Christine Pitman, 104-year-old painter
A lifetime of painting and art community building
Christine Pitman, who goes by Chris, is well-known around Rockport, MA, as a painter of portraits, still lifes, and landscapes—mostly representational scenes that sometimes have a degree of abstraction. Chris has taken instruction from many accomplished painters (more about that in a moment) and assimilated the learnings into her own style of expressive, colorful, and joyful images.
When Chris celebrated her 100th birthday a few years’ back, it seemed like the whole town was there to celebrate her. She’s known as a no-nonsense woman—who drove around town in a shiny red sportscar until recently—and a powerhouse of support to the community.
In addition to being an artist member at the North Shore Arts Association and the Rockport Art Association, she has served both organizations. For years, she hung all the shows at the Rockport Art Association, was on its board for 20 years, and took on nearly any project that needed doing. As the expression goes, she’s the kind of person who “gets stuff done—GSD.”
I marvel about the art she’s made, her industriousness, the artists with whom she has studied, and the art careers she’s witnessed. She owns and displays in her living room what might be the first painting T.M. Nicholas ever sold. It’s a still life and she remembers when she asked to purchase the painting, T.M. phoned his father Tom Nicholas to ask how to price it.
Chris’s history in the Cape Ann art community is broad and deep, and so I could only scratch the surface during our January 2024 chat. Her daughter Nancy, the youngest of her five children and also a painter, joined our conversation and added color to Chris’s story. I went in thinking that I would hear Chris speak words of wisdom about the secret of a long, happy life, and I realized it’s not about what people say, but what they do. She has painted throughout her adult life, continued learning, surrounded herself with art and artists, and has always given to others. She has many friends in the community and is close with her family. Maybe the red sportscar is also a factor.
When did you start painting?
When I was in grammar school, I took lessons on Saturdays at the local art association in Holyoke [MA], where I grew up.
I never painted seriously until after I got married and my oldest son was born. I got my oil paints and started painting. At that time, we lived in Maryland, so I went to the University of Maryland for art classes. [Chris would go on to have a total of five children: Don Jr., Judy, Susan, Richard, and Nancy.]
My husband had been in the Navy, and after he left the Navy, he got different jobs and we moved often. Wherever we moved, I signed up at the local college for art lessons. I've been to five different colleges taking art lessons. [She also studied painting at Denison University, Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University, and University of Tennessee.]
How did you find time for painting and art classes while you were raising five children?
My husband was very liberal. He would care for the children at night, and I'd go to evening classes. The children got a lot of paint on their diapers [Chris laughs].
[Nancy said her earliest memories are of sitting in corners of art studios and galleries with her crayons.]
Did you always have your paint and easel set up in your house, ready to go?
I never had a real studio until we lived in Nashville, and I worked in one end of the family room.
When you lived in Nashville, what were you painting?
Mostly portraits.
Were you painting portraits on commission?
No. I would paint somebody's portrait, but then just give it to them. [Chris’s daughter Nancy would frequently model for a portrait class, and Chris has many of these paintings.]
You became part of the art community in the many of the places you've lived.
It gave me a purpose, and I spent time with people who were interested in the same thing that I was.
You started an art association in Ohio.
When I moved to Ohio, they didn't have an art association. I approached Denison University and proposed they offer an evening painting class for adults. We ended up having a painting class that met every Tuesday night. One night, we were sitting having coffee, and I said, "Why don't we start an art association?" So we did!
We started having meetings. We met in some crappy places [she laughs], anyplace that was empty, we moved in. Now they [Licking County Arts] own a great big house in Newark, with a great big barn behind it where they have studios.
What led you to move to Rockport?
My husband was an engineer and a sailor. When he retired, he wanted to live near the ocean. We started down in Norfolk, VA, and we went all the way up the coast of Camden, ME, checking the real estate, and we decided we liked this area.
