Midcoast Marsh, Brunswick Maine

This painting was started and completed in one session in my studio.  So it took me 51 years and two and half hours to paint!

The inspiration for this painting (Acrylic 12" x 16" on canvas board ) came from trips along the mid coast and an acutal location in Brunswick Maine.

While I often paint on locations that I've never been to before, when I do studio work I try to link it to actual on location sketches.  In this case I'd done an on location pencil sketch and some larger charcoal drawings where I attempted a number of different compositions which both simplified some elements of the landscape and elaborated on other elements of the scene as it existed.

We just returned from a vacation to Pennsylvania where I completed a few quick sketches and attempted one painting on location but, to be frank, the Pennsylvania landscape and conditions kicked my a$%.  More on that for another post.

What I did do differently in this painting was that I painted over the Pennsylvania sketch with burnt sienna which gave me a more fully prepped and smoother surface to work on.  I also liked how that base helped warm the painting up more than simply using a white canvas.  Have seen a number of artists do this, but I'd never tried it before.  Something I definitely will continue to experiment with.

If you've never tried painting outdoors - I encourage you to do so.  Check out John Stobart's  "The Pleasures of Painting Outdoors" and "Worldscape" series one and two.  I had the pleasure of meeting John a number of times on his trips to Maine and he is such an inspiration to so many!

Winter Brook after a storm

This painting is not of a specific place, but it was definitely inspired by many trips into the woods in all seasons

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The painting actually started as a charcoal study (see below)  of spruce trees across the street after a heavy snow.  This was really intended as an exercise in observation for me and I really enjoy drawing with charcoal.  I wanted to capture the sense of the boughs heavily weighed down by the snow.  The original sketch had three spruce trees in it and then the sketch kicked around in my studio for awhile.

On another homebound day I grabbed the sketch and started thinking about spruce stands along a winter brook.  I added more trees and just a quick indication of a brook.

Next I decided to draw a color study in watercolor (9’ x 12’).  This was done on very thin watercolor paper – as you can tell from how the paper buckled.  I was also experimenting with different effects of light (as you can see in the background)

I then began sketching in oil directly on the canvas as can be seen below.  Once the basic layout was done I was then able to focus on masses and patterns of color and light and shadows.  I really enjoyed working on a large canvas.  It can be easy to pick and pick at a painting and to loose spontaneity – but. working on a large canvas can be very freeing.

Deadfall Along a Brook

I’ve always loved exploring along rivers and brooks.  This particular composition was not based on any one specific location but rather an amalgam of memories of trips and imagination.  This is an example of how I’m learning to enjoy the opportunities that studio painting does offer. 

I decided to do this subject in acrylic for the simple reason that I’d been focusing on other media (watercolor, charcoal, and oil) and wanted a change.  I also wanted to experiment with different types of underpainting to add more depth and form to the background of the painting.

The photo below shows my first run at the composition (minus the deadfall in the foreground).  I will often get paintings to a point, like this one, where I simply set them to the side and move on to other projects so that I can reconsider the painting with fresh eyes.

16” x 24”

I added the deadfall to help lead the eye into the painting.  I then started considering adding wildlife and or people to the composition.

I considered having a family or couple on the right with a canoe or campsite on the riverbank or a lone figure in the foreground.  Both would present two very different moods for the painting.   I opted for the solitary figure. 

                                 

Persistence - Houghton Maine

What follows is a poem I penned years after our trip to Houghton, Maine.  One of the things I savor about painting on location is the peace it brings at the time and its lasting impact on me. When I looking at a painting or sketch comlpeted on location (however it might pale compared to the actual scene) literally brings me back to the time of place of its creation.  I remember the sights, sounds, temperature, smells, and so many other details of that moment in time.  

I developed love of writing while attending Westbrook High School (thank you Mr Hughes, Mrs Rich, and  Mrs Hamilton) that was nurtured in college  by Constance Hunting, Marjorie Wilson,  and other members of the English Department at UMO who allowed and encouraged a Psychology Major to enroll in advanced writing classes.  I'd like to think that I was aware of the help and gifts that you shared with me in my teens and early twenties - but I'm sure I wasn't.  I cannot thank you enough for your time and encouragement.

Persistence

Watercolor completed on location

Houghton Maine

Persistence

A slight turn off the paved road

The grass quickly rises above the bumper, gently pushing us along

The road constricts, tree tops block out the sun

Branches tap the roof

Gently at first, then with more urgent groans, warning us to stop

How far the road will let us go?

