Downtown Exeter Panorama Painting

If you walk along the grounds of the Mill, a renovated relic from the industrial years of Exeter, NH, you can see this view of downtown Exeter. Jonalyn and her husband walked along the river for two years when they lived along the Squamscott River. Here in this tidally influenced section of the Squamscott, you will regularly see bald eagles and osprey along with their photographers. And if you look sharply you’ll find a long-legged heron sitting along the boat ramp. For two months, Jonalyn’s gallery opened in the basement level of these centuries old buildings. If you find the grey door along the left side, you’ll see the entrance. And don’t miss the stars and stripes.

The backstory of this panorama painting…My husband and I had been walking around the park when we spotted the two mighty birds of prey. Two bald eagles that captured the photographer who alerted us to stop, too.

There’s so much to notice in this piece. First, this is a snapshot of the town we have called home for two years. The headquarters for the high school prep and boarding school Philips Exeter Academy (est. 1781) is right beyond those towers. To move here as a homeschooling family during COVID, well, we got bonus points for being counter cultural. If you look on the bottom left you can see the door that led to my gallery space with TEAM Exeter. Thanks to Scott Ruffner I rented that gallery for two months for “Saving Lives” my solo watercolor exhibition on the COVID years.

On the boat ramp if you look closely, you can see the heron poised for hunting the fish in this spot. The tidal water of the Atlantic Ocean runs all the way up to this spot in Exeter, NH. Huge clipper ships used to make their way up through the Great Bay at Portsmouth Harbor, up the Squamscott River to this spot known as the Great Falls. We learned just a few months before we moved to town the great falls dam was released so the water could run wild again. This reminded us of the Yampa River, the last wild river of the West. I helped paint a mural for the Yampa River before I left Steamboat Springs, CO.

Exeter was the Revolutionary War capital of NH for a few months. And that was just a few years before our home was built, a 1790’s farmhouse that can see these same Squamscott waters. Soon we will move and leave this town, but I’ve been painting my favorite views before we say goodbye. “Downtown Exeter in Summer” 15 x 30” original watercolor on 150 lb paper

All Jonalyn’s paintings arrive with a living edge. You can frame her art by either covering or showcasing this raw edge. Jonalyn’s favorite way to frame her work is in a “float mount” showcasing this raw, living edge.