terryelkins

At one time Cape Cod was my annual summer retreat to visit friends in North Truro. There are some striking similarities between the dunes on the East End and what you can find in the National Seashore on Cape Cod. Pockets of dunes, grasses, shrubs, pines and other plants are in some ways indistinguishable. I painted in the National Seashore year after year and never ceased to be amazed walking in with my painting gear. It's breathtaking to walk up a 30' high dune and discover another section 200 yards beyond that is much higher and when you make it ... [Read more]

A few days ago I was sailing out of Sag Harbor with some friends including Russell Blue and Eric Ernst who, over the years, have helped keep the Artists Writers Charity Softball Game alive. Naturally the subject came up and I thought about my outfield sign at the ball field next to the Bridgehampton Volunteer FD. I was a member there for 17 years, most of that time as an EMT. That's another long blog entirely by itself. Anyway, during the summer you can catch these guys warming up on Sunday morning for their once a year debut. In the late spring ... [Read more]

In the summer of 2002 my studio and work, was published in Studios By The Sea, Artists Of Long Islands East End, photographs by Jonathan Becker, text by Bob Colacello. Studios By The Sea, by Jonathan Becker and bob Colacello Here's an appropriate quote from the book by it's author. “This book is not about how horrible the Hamptons have become, not about Hollywood east, hip-hop invaders or Ira Rennert’s mega-mansion in Sagaponack. It’s about a whole other, largely unreported, but quite glamorous life on the East End of Long Island, which centers on work instead of play, ... [Read more]

As soon as you cross the railroad tracks going north on Lumber Lane it’s hard not to notice a beautiful old farmhouse on your left with it’s half round gable window and Italianate style porch. The barns around it and old chicken coop out buildings seem out of time and place compared to the second home building boom going on around the East End. I’d driven by here many times before I took an interest for the place and probably many more times before I actually committed to the idea of painting there. One afternoon in 2003-4 I set up ... [Read more]

The Pond, 2017. oil on canvas, 56"x74" Wainscott Pond looks today much how it has looked for the last several hundred years. In my opinion it is one of the most beautiful undeveloped panoramic vistas on the East End. A thousand cars drive by here everyday and rarely does anyone pull over to take notice. That's especially true on the weekend in the summer when there are even more cars going up and down Wainscott Main Street. Some people are in a hurry to get home, or they're on the way out from the city to their second home ... [Read more]

Smith's Corner, oil on canvas, 28"x44", private collection Smith’s Corner lies in the middle of some of the most desirable farmland in Bridgehampton just to the east where Bridge Lane crosses Sagg Pond. The old Smith family home still stands on the west side of the pond but I'm not sure the two are related. I met Dinwiddie Smith by chance in 2007. I was a volunteer EMT with the Bridgehampton FD. John White another member and EMT asked if I could help drive “Din” to the Hospital in NYC. Din was a past volunteer at the Fire Department ... [Read more]

Strong's Barn, watercolor, 18"x24" Most of the countryside around Strong’s barn is still farmland. The barn was still being used last year to store potatoes but I've noticed a for sale sign posted. Peter Dankowski who's family has been living and working there for several generations still farms the land around here. This barn and others like it have a long footprint so trucks can bring potatoes from the field, back in and unload. They're piled to the upper level floor joists, 10'-12' high, from back to front during harvest. There are two levels, the lower for trucking ... [Read more]

Townline Sunrise, oil on canvas, 30"x40", private collection Town Line Road, like the name implies divides Southampton and East Hampton. When you're driving east from Bridgehampton, Town Line Road is on your right just after Town Line Bar-B-Q. Turn right and two miles down the road is the beach referred to by the same name. To the east you can see the late Michael Kennedy House, now for sale, on the dunes and the jetties just past Georgica Pond. To the west lies Peters Pond. Town Line beach is usually easy to access but in the evening there ... [Read more]

In the mid 80s before I moved to Bridgehampton my work was ”abstract”. I wasn’t always an abstract painter. Growing up I related more to the recognizable, imagery and subjects that when painted or drawn you know exactly what it is. Frederic Remington and Andrew Wyeth were my favorite artists as a child. That changed as an undergraduate at Sam Houston State University. I loved life drawing. As well as I could draw the figure, it was a departure point to abstract the figure and that's when my work changed. When I was in graduate school I wrote my thesis ... [Read more]

It's about two miles to the beach from my studio, maybe a little more. In the summer I drive if I can get there in the morning before Town Line Road and the closest beach is lined up with tourists and parked cars. You can only park on one side of the street and that’s by permit only. Sometimes I ride my bike down, take a walk and a swim. The only problem with getting to the beach by bike is that I have to cross Hwy 27, a challenge because of the constant summer traffic. It's challenging enough in ... [Read more]