David was a spiritual man. This painting is a gift to his wife Lisa Cahill Johnson as a reminder of our future home in Eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Always the artist, Kristy designed and sewed her wedding gown of lavender satin covered with white rose lace. She designed Nellie’s apparel and Kathleen designed her dress as well. While growing up, Kristy was reminded of her distant cousin Jessica McClintock whose dress designs were and are currently world famous. George, Kathleen, Kristy and Jessica were born and raised in Aroostook County in northern Maine.

Sven was born in Kingston, NY and resided in Chichester until he married his first wife Hazel who bore him two sons, Martin and David.

This portrait was exhibited in national and international art shows, such as the 1977 Fifth Annual Pastel Society of America in NYC and other venues in New England.

Sven and Kristy married in 1980 and had a child in 1982, Stacey Lynn Johnson. Stacey was Sven’s “Little Princess” and she was creative like her mother, winning art contests throughout her school days. Currently, Stacey works for the State of New York, as an Associate Budgeting Analyst.

Kristy and Sven were Legally Separated in 1993 and divorced in 1995.

Neither Kristy nor Sven remarried. Over the years, they celebrated holidays with each other and other family members. At Sven’s passing, Kristy painted the painting (pictured above) while using a recent photograph taken by the Hubble Telescope named “Heaven’s Gate” by scientists. It was exhibited at Sven’s funeral (spearheaded by Stacey Johnson) at Buono’s Funeral Service, Inc.,  Saugerties, NY on Aug. 14, 2020. His remains were buried at the cemetery in Shandaken along side his mother Nellie and his father Raymond Johnson.

Rest in Peace, Sven.

KBS former student Kelly Niemis Warringer – oil on wood by Kristy Bishop (c) 2019

I am working on two series right now…”People & their Passions”  (some are pictured here) and My Journey with Cancer (not pictured here). Painting has become much slower since the illness, but I am determined to finish each project and the upcoming street art – sailboat rendering in acrylic “Fantastical Saugerties Lighthouse” including mermaids!   Please stay tuned…

I am indebted to artist Elin Menzies for introducing Pat to me about four years ago when my studio was on Main Street. I had the great privilege and honor of teaching Pat, a talented watercolor artist about pastels, acrylics and oils.  Friday morning class consisted of Patrick Buonfiglio, Michael Saporito, Sandra Hoffman, Mary Rell and Pat Steyer. Later, at my new studio on Market Street, others came and went, but Pat and Patrick were a mainstay.

Pat S. kept us laughing with her witty observations in life and her pseudo-competitive nature. She loved to tease Patrick about winning so many awards in our KBS shows. “You’re going to win with that one!” after each of Patrick’s paintings were finished. She would pretend to scowl at him every time.

Her humor could be startling at times, like the bumper sticker on the car before her last one “God loves you, but everyone else thinks you’re an a_ _hole!” Pat S. could get away with that because she was a genuine lover of people – a real honest to goodness Christian who prayed with me on countless occasions. She would not pry, but she had a way of getting me to speak about how I feel. “Do tell” was her way of letting me know that she would listen and give advice. It was not one-sided. She told me how she felt about relationships and life in general  with so much gleaned from years of working for the social services.  Her honesty and integrity were admired by everyone who came in contact with her. If she put something bluntly in words, we knew that we ought to pay attention to it.

I feel blessed to have known Pat for the past four years. She gave cancer quite a battle for the past year and a half. Her heart was full of love and her hugs and kisses were the frosting on the cake. I got to say my good-byes in the last month of her life and held her hand on the night before she died. Now, she is in Heaven with Jesus where there is absolute Love and Joy. Pat, I love you and I will never forget you…from your friend and art teacher, Kristy Bishop.

“My goal as an artist is to serve mankind at the deepest level of my spiritual development through the expression of painting, writing and public speaking.”

My maternal grandmother, Izah Clark, was attuned to my artistic ability when I was a baby. While I was sitting on her lap, I would trace the intricate designs on her dress with my right index finger. She advised my mother to be sure to get art lessons for me at a young age. Since there were artists in my family, both heredity and environment played a natural part in fostering my interest in art. My cousins, Don and Ruth Clark were artists. They attended the Massachusetts College of Art (circa 1920.)

I am the third of four children born in the George and Kathleen Clark Bishop family. I was born in 1951. My mother saved some of my drawings from age 4 or 5 because they showed exceptional ability. Soon after my grandmother passed away in 1958, I received art lessons from a professional artist Bessie Higgins (1897-1995) in Presque Isle, Maine. Higgins studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and taught there until she moved to Presque Isle in 1928.

