Long Day in Friendship...

I was painting in Friendship harbor all day today. I spent 6 hours standing in the sun in crazy heat working on one big painting and wore myself completely ragged. It was a grueling day but I was really happy with the painting I accomplished. That painting needs to dry a bit before I can get a good photo of it to post here. On top of the size of the canvas, it was also a complicated and busy composition which kept me on my toes.The painting above is an 8×10″ painting of Owl’s Head Marina that will be a part of a fund-raising  auction at the Maine College of Art.

While painting in Friendship today I did meet some interesting people. I ran into an artist I know and then was talking to a lobsterman in paint-splattered clothes and a NASCAR hat who seemed to know an awful lot about art. Turns out he attended the School of Visual Arts in the 60’s, and still likes to spend his free time going to galleries. I love living in Maine!

Great Summer Days...

Yesterday I was able to go surfing in the morning, have a picnic on the beach, and then paint all afternoon. The weather this summer has just been great for painting and playing in the water. Here is a series of beach paintings that I did in the last few weeks.

These are all 8×10″ oil paintings on linen boards. I apologize for the glare that some of these images have.

You can view all of these paintings at Courthouse Fine Art Gallery in Ellsworth, ME.

Painting with friends...

This past week I got the chance to paint with Carol Marine, who is an online friend, although this was the first time we met in person. I have enjoyed her paintings for several years, so when I heard she was in Maine for a workshop and wanted to spend a few days painting the landscape, I was psyched to paint with her. We didn’t have great weather for it, but we toughed it out during some unusually cold and rainy August days. It was fun seeing her work in person and getting to share stories and ideas about making paintings, selling paintings, and teaching painting. The painting above was done in a Falmouth boatyard during a light rain. I don’t have any photos of our group working, but if you check Carol’s blog, she may post some soon. We painted with several friends, one of whom was Bobbi Heath, who managed to get us together after taking Carol’s workshop over the weekend, and helping to organize our rainy plein air session.

I often find painting in the rain frustrating, but I was really happy with the painting above. I tried to keep the colors a bit brighter and more lively than the dark colors of the actual scene. It was fun playing with the colors a bit and trying to punch things up a little.

Back from the honeymoon...

This is the last painting I did before the wedding weekend got up and running. These boats are parked at the Wayfarer Marine boatyard, where the late evening light is beautiful. I was particularly drawn to the different colors reflected on to the surface of the white boat in the foreground, and the way the shapes created an interesting composition.

Well, things have been slow on the blog because I was preoccupied by my wedding a few weeks ago. On August 8th Elizabeth and I were married here in Maine. We had a great weekend for the wedding and we enjoyed seeing all of our friends and family. It really was a great time, and now we are settling back into our lives.

In other news I just saw this write up in the Herald Gazette on a show of my paintings that is currently hanging in Augusta, Maine at the state house and the governor’s mansion. This show was put together by the Maine Arts Commission. We are also getting some more slots filled for the September workshop in northern Maine, so if you are interested follow the link to the Chewonki Foundation’s website to learn more and sign up.

Lakefront Workshop-spaces left...

I am teaching several workshops this year, all of which have been sold out but one. The workshop with spaces left is the one I am most excited about, because of the location for the class. This workshop will be in northern Maine in late September, when the leaves will be changing and the bugs will be gone.  We will be focusing on painting the landscape on site and trying to capture the light and feeling of a scene.  The workshop is being held at a camp sitting on a point of land that sticks out in to a remote lake, near great hiking trails and beautiful views. Housing and meals will be provided for us, so we can spend all of our time either painting or playing. I’m hoping to get a lot of painting time in, and will be happy to spend the evenings sharing ideas about art and painting. There will also be plenty of time for relaxing and enjoying the beautiful setting. With all of my workshops I try to give as much of myself as I can. For this class I hope to have a really enjoyable time with everyone and give as much information and time as the students want. This week will be a great chance to immerse ourselves in our art in a beautiful place.

This workshop is being offered through the Chewonki Foundation, a school that I’m proud to be partnering with. If you want to see some more details about this course you can visit their website. You can also  contact Chris Riley at Chewonki, who is organizing this workshop, or email me to follow up with any questions that I may be able to help you out with.

Maine Summer Day...

This is a commission that I painted this week. I was thrilled with how well the lake came out. I am usually a bit more comfortable painting the ocean than I am with lakes. With this painting I think I did pretty well with the deep colors of a Maine lake, and the reflections of the trees in the background. My favorite moment in this painting is where the ladder disappears into the water. And compositionally the dock leads the viewer right into the scene, giving the viewer a place to feel like they are sitting in the middle of the painting.

Door County Plein Air Festival...

This week I’ll be in Door County, Wisconsin for a plein air painting event. Forty artists from all over the country will be getting together in Door County to paint the landscape. This event was a lot of fun for me last year, and I’m really looking forward to having a good trip again this time. If you are in the area you should try to catch a few of the events.

Circus in Camden...

The circus came to Camden and set up right down the street from my house. This was just a small circus, but still lots of fun to paint. They were only there for one day so I did a few sketches and tried to get a little bit of the color. The painting above is where they do pony rides once the kids showed up, 11×14″.

Before the crowds arrived I was able to stand in the middle of the grounds and paint the ticket booth with the big tent behind it, 11×14″.

The ticket booth as people are showing up for the first performance, 10×8″.

Jazz Not War...

This car is parked on a corner in Camden, Maine. Every summer this car shows up as an advertisement for the Hope Jazz Festival. On the other side of the car is the lettering “JAZZ NOT WAR.” I have always wanted to paint this car and finally got to it this year. While painting here I met the car’s owner, who also has a fire engine restoration business out in Hope, Maine. His barn is full of old fire trucks and ladders and water pumps, which may also make it into a few paintings.

Paintings in Augusta...

For the next few months I’ll have paintings on display in the governor’s mansion and state house in Augusta, ME. The paintings will be up through September. I’m really happy to be sharing my paintings in this space.

This past few days I have had a lot of fun enjoying the holiday weekend. There was an art walk in Rockland on Friday, and a cookout party afterward. I spent a lot of time swimming in a local pond and walking around town on Saturday. Sunday I went to a picnic/lobster bake on an island in Penobscot Bay, followed by a barbecue and camping out. It was all so much fun that I’m completely exhausted and trying to recuperate today so  I can get back to work tomorrow.  I hope you all had a good fourth of July weekend.