A birch sapling stretches across the road

A warning

A long steep drop hidden around the corner

The road sprints downhill

Ending in a small clearing

Hidden by the last drop in the road

Surrounded by thickly wooded hills

Guarding their secrets

Bear scat and moose track tell me that we are not alone

I grab my paints and slip into the woods

Heading for high ground

The trees refuse to surrender the view I hope to find

Persistence

Stubbornness

A fine line

Rewarded

Invisible to a casual glance

A small scar, a remnant of past storms,

Offers an opportunity

To see above and beyond the trees

To see the entire valley

Persistence

Pine, Birch, and spruce claw their way skyward

Pushing rocks aside

The scar was already fading

Hours spent painting, the memory is set

My back is aching, paying the price for hours of concentration elsewhere

It was worth it

I don’t need to return here to know - this view is no more

The moose and bear travel as the mist, fleeting yet present,

Unwilling to be seen

They persist

Oil painting completed on location
Looking up from the campsite

Watercolor
Interrupted by swarms of black flies

Where did that idea come from?

Question:  Where to shop for good ideas?

Answer:  Anywhere.

In this post, I'm not speaking about copying ideas for paintings or compositions - but rather about developing your own working methods and organization so that you can spend most of your time actually painting.

I enjoy hearing about other peoples working methods.  You'll develop your own working methods through time and trial and error.  Take what works from others and make it your own.  In my experience this is as true for art as it is in all walks of life.  I don't have just one working method - for those of you who know me that comes as no surprise. However, I do spend more time now planning a painting than I used to - but its taken me 15 years to get to that point.  Time wasted looking for supplies or reference sketches does get old after awhile.

Whenever possible I try to paint the subject on location. I've found that when I refer back to on location works there is so much more in my memory that I was consciously aware of at the time.
When I cannot paint on location, I try to make some quick studies or sketches on location or at least to spend some time getting the feel of a location.

The three sketches below were completed on a camping trip to Houghton Maine years ago.  Most of my on location paintings are done in watercolor - due to ease of transport.

Watercolor sketch 12"x16"

This watercolor was done on the first day of the trip.  I found a clearing halfway up a wooded hill overlooking the camp site.

Oil  12" X16"

This was one of the first times I attempted oils on location.  This view was looking up the tote road from our campsite at ground level.

Watercolor  Sketch 12"X16"

This was a very quickly executed watercolor on the last day of the trip.  I'd intended to paint the campsite as well - but swarms of black flies had other ideas!!

My paintbox holds two twelve by sixteen canvas boards and I'm able to put a small watercolor pad behind it.  I tape the watercolor paper to the back of my easel and my brushes, paints, watercolor paintbox fit inside easily.  I keep water, papertowels, and other supplies in a small backpack and have a portable chair although I will often find a tree or other surface to sit on and some other times I'll paint standing up.  This set up literally takes no time at all to grab and go.

The trick and ,for me, the challenge was how to organize my paintings and sketches in my studio.  More about that later.  

Art Show lessons learned #1

Welcome.  I hope, through sharing my writings and paintings, that I can share even a small fraction of the passion and enjoyment that observing and painting the landscape bring to me.  If you have comments, critiques, suggestions or ideas of places to explore and paint please let me know.

I still have so much to learn and if my lessons learned so far (likely as often what to avoid rather than what to do) can help anyone else along the path - so much the better.  I've also met so many wonderful people along this journey, both famous and not, all connected by the love of art.

Here is one of three of my charcoal drawings that was accepted for a juried exhibition "Black and White" at the River Arts Gallery in Damriscotta Maine.  But this isn't the art show or the drawing that I'll be discussing in this post.



Sharing involves risk.

The first time I decided to share my paintings publically in an art show was an experience I'll not soon forget.  I was so enthused - that no one could have talked me out of it.  No one could have convinced me that I wasn't ready for the experience.

Until the person across from me came to set up for the day.  Breathtaking portraits and landscapes seemed determined to leap off of the canvases which barely contained them.  There was a crowd around his booth all day.

My work garnered little, if any, interest.  Some casual visitors to the booth outside of family and friends.

Then it happened.  Two people came back with others in tow to share with eachother their feelings that two of my paintings had triggered in them.

One painting was a sunset / landscape completed after a camping trip to Tumbledown Mountain in Maine.  It was a small watercolor.  A gentleman came back with his wife, another artist in the show, and they both simply stared at the painting for quite awhile.  Feeling self conscious I felt the need to make conversation and clearly indicate that I fully realized just how far I had to go as an artist before I showed my work again.

They both shook their heads no.  He pointed at the painting and said "You've got it with that one.  I can feel it."  He said other complimentary things that I can't remember - as I was in shock. Someone liked my work?



The painting above was an attempt to capture the colors and mood of a sunset during a camping trip to Tumbledown Mountain.

The other painting (see below) was a monochrome acrylic based on the riverside mills of my then hometown, Westbrook, Maine.  Two sisters stood and talked with one another about how the painting reminded them of thier childhood home in Massachusetts.





The paintings could not have been any more different in medium, color, or mood.  What they did have in common was they were based on my own direct observations of nature and the feelings those experiences evoked in me.

I learned a lot as a result of that first show.

Many practical lessons about framing and showing work - all important but not really the most important lesson learned.

I was exhausted and encouraged.  By putting my work "out there"  I had managed, in a very very small way, to communicate and to connect with others through my art.

That's a journey I've been on ever since.https://www.facebook.com/mainepleinairpainter/