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Showing posts from January, 2017

Midcoast Marsh, Brunswick Maine

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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 Pe

Winter Brook after a storm

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

Deadfall Along a Brook

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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 an

Persistence - Houghton Maine

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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 e

Where did that idea come from?

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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

Art Show lessons learned #1

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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 en