Love — and a life passion for art » Lifestyle » GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

As soon as Roy Blankenship could grasp a crayon and crawl, he delved into drawing on paper, furniture, the walls — but not the fine art hanging in the family homestead in Pennsylvania.

These actions foreshadowed a profession that the young Roy would develop and succeed in throughout many decades, and even branch off into painting conservation and antiques.

At the same time in Pennsylvania, a young Lois Showalter grew up in a Mennonite family, in a pious atmosphere, in a faith that promoted peace and nonviolence. As a student, she excelled in the arts, whether it was poetry, drama, drawing, painting or photography.

These two artists established themselves on the eastern seaboard with Blankenship in Delaware, where he studied and painted. Showalter settled in Gloucester where she became part of the island's artist community.

But the story of these two dedicated artists together would unfold decades later on Cape Ann, where Blankenship spent summers since he was a baby.

Theirs is a story of a life's passion for art. Theirs is also a love story — one that is still evolving, but as a united front instead of working in solitude as so many artists do.

Blankenship recalls that, on languid summer days, he could fraternize with artists, fishermen and boat builders. Blankenship's childhood on Cape Ann smacks of a Who's Who of Artists on Cape Ann.

"I used to drive everyone crazy with my non-stop questions during my frequent unannounced visits to their homes or studios," he said. "One time, a visit led to artist Arthur Safford painting my portrait."

The wife of artist Emile Gruppe dubbed the young Blankenship a "studio urchin" because the boy hung around his studio so much. Fast forward a decade and Blankenship would have the opportunity to paint with Gruppe as well as other nationally recognized artists like Paul Strisik, Roger Curtis and Marian Steele.

Blankenship was raised in large part by his maternal grandparents, Frank and Florence Insley Speck, each etching their particular influence on the budding artist. They owned a summer home in the Riverview part of Gloucester, where the young boy would play around Pole's Hill and forever become enchanted with the nation's oldest seaport.

He traveled with Frank Speck, a noted anthropologist and professor specializing in the eastern woodlands Native Americans, to visit various tribes.

His great grandfather was noted Hudson River Valley artist Albert Babb Insley.

Best of both worlds

"I woke up every single morning to see a beautiful painting of the Catskills mountains, which was exhibited at the National Gallery," Blankenship recalls. "It was called 'Peace in the Catskills.'

"At the same time I would also see this Iroquois mask with long black hair. I had the best of both worlds."

Blankenship has enough stories to fill the pages of a book. His stories are diverse, ranging from when he was a boy visiting reservations with his grandfather to the years he spent in the Navy and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. His duties including taking 8 mm films of operations oversees — film that went straight to the Pentagon.

But another chapter in his life opened when a decade ago he walked into the House of the Raven on Gloucester's Main Street, a shop he frequented for artist supplies. There he met Showalter, the manager of 18 years, and their acquaintance would eventually change the course of his life, and hers.

Catherine Quillman, a long-time art critic and author, has featured both the artists in her upcoming book "One Hundred Artists of the Brandywine Valley." She met them after viewing a popular exhibit the couple created based on a theme of their childhood inspirations at the West Chester Art Association, a part of Pennsylvania with a rich history in fine art.

"They don't fit the mainstream image of artists working by themselves. On the contrary, they work so well together," she said. "Each artist in the book has a two-page spread. I could have put them together but their styles and interests are so different. They both think outside the box more than most."

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), one of the most noted 20th century American painters, said of Blankenship:

"I can tell you have a close relationship with the subjects you paint ... I like your themes and your work expresses a timeless mood ... keep a secret about it ... No painting has to tell it all ... silence will evoke mystery and it keeps the art critics guessing. Keep up your good work."

Love on top of a Hill

At the turn of the millennium — while much of the world worried whether tomorrow might bring a global computer meltdown, or even worse, a human meltdown — Roy Blankenship's thoughts were a world away.

On a frigid 6-degree night, he and Showalter, equipped with their survival kit as so many had put together, headed out to the top of Pole's Hill in Gloucester. From its summit, one has a 360 degree view of Cape Ann. This option beat out his other ideas of where to propose to Showalter, which included at the top of the Empire State Building or the Sears Tower in Chicago.

"I was thinking of someplace very high," recalled Blankenship. "But this place was dear to my heart because that's where I played every summer as a child.