We bought a house over in Goose Cove in Gloucester and then discovered Rockport. We sold the Gloucester house and moved to a house on Briarstone Road. We lived there for 10 years, then we moved up here in 1989. When we looked at this place, I saw the upstairs, and I said, "That's it." [Chris lives in a three-story condo on top of a hill overlooking Granite Pier in Rockport.]
What were you painting when you moved to Rockport?
I was doing portraits and I was also painting abstracts. I applied to the Rockport Art Association, and I didn't get in [she would go on to become an artist member a few years later]. I decided to study painting with Betty Lou Schlemm and Jack Callahan. Betty Lou's class was full, so I studied with Jack Callahan and I did portraits for a number of years. [Betty Lou Schlemm was a much-loved teacher in Rockport and a well-respected watercolor painter.]
And then Betty Lou had a space in her workshop. I started to do watercolors in her class, which I had never done before. It was quite a challenge.
What was it like to study with Betty Lou Schlemm?
Everything I learned in watercolor, I learned from Betty. She was a fantastic teacher because she was good at describing what she was doing. In her workshops, she would give a demonstration and then we would paint. She was good at giving a critique.
Betty Lou and the teacher I had in Nashville, Gus Baker, a professor at University of Tennessee, were my best teachers.
You participated in Betty Lou’s summer classes too.
I was her monitor, which is another word for gofer [Chris says this smiling], for her summer workshops. We painted every day for eight weeks in the summer. We went out to paint at 9 o'clock in the morning, and we could stay and paint at her studio until 9 o'clock at night. Each Sunday, we had a party to get acquainted and on Wednesday, we had a lobster dinner, and I would go and get the lobsters. Then on Friday, we had a big critique of the whole week. [Painting all day followed by a lobster dinner. Sounds good to me!]
You studied with Zygmund Jankowski, a painter I admire. What was that like?
I was in several workshops with him. He was a character. He would wipe his brush on his pants! I don't know how to describe him. He was an individual.
What do you think you learned from him?
Well, he was an abstract painter. I did a lot of paintings with him, and most of them sold.
You've shown paintings in many art associations and galleries, plus won awards. Have there been any moments when you felt particularly proud of what you accomplished?
I won quite a few awards when I lived in Nashville and exhibited at the Parthenon [She won best in show one year].
What are you working on now?
I just finished this painting. It’s for the people who live two doors down from here. They are moving and wanted a painting of the view from their deck. I also painted another one of Rockport for a neighbor who wants to take the painting with her when she goes to Florida. She lives around the corner, so it’s a completely different view.
Are you painting these from photographs or plein air?
These were done from photographs. [Nancy takes the photos.]
I understand you are mostly working in acrylics these days.
Yes, they dry faster and you get the same effect.
Where are you on the learning curve?
I think I've reached my peak. I've done watercolors. I've done still lifes. I've done flowers. I've done oceans and I've done portraits. So, when my neighbor asked me to paint the view from his deck, it didn't phase me at all.
When you paint flowers, are you looking at a photograph, a still life that you composed, or is it from your mind?
Lately I mostly paint from photographs. When I painted with Betty Lou, it was always a still life. I used to work from still lifes all the time.
What are you most interested in painting these days?
I have not been painting as much because I have arthritis in my hand, and it's a struggle to paint. I have so many paintings already. What am I going to do with them? I've got a pile of watercolors that high [she holds a hand up to mime a pile as high as her head].
What led you to build your own frames?
I had a friend who ran a frame shop, and I used to work with him. I learned how to cut mats and make frames. Later, when he went away on vacation, I would run the shop.
True to her nature, Chris then found a way to make frames to benefit others. She volunteered her time at Second Glance, a second-hand shop in Gloucester, to frame their donated artwork. Toward this end, she set up a workshop in her basement to do the framing.
Some people say that painting is relaxing, while others say it's challenging or even stressful. What is your mindset?
I enjoy painting, but I just paint for an hour or two hours now. I used to paint most of the day, but now I can't. When you get to 104, you can't do everything.
You're the first person I've met who's 104. To what do you attribute your longevity?
