The AARP Foundation invited AARP members to submit their masterpieces as part of our AARP Foundation 2009 Calendar Contest!

The AARP Foundation Online Art Gallery features art by AARP members. Fourteen paintings were chosen to adorn our annual AARP Foundation Calendar and in addition to being featured in our 2009 calendar, the winning artwork will be exhibited at this year's AARP Foundation's Art Gallery and Silent Auction at theLife@50+™ National Event & Expo in Washington, DC, September 4-6, 2008! Purchase your calendar today.

The theme for this year's calendar is "America: Then and Now." Whether potraying a modern cityscape or a memory from once upon a time, this calendar illustrates that just as the scenery and landscapes have changed, so has society as a whole.

As the charitable arm of AARP, the AARP Foundation has been working to ensure all individuals are able to age with independence, dignity and purpose. For nearly fifty years, through our innovative programs and services, we have been helping meet the changing needs of seniors in America — then and now.

Made in USA Miki Aalseth Richmond, VA Born in New York City and now retired in Richmond, VA, Miki Aalseth loves making colorful art. Made in USA was inspired by a 1950 Chrysler parked at a local gas station she happened to come across on Memorial Day. It reminded her of her youth. She remembers, “spirits were high, gas was cheap and adventure could be found just around the corner.”	Americana: Parade Frank Bolock Tampa, FL A veteran of the Korean War, Frank Bolock has been drawing all of his life. Before retiring, he worked as an artist with a focus on advertising campaigns. Americana: Parade represents a window to days gone by. Though the Boy Scout models are his three grandsons, the vibrant storefronts could be any small town in the U.S. on the Fourth of July.
One Spotted Horse Dan Adkisson Tomball, TX One Spotted Horse is Dan Adkisson’s personal slice of America: Then. Dan spent his boyhood summers on ranches and farms in the Texas panhandle, which inspired his abstract painting. “I can’t paint a real horse so I painted this instead,” Dan jokes. In truth, Dan loves working in abstracts. While Dan painted in high school, he only returned to painting seven years ago.	Days Gone Bye Lenora Payne Cleburne, TX Lenora Payne has been painting since she was a teenager. After her husband passed away, she created an art studio at home and started teaching. In fact, one of her students told her about the AARP Foundation art contest. She painted Days Gone Bye from a photograph she snapped of Steins, New Mexico, an old railroad ghost town where tourists can explore the remains of life from the 1880s Old West.
Venice Beach, Remembered Lee J. Wexler Clinton, WA When Lee Wexler was growing up during the Depression, Venice Beach, CA, was the only place his family could afford to live. Fortunately the Venice Pier offered endless entertainment for a young boy: fishing, roller coasters, a fun house, and an authentic training cockpit where Lee sat and dreamed of becoming a pilot. Lee painted Venice Beach using watercolor and his memories of a mid-1930s Venice you wouldn’t recognize today.	A Maryland Crabfeast Sharon Ester Ascherl Odenton, MD While some children use flashlights to read under the covers, Sharon Ester Ascherl used hers to draw late into the night. Growing up on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the 1950s and 60s, she remembers many fun family gatherings where crabs were the centerpiece of the picnic table. But her carefully detailed painting, A Maryland Crabfeast, represents a time well before her childhood — the early 1900s.
Grandma’s Attic Vivian Schneider Christopoulos Flushing, NY Vivian Schneider Christopoulos has been teaching art for 40 years. She actually founded two art schools and describes her work as “never a job, always a joy.” Inspired by the great Renaissance artists, the details in her paintings often represent more than meets the eye — and Grandma’s Attic is no exception. While the little girl is Vivian’s granddaughter, the toys represent members of her family’s lineage.	Pumpkin Pickin’ Tom Gaskill Fort Pierce, FL Tom Gaskill has been painting for over 70 years, but he didn’t begin experimenting with watercolors until he retired. On his way home from visiting his daughter in Pennsylvania last autumn, he passed the picturesque farm that inspired Pumpkin Pickin’. Though the colorful harvest depicts a contemporary scene, it captures a pastime enjoyed by Americans for generations.
Mud Bay Farm Janette Stiles Tacoma, WA Janette Stiles recently snapped a photo of a farm in Mud Bay while on vacation. She used that photo as inspiration for this watercolor painting. Janette spent many years as a graphic designer and advertising manager, but publishing a personal work is a new thrill. Mud Bay Farm might look like a scene from America’s idyllic past, but this is how the farm appears today.	Cranberry Harvest William Mahan Boston, MA Inspired to draw by his grandmother when he was a small boy, painting is William Mahan’s lifelong hobby. When searching for a subject to paint, he says, “The best compositions are already out there — you just have to find them.” True to his word, Cranberry Harvest depicts a farm he discovered in the Massachusetts countryside, where modern equipment helps farmers continue America’s longstanding agricultural traditions.
Taos Pueblo with Water Spouts Leslie Newton Hartford City, IN Leslie Newton grew up in a family of artists and has taught art for 32 years. In 2007 she received a Lilly fellowship and made several trips to Taos, New Mexico, where she took art classes and observed Native American sites that inspired her work. For Leslie, Taos Pueblo represents America Then: the pueblo is over 1,000 years old and is still inhabited today. In a sense it offers a fascinating view of America then and now.	Men Working, Madison Ave., New York City Paola Mangiacapra West Kingston, RI Paola Mangiacapra began painting after she retired in the mid 1990s. The daughter of Italian immigrants, she loves New York City — and Men Working, Madison Ave., New York City depicts one of the most famous streets in the Big Apple. While the scene is contemporary, the buildings are a continuing testament to America’s grand past.
Take Me Out Douglas L. Aaberg Marshfield Hills, MA Five years ago, Douglas L. Aaberg’s wife gave him a surprise gift: painting lessons. He hasn’t put his brush down since. Take Me Out embodies this year’s theme — America: Then and Now — in an extremely personal way. The 1940s-era radio belonged to his late father-in-law, who listened to it religiously when the Boston Red Sox were playing. The baseball, glove, and Cracker Jack box are more recent relics.	Basket Weaver Norma Goodridge Furman Queen Creek, AZ A lifelong artist, Norma Goodridge Furman has paint in her veins: her uncle was the renowned portrait artist Irving Reznikoff. Norma and her husband moved to Arizona in the 1970s, drawn to its culture and landscape. She painted Basket Weaver while living in a tent, with the open desert and buzzing bees to inspire her. Norma worked from an old photo of a woman engaged in the Hopi tradition of basket weaving — a craft Norma hopes will not die out with its elders.