If you meet Charlie Northrup, paintings under his arm as he comes into The Gallery, he'll probably tell you "They're nothing!", and humbly avoid the praises usually offered for his work. "Oh, it's just something I do."

  This unassuming man in a flannel shirt went to art school many years ago, and has created beautiful drawings, paintings, and stained glass all his life. when he retired from doing stained glass professionally in 1986,he and his wife, Betty, drove around this part of the state looking for their dream retirement place, and chose Penn Yan.

  Today, Charlie has a studio in a simple single-car garage behind his home. It is teeming with finished canvases, stacked against the walls, piled on shelves, hanging from every nail. He jokes that once in there, you have to go back outside to turn around, it is so crowded.

  And competing for his precious space is a theatre organ! When he takes a break from painting, Charlie loves to play the organ...classics, shows, the old standards...he fills his space with wonderful music.

  Charlie's paintings may be seen at The Gallery, and also at Dr. Schirmer's dental office, Stoll Street in Dundee, through June.