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    Charlene McLaughlin grew up in Connecticut loving to draw and sketch. As a young girl, she delivered a weekly newspaper, The Stratford News. Charlene often submitted cartoons on current events, which were published.  The oldest of five children, Charlene enjoyed their camping trips all over New England.  One of her vivid memories is camping on the dunes in Provincetown and spending time browsing Commercial Street’s art galleries.  Charlene’s father would often retreat from the hectic household to their basement to pursue his hobbies of playing the saxophone or oil painting. For every holiday and school project, her mother's creative ideas provided inspiration for Charlene and her siblings.  Her mother’s grandfather was a yachtsman in the early 1900’s whose gift for painting got him commissions to paint murals in churches in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Charlene’s home was filled with his paintings (including a self portrait of her grandfather in his captain’s uniform), her father’s paintings, and of course the art of all the children.  

    During college, Charlene returned to the Cape to work at Thompson’s Clam Bar on beautiful Wychmere Harbor. There she met her husband and now their three children spend summers in Harwich Port and Nantucket.  When Charlene’s youngest started first grade, she took an oil painting class.  Painting landscapes and seascapes quickly became a passion. Her paintings are inspired by the local scenes of the Cape and Islands. She loves that her paintings are part of the Skinny Dip Collective in Old South Wharf. Charlene donates all proceeds to scholarships in Nantucket and her hometown in Connecticut.