Oh, I don't know, I'm as surprised as you are! Probably my attitude. It's always been like, "Stop complaining. Just get over it and do something." I just get busy. I volunteer everywhere. I used to volunteer at the Shalin Liu, both art associations, Second Glance, and the library. In fact, Don Mosher used to call me the queen of the volunteers.
How would you describe your style of painting?
My style? Which one? I kind of moved from one thing to another: portraits, still life, watercolors, oils, acrylics. I'm painting more realistic because that's what people want. For the past couple of years, I've just worked on commission because I don't need any more paintings, and I've given away a lot of paintings.
Some of the artists that I've talked to are very self-critical. Are you like that?
I critique it until I think it's finished. My grandson Danny comes over, and he will give a critique. He's got a good eye.
What do you think that painting throughout your life has done for you?
Well, it's gotten to me to 104. I made a lot of friends and traveled a lot.
You are known for driving around town in a red sports car.
My husband had a big Cadillac, and I hated driving that Cadillac! When he died, my son took me to get a car, and I bought the first car I saw, which was the red car – a Mitsubishi Eclipse. I had a thing for red cars. I gave up driving on my 103rd birthday.
I went to your 100th birthday party at the Rockport Art Association. What was that like for you to be in a large hall full of people celebrating your birthday?
It was unbelievable. I just couldn't believe that there were so many people there. I know a lot of people in town.
[She grew quiet, contemplating people who were her contemporaries but have passed away, and commented:] But then I read the obituaries and feel like I don't know anybody.
What is your favorite piece of art you have?
The abstract above the stairs.
Your holiday ornament paintings, which the Rockport Art Association sells, are quite popular.
Nancy explains how Chris has created demand among the collectors: “She's got a marketing plan! She signs the backs with C. Pitman 100, C. Pitman 101…and now people want to collect all the sequentially numbered ornaments. My brilliant mom!”
When Chris says she paints about eight ornaments every year, Nancy jokes: “It's not a one-man show! Most of the painters will bring in two or three, and I walk in with mom's stack. But they all sell.”
Do you like to cook?
No! [she says this definitively.]
Have you always felt that way?
Yes. I never really liked to cook. [Nancy said: “When Dad retired, she bought him a bunch of cookbooks because she thought that he should take up cooking. She was upset when he didn't.” Chris and Nancy laugh about this.]
It looks like you like puzzles.
Yes. We have a puzzle going all the time.
What else do you like to do besides painting and puzzles?
I read a lot. I like John Grisham.
Who are some artists you admire?
Ted Goerschner, because I like his colors and his work is a little bit abstract. I also like Richard Schmid for his brushwork. A watercolor painter I like is Ralph Bush.
What are you planning to paint next? Do you have a commission?
Yes, I have to paint a watercolor of the Motif [Motif Number 1].
How do you feel about painting the Motif?
It’s no problem. It's just that I haven't done watercolors for a long time. The person who commissioned it specifically said they want a watercolor of the Motif from a certain place.
How many times do you think you've painted the Motif?
I can't remember, maybe 10? I've sold every one of them. I always paint the motif on those little ornaments.
Do you feel like the Motif is something that you should paint because people will like it, or do you like painting it?
I paint it on the ornaments because people buy them [spoken like a true Cape Ann painter].
[Rockport’s prized and cliché Motif appears in four out of six of her latest ornaments (see photo above).]
Do you have a favorite spot in Cape Ann to paint?
I like painting Atlantic Avenue from Star Island.
Palate & Palette menu
Here’s what I would serve if Chris and Nancy came to dinner, which they are invited to do:
Caesar salad
Lobster
Chocolate cake
I am a friend of Chris' son Don and his wife Carol. One of my most prized possessions is this floral watercolor by Chris. I also treasure one of her holiday ornaments of the Motif.
(I was not able to paste a copy of the painting--sorry you can not see it!) Love her spirit and her paintings.)
what an interesting woman! I'll have to look for her portraits here in Nashville