Ferry "Flushing"

So I got this crazy idea a little over a week ago to do a new painting for my show at the Grand Manan Art Gallery, which opens this evening with a reception from 6 to 8 pm.  Since my work is part of the opening show which is featuring ferries to Grand Manan, I thought I would paint the first regular ferry, the "Flushing"

While this seems like an odd name, it was originally named for Flushing, New York.  In 1884, the Grand Manan Steamboat Company was formed with local capital.  Island men put up the money and bought the steamer "Flushing" to provide regular dependable steam ferry link between Grand Manan and the mainland, four round trips a week.  Despite the setback of a fire in 1886, this steamer served Grand Manan until 1900, when she was replaced with the "Aurora".

Not knowing the colour scheme of this steamer, I checked out some other New England steamers of the same era and figured that the "Flushing" might reasonably have been painted similarly.

So the "Flushing" will now hang with my other paintings at the show starting this evening.