Pretty as a Picture By Deborah Salomon

Pretty as a Picture

Ar t ist’s h ome captures b ygone Amer ica

By DeBor a h sa l oMon P hotoGr a Phs By John Ge ssner

Monet painted f rom a st udio adjacent to his countr y home in Giver ny.

Van Gogh rented four Spar tan rooms in Arles, which he immor talized on canvas.

Cézanne built a st udio on far mland, in Provence. A ll painted f r uit and flowers in the still life mode.

Dur ing the late 19th cent ur y, the ateliers of a hundred star ving ar tists dotted the L ef t Bank. How they would covet Car men Drake- Gordon’s set-up: a 10 0 -year- old far mhouse conver ted as a st udio with 14-foot windows facing nor th, for consistent light. Close by, a new house that appears 10 0 years old, with elongated porch, f ur nished in countr y antiques. Beyond the house, an idyllic pond, where Muscov y duck s swim and catfish jump for treats. A shady chicken coop; a fenced yard for three goats who ear n their keep by clear ing the wister ia. A red bar n work shop where Car men’s par tner, Wade O wens, a multi-sk illed retired Ar my of ficer f rom Iowa, builds, repairs and black smiths. Bet ween the st udio and far mhouse, raised beds yield k ale, peppers, tomatoes, beans, egg plant, paw-paws and jujubes. T hen, for whimsy, an adorable outhouse with r unning water built by Car men’s children, instead of installing a septic system for her st udio.

“I call it my Pee Palace,” she says and laughs.

A ll this sur rounded by 15 acres of g rass, woods and wildlife where she walk s with Dean, a devoted mi xed-breed dog she rescued minutes before euthanasia.

T his homestead ’s proper name is Oak Hollow Far m and St udio, and its tall, blonde, ar tf ully dressed (“f unk y,” is her descr iption) occupant, a g randma who is, in the best sense, a piece of work. From this st udio Car men — inspired by her sur roundings — creates and sells paintings nationwide through vir t ual and other galler ies. She hosts work shops that include lunches of garden produce ser ved at her stretch table. But unlike Monet, Van Gogh and Cézanne, her por traits and still lifes follow classical realism as practiced by Dutch and F lemish masters — a technique that’s uber-photog raphic, threedimensional, and eminently ar tistic.

Car men g rew up in Maine and Connecticut. Her ar tist mother provided lessons for the early-bloomer. “I was oil painting by 12.”

Moder nism? “I wasn’t into that.”

Car men mar r ied young and “dabbled ” while raising three children. T he family settled in Souther n Pines in 1986, when her husband was stationed at For t Bragg. Car men remained here af ter he was k illed in Mogadishu, in 1993. “T he militar y became my family.” She pursued a love for Italian relig ious ar t, also appreciating “things — especially utilitar ian things. “I find beaut y in them.”

St udying with Jef f rey Mims at the Academy of Classical Desig n in Souther n Pines, and later with local ar tist Paul Brow n, channeled and refined her talent.

Ever y ar tist longs for a st udio. “I like to sur round myself with a peacef ul, calm atmosphere where I feel a connection with what I create.” T hat includes whatever exists outside her st udio door.

She and Wade looked for land. A waterscape would be nice. T he parcel they found had potential.

T his land, k now n as the Shor t family far m, came with a r icket y far mhouse (once a used book store), and a double-wide, also in disrepair. T hey bought the acreage in 20 01, cleaned up the double-wide and lived there until completing the house in 20 04. T he old far mhouse-bookshop, now with heat and AC but no r unning water, became Car men’s st udio in 2018.

The main house — white clapboard, t wo stor ies with f ull basement, more than 3,0 0 0 square feet — spreads long it udinally across a k noll, with manicured g rass sloping dow n to the pond, where Car men and Wade have constr ucted a low stone wall and seating area. T heir porch may appear Souther n but the inter ior hums Yankee Doodle. Car men found a set of plans that were adapted to include 10 -foot ceilings and so much more. Constr uction took 18 months, but when it was finished, the house, with its unusual floor plan, won a Moore Count y Home builders A ssociation Award.

