists have come up with, called
People In The Act of Fishing. This was a really fun little contest.
The artwork submitted far exceeded my expectations!
The following art pieces are worthy of mention and are works that I feel should be highlighted as “the best of the contest”, regardless of whether any of them took first, second or third place in the voting. These are all FIRST PLACE WINNERS and have been selected to be featured in my blog. They are listed in no particular order.
CONGRATULATIONS to the artists who created the following beautiful art pieces!
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Annie
June 30th, 2012
A few years ago we visited an area called Black Mountain in the North Carolina Mountains. We came upon Lake Susan which is so beautiful in the fall with all the colors and I went there specifically to shoot the trees. However, docked alongside the small lake were several canoes nestled between small piers and I thought they were so pretty. I photographed them and used the image as inspiration for this watercolor painting. Canoes At Lake Susan by Anne Kitzman 2010.
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I hosted a contest on the theme of canoes to see what other artists have come up with, called
NO NUDES IN CANOES, JUST CANOES.
The following art pieces which were submitted to the contest are works that I feel should receive honorable mention, as they all are beautiful and worthy of notice.
Since many of these artists are not part of the group THE CHARM OF SIMPLE THINGS, I am going to feature their art pieces here on my blog, as I believe they are all worthy of recognition.
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CONGRATULATIONS to the artists who created these beautiful art pieces! Thank you so much for sharing with us. Annie
FIRST PLACE WINNER OF THE CONTEST (by popular vote):
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HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS (in no particular order):
June 30th, 2012
While on vacation a couple of years ago we took our travel trailer and camped at a wonderful KOA campground in the mountains of North Carolina near Black Mountain. We stayed across the lake from the tent area and had a wonderful view of the tents and campsites on the other side of the lake. I would get up in the morning and shoot pictures of the tents reflecting in the lake water before everyone else was up and about and the water was still calm and peaceful. This painting is inspired by memories and photos that I shot of the campsites across the lake from us with reflections in the water.
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I hosted a contest on the camping theme to see what other artists have come up with, called CAMPING TENTS IN CAMPGROUNDS.
The following art pieces which were submitted to the contest were voted best of show by a private jury.
Since many of these artists are not part of the group THE CHARM OF SIMPLE THINGS, I am going to feature their art pieces here on my art blog, as I believe they are all worthy of recognition, whether they took first place in the contest or not.
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CONGRATULATIONS to the artists who created these beautiful art pieces! Thank you so much for sharing with us. Annie
FIRST PLACE WINNER OF THE CONTEST (by popular vote):
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3 HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS (in no particular order):
June 30th, 2012
If I ever win the lottery I will buy my husband a boat just like this one. And maybe even buy a beach house to dock it near. Dream on, right?
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I hosted a contest on the lottery win theme to see what other artists would buy if they won a bazillion dollars, called IF I EVER WIN THE LOTTERY I WILL BUY. This was such a fun contest! I loved all the entries but these were the ones that stood out for one reason or another. The following art pieces which were submitted to the contest were voted best of show by a private jury.
Since many of these artists are not part of the group THE CHARM OF SIMPLE THINGS, I am going to feature their art pieces here on my art blog, as I believe they are all worthy of recognition.
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CONGRATULATIONS to the following artists, we hope you win that lottery!
Thank you so much for sharing with us. Annie
HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS (in no particular order):
June 30th, 2012
18 BEST OF CONTEST WINNERS - Hydrangeas in Blooming Color!
One summer I decided to add some color to the landscaping beds in the front of the house and bought a few hydrangea plants. I had no experience growing this type of flowering plant and was thrilled when they bloomed the first year! The flowers were huge and so pretty that I had to cut one to place in the middle of our breakfast table in a glass vase.
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I hosted a contest on the theme hydrangeas so other artists could show their beautiful paintings and photographs called Hydrangeas in Blooming Color and the images submitted far exceeded my expectations, they were gorgeous!