Drawing and painting have always given me great joy. The process gives me such elation that I do it on a regular basis. If I don’t create for awhile, I feel an urging in my spirit to get back to it. I give God the credit for both my talent and for the desire to study fine art; also, improve my work and share that knowledge with others. God has given us all the ability to create. Some can develop it faster than others.

My passion for sharing and teaching began when I was six years old. I would demonstrate how to draw Donald Duck on a blackboard in our farmhouse kitchen to a number of neighborhood children. My mother documented my progress with photographs.

Teaching is natural for me. I began teaching art privately as a profession in Saugerties, New York in 1977 after studying at the Art Students League. New adult student, Mary Rell wrote in an email to me on 7-16- 2013, “What fun!! I was thrilled to be a part of your talented group. I do not have anyone to compare you to but I can honestly say I found you to be wonderful and easy to learn from. That in itself is quite a skill. Some people have the knowledge but cannot convey the information to others well. My husband was so impressed that he wanted to frame my work…I am still shocked that I was able to accomplish the painting.” (This was her first art class.)

For me, teaching a variety of techniques is the easiest part of being an instructor. However, a real mentor needs to be capable of instilling confidence in the student. I am so passionate concerning my mission as a teacher that many my students set up their own studios at home and continue to practice between classes. Reportedly, my enthusiasm is contagious! My spiritual quest to know God and seek His Will has influenced my passion for art. I am so grateful for this. There is so much beauty that God has created in this world. It exists in every landscape and still life….even in abstraction. More over, beauty can be found in every individual as long as he or she is reacted to with forgiveness and love. I listen as well as look. I have devoted all these years to developing the gift that God has given me.

I love it!” Teaching art, at this studio has been one of my main purposes in life since 1977. More than 800 beginning students have participated in painting and drawing classes, ages 6 through 85. Many friends have been made over the years as a result of this mission in Saugerties, NY.

Kristy Bishop, aged 16. Fort Fairfield, Maine won Runner -Up in a national dress design contest in the magazine “New Ideas for Teens”  1968 along with five others artists across the United States. The Grand Prize winner was Michael McCowan, 15, Jackson, Mississippi with a pale yellow silk dress and coat with black herringbone stripes.

This design was published in the magazine (pictured above.) Black and gold homespun dress belted in soft black leather with matching collar and cuffs.

My mother, Kathleen C. Bishop made sure that I had every opportunity to dress well in our rural Fort Fairfield, Maine. (I received the honor of  being voted “Best Dressed” my senior year of High School.) Mom  sent checks to Vogue magazine advertisers for any clothing that I desired to have back in the late 1960’s. I studied all the magazines and listened to stories about my distant cousin, dress designer: Jessica McClintock. Jessica’s mother, Verna Hendrick invited me to show a painting in the inaugural art show at the Presque Isle,  University of Maine Art Gallery in 1969. I have no record of that exhibited painting of a nude woman riding a Harley Davidson chopped motorcycle. It was lost in California at a later date.

A few of my paintings have not been found over the years. One, a pastel  of Charles Bronson in a saddle 12″ x 9″ was stolen from Howard Johnson Motel Lobby Solo Art Show- Saugerties, NY  in 1973.  It was copied in pastel chalk from a photograph of the actor. The other pastels in the show were of nude models that I painted at the Woodstock summer school, the Art Students League, of which I sold one for $25. The price on Bronson was $100. It was my best portrait to date.

I have been sharing some things with the kids in my teenage art class about my early years in Fort Fairfield, Maine. I suppose it is different for  them to think of me as I was at their age. I find it humorous that they seem to have no clue as to my age now. That is as it should be, I suppose.

Kayleen Kennels, my mom’s business was very successful while we lived in northern Maine.  She researched bloodlines and subscribed to Dog World magazine. As a result of magazine ads and dog show championships, she was able to sell and ship poodles all over the country. Loring Air Force Base was located in Limestone, only a few miles from her place of business. Many customers came from there everyday, including weekends to purchase dogs of many different breeds beside the poodles which made her locally well-known. Because of her business acumen and her magnetic personality – she was busy all the time making money. The picture above shows her advertising her business in the Annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival Parade in 1964 in Fort Fairfield. My girlfriend, Anne Ashby helped us by holding a poodle. There were several in the car that day.

By age 13, I had been driving vehicles on the farm for one year. I was 5′ 7″ tall and the fastest female runner in my class. I had great strength in my legs and arms from throwing bales of straw and hay around the barn and managing horses. It was about this time that I started arm wrestling (with boys) too.

The desire to compete was encouraged by my mother and my father. They made sure that my sister Vicki and I were in every horse show possible and had professional training at Teela-Wooket School of Equitation in Vermont. It was here that I became proficient at archery, too. Hand/eye coordination was developed to help with my artwork as well.