WHAT INSPIRED THE CREATION OF THE CALENDARS 28 YEARS AGO . . .

It has been a quick 29 years sharing settings I've loved enough to recreate with paint on canvas and feature in these special date-keepers. I began designing them at Christmastime 1994 when my sis Marilee shared, "We have no more wall space! Instead of giving us prints, why don't you design a calendar with lots of pictures that we can enjoy all year long?"

The first issue featured the Codd House on the cover (image right) ~ a Dutch-Colonial built in 1925. It was my favorite home growing up in Spokane, WA. I've painted it five times. The cover showed the Simpson family(only 5 of 6 of us kids then) decorating the house with lights. I painted my dad Joe on the ladder while Sally Mom kept the lights from tangling ~ a huge frustration for him. My dad passed away in 1988 before I finished this art, so it brought tears to my mom's eyes when I gave her this painting for Christmas. Special memories ...

In 1994, Kinkos (later absorbed by Fed Ex) Store Manager Scott Woodward printed a dozen copies at his Seattle Northgate Mall Store. These days, Rita McIntyre at Berreth-Thomas in the Spokane Valley runs hundreds of them in multiple editions ~ three different ones doe 2023. Each year, I not only receive orders from folks who live here, but others who grew up in our community, but moved to far away destinations in the U.S.A. and beyond.

ENTIRE LIST OF CALENDARS BELOW ~ The calendars have come a long way since 1994. Find a pdf with the entire list of past titles plus a handful of past covers further down on this page under "A Quarter-Plus Century of Calendars."

 

3 NEW 2023 CALENDARS ~ Click on the three 2023 Calendar Cover images below OR the corresponding "Bold Red Titles" to link you to three 7-page OVERVIEWS (pdf format). NOTE ~ My website is featuring the "SUN & FUN collection, so these images are ALL about Summer!

 

AVAILABLE NOW! OVERVIEW #1 ~ 2023 "WASHINGTON WHIMSIES (Gazebos, Pergolas, Windmills, and More)" ~ 2 NEW Paintings

SUMMER COVER ~ "GATHERING AT THE FOX PARK GAZEBO" • Fun Moran Prairie picnic scene at a friendly neighborhood park complete with a gazebo • Painted July 2022

DETAILS ABOUT THE PIECE ~ As shared above, when it became obvious to Doug and me that it was time to "downsize" ~ and not just downsize our home's square feet, but our many life commitments as well, Doug drove the decision to find a place that was easier to live ~ with newer construction, attached garage, lawn care and security 24/7 for health or vacation travel reasons. In short, we wanted an easier life and no worries about our property when we were gone. Easier said than done, of course, but Doug did find the perfect place ~ and with the help of our realtors, we sold one house and moved into another the same day ~ truly miraculous!

THE "EXTRA" ~ Our new neighborhood came complete with a park and a gazebo ~ and even though this move took place right in the middle of some of COVID's toughest days with shots still non-existent, we knew that someday the virus would be in our rear view mirror ~ and we'd be enjoying this treaure. Thus the inspriation for the art of it filled with friends, family, and neighbors ~ plus a glimpse of a vintage Buick parkedin front of its owners. The vintage red "Woodie" and it's merry verndor sellling waffle cones was a bit of magic poetic license!

 

AVAILABLE NOW! OVERVIEW #2 ~ SPOKANE'S MAGICAL MANITO PARK" ~ 1 NEW Painting

SUMMER COVER ~ "PICNICKING AT THE PARK BENCH CAFÉ" • Manito Park's fun, rustic eatery on the South Hill, Spokane • Painted March 2022

MANITO WEBSITES ~ My.SpokaneCity.org and TheFriendsOfManito.org

DETAILS ABOUT THE PIECE ~ Visitors have flocked to the Park Bench Café to place their orders for meals, snacks and beverages, and ice cream since this favorite destination opened in the early 1920s. 

In the park's early days, it included a zoo from 1905 to 1932 with polar and grizzly bears, elk, buffalo and more. At that time, south of Mirror Lake (also known as the Duck Pond) and north Joel E. Ferris Perennial Garden, there was a small pond with a hut in the center of it that housed water fowl. In 1923, a decision was made to fill this in and tear down the hut to make space for the new shingle and basaltic rock Park Bench Café.

In addition to serving food, Manito Park rented out bicycles here for a number of years, but the practice was stopped decades ago.

Highlight ~ Music has always been an important part of the park from its creation. When I painted this portrait of the café, concerts were still offered at no charge to the picnicking public on Friday evenings during warm weather months.

 

AVAILABLE NOW! OVERVIEW #3 ~ 2023 "KIRTLAND K. CUTTER'S PACIFIC NORTHWEST LEGACY" ~ 1 NEW Painting

SUMMER COVER ~ "HISTORIC HAYDEN LAKE C.C. CLUBHOUSE (BOZANTA TAVERN)" • Rustic inn that became the Hayden Lake C.C. Clubhouse when the golf course was finished • Painted August 2019

DETAILS ABOUT THE PIECE ~ Spokane businessmen J.P. Graves, F. Lewis Clark, architect Kirtland Kelsey Cutter, landscape architects the Olmsted Bros. of Brookline, MA and others began developing the western shore of Hayden Lake into “Little Switzerland” at the turn of the last century.

A branch line train connected the Idaho vacation area to Spokane, Washington. The resort included rustic cottages, an 18-hole golf course (the oldest in Idaho) and K.K. Cutter’s large Bozanta Tavern chalet-style inn.

Constructed in 1907, it became the clubhouse in 1927. When I painted the historic structure, it was still serving members and guests in that capacity. Recently, the structure was given a fine job of "sprucing up."

Highlight ~ Legendary actor and crooner Bing Crosby (Paramount Pictures' ”White Christmas”), who over the years owned a number of vacation homes on the lake, invited many of his Hollywood cronies like Bob Hope to play in his golf tournaments held here in Summer.

 

Click here on Past Americana Calendars (1994 to 2023) pdf for a complete list of ALL editions created since I published the first one in 1994. Washington State cities include King County's Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and other Pierce, Snohomish and San Juan County (Roche Harbor) communities as well. The area most frequently featured is the Inland Northwest. Spokane is my beloved home town ~ and where my husband and I currently make our home on Moran Prairie. This pdf also includes images of several calendar covers featured throughout the decades.

 

COMING SOON! 5TH EDITIONS OF WASHINGTON STATE AND SPOKANE JOURNALS

Fourth Edition Art Journals are SOLD OUT in both the Spokane and Washington State editions, but NEW fifth editions are currently in the design stage. These include:

 

 

AVAILABLE NOW! ~ COLLAGE-STYLE JIGSAW PUZZLES

2022 JIGSAW PUZZLES ~ 2 NEW SPOKANE SETTINGS ~ "Four Seasons of Gonzaga University" and "Four Seasons of Historic South Hill Churches" plus rerpints of past favorites. Puzzles titles include:

Find more information on the Ordering page. NOTE ~ The "Fun 'Landmarks'" puzzle is not available at this time.

 

 

BEST WISHES FOR A SUMMER OF WITH FUN EVENTS TO REMEMBER!

 

 

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