A DAY IN VERMONT WITH PETER HUNTOON, VERMONT ARTIST

What makes traveling such fun?  Discovering new people, interesting places, and things such as arts and crafts.

TWO YEARS AGO, while visiting Jane and Ken in Vermont, we were spending a typical hiking-up-a  mountain day.  We hiked Haystack Mountain in Pawlet, VT.

The views were spectacular overlooking farms in the valley…

and the mountains to the west and Granville, NY.

Hiking always makes one hungry and we traveled to Sissy’s Kitchen in the small town of Middletown Springs.  Sissy Hicks (formerly of the Dorset Inn),  is the owner/chef and serves breakfast, lunch or take out dinners (from her cooler or freezer) with menu changes depending on the availability of  local food.

What makes Sissy’s fun… you order at the counter then grab a table on the front porch or at one of the outdoor tables scattered throughout the gardens.

Sissy’s Kitchen’s vegetable garden surrounded by lots of flowers

Sissy’s shade garden

While ordering our sandwiches I noticed an artist’s  print of Sissy’s Kitchen on the wall.  I liked it and picked up a postcard of the print with the artist’s name, Peter Huntoon.

Fast forward to Christmas…I decided to order a print of Sissy’s Kitchen for Jane and Ken as a reminder of a lovely day in Vermont.

Peter’s website was very informative and the ordering process was easy.

SISSY’S KITCHEN

I noticed on his site that he creates a new original painting every week and auctions it off through his A Day In Vermont.  If you subscribe to his newsletter, every Monday morning you receive an email with his newest painting with an opening bid.  You have a week to make your bid!  Such a great idea and also a huge commitment from Peter to paint a new painting every week!  I subscribed and over the 2 years I became a fan and looked forward to receiving that Monday morning post.

And I never bought a painting until this month when we visited Jane and Ken in Dorset.  We wandered into EPOCH, an artist coop gallery in Manchester.  I noticed a painting in the window by Peter and was drawn into the gallery.

Peter paints what he loves…and in his own words,

“Unpredictable weather. A change of seasons. The first fat flurries falling on your face.

Village vistas. Community Churches. Country stores.

Farm and field. Lost back roads. Memories of home.

These are the subjects I paint.

I am an artist in love with Vermont. Sharing that love with you is my life’s work.”

 Here is a sampling of his limited edition giclee prints.

SRINGFIELD VERMONT

 THREE OF A KIND

Dave and I saw a painting that caught our imagination…One that had mountains, water, and a heron.   We called Peter and he invited us to his studio in  Middletown Springs.

What a treat!  Peter has all the “right and left” side of the brain functions.  He has the creative artistic talents, but also understands the business, marketing side of being an artist.  He has the capability to print (high quality, limited edition giclee prints), package, frame, and ship from his studio!

Guess what?  Dave and I are the new owners of Jetty Master II, a beautiful oil painting of the heron on Lake Champlain.

JETTY MASTER II

Also during our visit to Peter’s studio we saw his newest painting, The Old Grey Barn, in progress for the next week auction.

Before we left Vermont,  we could not resist bidding on the painting we saw in progress that day in his studio.

We won the bid and are much richer for it as we had passed this tree farm on one of our treks through the Vermont countryside.

THE OLD GREY BARN

Point being,  you never know who you will meet during one’s travels…and many times that person makes a difference in your life.  Thank you Peter!

Please subscribe to Peter’s A Day In Vermont to enjoy Vermont’s specialness.

And if you find an artist you like, don’t be afraid to support them through their website if nothing else….And share their talents!

Here’s another thought…How many times do we spend money on a good lunch or a great dinner?  We tell our friends about that special restaurant and the good time we had.

If you buy a special piece of artwork how many times will you gaze at that piece reaping  great pleasure and enjoyment?

Come celebrate with me!  I’ll save you a seat at the table…or the bench (to better gaze at the artwork).