Just inside the f ront door stretches a dining table easily seating 10, made by Wade. T he mismatched chairs include old-timey high chairs for Car men’s t wo g randchildren. T his long, nar row room with angled

fireplace began as the sitting room, with a smaller dining room of f to the r ight. Car men had no trouble switching desig nations to accommodate their extended families for holidays. Both rooms contain multiple ar moires, settees, candlestick s, lamps, shelves, tables, paintings and enough histor ical ar tifacts to war rant a catalog. Some are remnants of Car men’s antique shop, C.R . Drake Mercantile in Cameron. Many pieces showcase her inventive touch, like a ladder repur posed as a quilt rack.

“I’m not comfor table without k nick-k nack s,” Car men explains. Being surrounded by old things satisfies a need: “I imag ine how many people touched them. I connect with that.”

T he elongated dining room ends at the k itchen, visible f rom the f ront door. Creating a cent ur y- old atmosphere around moder n appliances can be tr ick y. Car men chose a dust y yellow for the footed car penter-made cupboards with black metal pulls to match the black soapstone counter tops and protr uding island, with break fast bar. One wall is fitted with a combination of open shelves and tall cabinets. A n antique spice jar rack with tiny drawers labeled in Ger man says volumes about Car men’s attention to detail. She didn’t stint on moldings, window f rames and beadboard ceilings, either: “T hese little touches make a big dif ference,” as do square nails in the wide-board k nott y pine floors. To make up for the splurges, “I painted the inside to save money.”

On the counter, a gallon of blueberries picked f rom nearby bushes speaks of the couple’s culinar y requirements. Carmen and Wade both cook. W hatever they don’t grow comes f rom local farmers markets.

T he main floor is bisected by a back hallway leading to the master bedroom, where Car men has positioned a k ing-sized bed against a smaller wrought metal headboard, flanked by tall, nar row windows. T he ef fect: air y, br ight, comf y, simple. Each bathroom vanit y or ig inated as a bureau. One loo act ually has a pull- chain toilet with high wall-mounted tank.

Upstairs, a g uest bedroom w ith para llel t w in beds is a Nant ucket B&B

look-a like. Wade uses a second upstairs bedroom as an of fice. For ha ll decor, Car men hung a pioneer woman’s dress and coonsk in hat like those wor n in the R evolutionar y War re- enactments she and Wade at tend.

Carmen’s studio, a 50 -yard stroll past the gardens, chickens and goats, represents another world: “It’s definitely my space. Ever ything in there speaks to me.” T he interior walls made f rom horizontal boards painted green were lef t intact, but the ceiling came down to make space for windows soaring into the exposed attic, since, for an ar tist, proper light is cr ucial. Her workroom, cluttered with paints, br ushes, props, paintings, a 1940s radio, a small pedestal on which stands a fancy chair, feels more decadent Parisian than r ural Car thage.

A s with Cézanne, no one enters this st udio without an invitation.

Even more decadent, adjacent to the workroom, a parlor with floor-to - ceiling shelves spills over with ar t volumes, some stacked on cof fee and side tables squeezed bet ween fireplace and white sofa. Victor ian was Car men’s intent; however, the cr ystal chandelier reminds her of French chateau x. “T his is my think ing room, my ar t cave, my g irly space. I look through the book s for inspiration, ideas.” She also teaches and enter tains other ar tists here.

Beyond the parlor, a workroom for f raming paintings and stor ing cost umes is g uarded by a skeleton, which helps plot ar ticulation when painting the human body.

Car men D r a ke - Gordon ha s ach ieve d a r are c onfluenc e where ar t a nd l ife l ive p e ac ef u l ly, side by side. T h is ar t ist pa int s t he flowers she pick s a nd birds’ nest s she fi nds; she e at s t he pro duc e she g rows. She l ives a longside f r iend ly a n ima ls a nd so ot h ing water. She is sur rounde d by t h ings a nd p e ople she loves, who love her back . She work s hard, but on her ow n ter ms a nd in her ow n spac e, rewarde d, f u lfi l le d — a pa int ing c ome to l ife. PS