This was such a colorful, beautiful contest! We loved all the entries, but these were the ones that stood out for one reason or another. The following art pieces which were submitted to the contest were voted BEST OF CONTEST by a private jury.
Since many of these artists are not part of the group THE CHARM OF SIMPLE THINGS, I am going to feature their art pieces here on my art blog, as I believe they are all worthy of recognition.
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CONTEST WINNER by FAA Popular Vote:
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And, drum roll please …. CONGRATULATIONS to the following artists!
ABSOLUTELY THE BEST OF THE CONTEST – ALL FIRST PLACE WINNERS!
Judging via private jury, listed in no particular order.
Each one is simply gorgeous and worthy of first place whether it had the most votes or not.
Thank you so much for sharing with us. Annie
June 30th, 2012
19 BEST OF CONTEST WINNERS!
We were out on our boat spending a relaxing day on Caesar Creek Lake up in Ohio in July 2009. I always take my camera wherever we go and this time I wanted to try to capture photos of the herons that perch along the shoreline of the lake. I sat up in the bow of the boat while my husband slowly approached the shore where a blue heron was sunning himself on a tree branch. You can only get so close to them before they fly away, no matter how quiet you try to be, so I was using a long lens at 200mm. As always, this bird took off flying away from us but then all of a sudden he changed course and much to my surprise and delight, he flew right past my lens and I got the perfect shot. This is a painting inspired by the photograph I shot that day from the bow of the boat.
Blue Heron in Flight by Anne Kitzman 2009.
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I hosted a contest on the theme herons so other artists could show their heron paintings and photographs called No Nude Herons They Must Be Wearing Feathers and wow, the images submitted were gorgeous!
This was such a fun contest! I loved all the entries but these were the ones that stood out for one reason or another. The following art pieces which were submitted to the contest were voted BEST OF CONTEST by a private jury.
Since many of these artists are not part of the group THE CHARM OF SIMPLE THINGS, I am going to feature their art pieces here on my art blog, as I believe they are all worthy of recognition.
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CONGRATULATIONS to the following artists!
CONTEST WINNER by FAA Popular Vote:
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BEST OF CONTEST WINNERS (by a private jury, in no particular order):
Thank you so much for sharing with us. Annie
June 21st, 2012
I love this image that I captured of two young guys in competition at a truck and tractor pull, it makes me laugh every time I see it. We were down south on a camping trip summer of 2011 and happened upon a small county fair near Horse Cave, KY and they were holding the pulls the night we were in town. What luck! I grabbed my camera and a long lens and gave it a shot at shooting panning photos, which I had never tried before in my 25+ years as a photographer. This is one of the most fun images I captured that night.
The young driver has a cigarette in his mouth as he shifts gears and the passenger is hanging on and yelling out the window to their friends in the stands behind the track. Down here in Kentucky, if you're doing something that you think is pretty darn cool you yell ... Hey Y'all, Watch This! ... and I just imagined that was what the passenger was yelling as they sped past the crowd to the other end of the track, so I thought it was an appropriate name for the image.
BTW, I'm still learning how to do panning shots ... ;)
June 21st, 2012
Ignore Her ... Maybe She Won't Really Be There - The grim reality of the homeless epidemic ... if we don't look, we don't have to see. Homeless and hungry woman.
Homeless and Hungry is a photograph that I shot at Venice Beach CA in 2007.
While walking along the boardwalk at the beach I spotted this woman digging around in the trash cans for food and eating what she found. I watched from a distance for awhile to observe the reactions from other people to what she was doing. They just seemed to ignore her, as if she wasn't there. They'd look right past her at other things as if she were invisible.
I photographed her from a distance using a telephoto lens so I wouldn't draw attention to what I was doing and so I wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable but I thought it was a story that I needed to record. I felt so bad for her and at the same time, guilty for taking her picture.
I bought her some food at a nearby food stand, walked over and gave it to her. She cried. And ate it with tears in her eyes.