"That night was very crisp and everything was ice, but there was no snow," he said. "We took our little kit with water, Bands-Aids, flashlight and batteries. But I had a bottle of champagne, and glasses. It was pitch dark and we got caught up in some bramble bushes. It was also very windy. We were bundled up and numbed to the bone but our hearts were warm."

Blankenship kept checking the time, and when the millennium ushered in, he asked the pressing question simmering on his lips.

"When I asked her to marry me at the stroke of midnight, I saw her mouth move but I didn't hear what she said because the wind was blowing so hard," he said. "I had to ask her 'What did you say?'"

The answer was "yes."

After that matter was clarified, the two enjoyed the fireworks shows they could see from Boston to Newburyport.

"I'm glad I didn't wear my black velvet gown," recalled Showalter. "He told me were going on a trek. I had lived in Gloucester for a long time but I had never been up there. We got all bundled up, including wearing the orange fuzzy hats. But my shoes were coming untied because of the brambles."

Theo Taminiau, owner of The House of Raven, saw the relationship unfold.

"It just went click — like a fairy tale story," he said.

They married within months — on April 1, 2000.

Their art

Since their wedding, the couple has had 14 husband-and wife-exhibits.

"We're joined at the hip. I can't describe it any other way. We paint side by side but our styles are so different," said Blankenship.

Showalter said their love of Cape Ann made for an easy transition to Delaware — because Gloucester would remain a part of their lives, and because of their continued close connections.

When she spent Thanksgiving with him in Delaware while they were dating, she met his grown children and saw him in his other world.

"I left feeling there was a place for me," she said. "He's warm and passionate about life and his art. He had two wonderful children he raised as a single dad and I saw those qualities about him."

The couple's life and work together extends beyond their own canvasses.

"It's just not professional painting we do. We restore murals together and have an antique business," said Blankenship, who was a consultant to the Gloucester Art Committees on the WPA murals in Gloucester City Hall.

"We also write — she's a poet," he noted. "And we love everything that we do in that creative art world. We encourage each other and don't try to influence each other.

"Our personalities are quite close." he said. "She loves life. She loves to be creative. She's an extremely compassionate woman. She has wonderful capacity to love."

Quillman, who worked for 20 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, described their different styles.

"She paints beautiful florals and he runs the gamut from things Andrew Wyeth-like of solitary figures, and scenes of New England and landscapes but he'll also do a piece like the painting of a dog on a sofa," she said.

He paints in oil. She paints with water media.

She works on many paintings at a time, while he prefers to work on one at a time.

"I like a lot of color and I love the contrasts, the light and shadow areas," said Showalter, whose landscapes will almost always contain flowers of some type.

For the artists, their match is like one made in Michelangelo's heaven.

"We've never had an ugly word between us," he said. "I never thought I would meet someone like that, let alone work so close with her every day, 24/7."

Public acclaim

Darcy Goldberg, executive director of Chester County Art Association in West Chester, Pa, said the couple's show was well received.

"The public loves their work. The volume of work they have done is incredible," she said. "They have been working their whole lives in the arts. They have been so dedicated for so many years. They are a great couple.

"What's unique is how much they support each other," she added. "They sort of have this great dance they do together to create a show. They bring something different to the table. They're alike, yet different. They use different tones, different colors and different techniques."

Both are noted for their palette.

"Their exhibition shows their dedication to the arts and their willingness to educate the public and share the lives, which is quite a gift," said Goldberg.

The show, about to open at the North Shore Arts Association, will feature about 63 pieces.

"Every show we put on is different than any other we have done," said Blankenship. "There is always a different theme. This one is about what has inspired our creative spirit, about the motivation to make art. We will reveal little windows into our inspirations for specific paintings.

"It is always encouraging to have your work collected and appreciated," Blankenship said, "but it is the need and the love to paint that is the most rewarding to us."

Gail McCarthy can be reached at gmccarthygloucestertimes,com

IF YOU GO

What: "Palette Sense and Magic," an exhibition of work by Roy Blankenship and his wife, Lois Showalter.

Where: North Shore Arts Association, 11 Pirates Lane, Gloucester.

When: Free public reception Saturday, Oct. 10, 2 to 4 p.m. Show runs through Oct. 25.

Hours: Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. The gallery is closed Tuesdays in October.

More: Visit www.northshoreartsassoc.org or call 978-283-1857.

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