Crashing Surf

I am continuing to experiment with seascapes.  Despite spending many years along the coast, I still have a great deal of study to do to capture the power and movement and color of the sea.  This is a small watercolor with some use of chinese white as well as scaping with a razor blade to achieve some of the whites

This painting is not of an actual location, but is patterned after the rocks along the coast near Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth Maine and Prouts Neck in Scarborogh, Maine.  

I've had the privilige of seeing a number of Winslow Homer's original paintings at the Portland Museum of Art as well as in Boston.  His seascapes are incredibly powerful - and make you feel as though you are really there on the cliffs by the sea.

Winslow Homer's studio is now owned by the Portland Museum of Art and tours are conducted on a regular basis.  The cliff walk around Prouts Neck is also open to the public.  Like many places in Maine, the trick is to find a place to park.  The cliff walk can be accessed from Scarborogh Beach which is an amazing beach by its own right.

Other artists whose work I admire in regard to sea scapes are John Stobart, Carl Evers, and Frederick Waugh to name a few.

As for the handling of water and light, I continue to be drawn to the works of Frank W. Benson, Aiden Lassell Ripley, and Ogden Pleissner.

I don't study other artists work too closely as I do not want to imitate anyone else.  However, there are times if I can not work out a solution to a problem that I will refer to other artists work if it's a situation where I can not physically go  to a location to work something out (for instance, if I'm working on a fall scene in the winter or vice versa).

Copying artists work in museums is also a time honored way of learning from previous masters.  You'll need to check with museums to see their policies and restrictions if you are interested in trying this.  I've never done it, but who knows, perhaps some day I will.  In a nutshell, any painting you do must be of a different dimension than the original so that there could be no danger any copy being confused for the original.

Scarborough Barn by the Sea

This was the first pass (in charcoal) of a subject that began nearly two decade's ago.   It is not an exact representation of the subject but a composition of design elements that do exist, just not exactly in this configuration.

The process of choosing a subject, for me at least, is almost unconscious.  Sometimes it's an instant connection with a scene - often related to lighting, color or other effects of nature.   More often, its a place that I have a connection with through family, friends, or that I have visited or explored on my own.

This is a subject that began first as on location watercolor sketch.  Once the sketch was done, I set it aside as I often do.  I am energized by painting on location and this also gives me a backlog of subjects to explore further when getting out on location is not possible.  It is also just good practice of both oberservational skills as well as painting skills.

Yesterday, while Julie was shopping, I did a couple of studies (rough rough rough) studies of clouds. with watercolors.  Never intending for a full painting to appear, but as practice and perhaps elements that I'll use in later paintings.  It took me quite awhile to mature as a painter - I always wanted attempts to work out "right" and to produce finished works every time out.

I was watching a documentary on one of my favorite bands, The Eagles, and there was a segment that just made me laugh out loud and helped me to relax some too.  Glenn Fry was talking about being nervous about writing his own songs.  He was talking with some of his friends (Jackson Browne I believe) and he shared his secret fear when he was encouraged to write his own songs...

"What if they suck?"

"They will.  They will for awhile.  Just keep at it and one day they won't suck so much."

Thank God for perseverance.  So much beautiful music came to us through his efforts!  I was just reading about someone asking Walt Disney the "secret" to his success.  His answer was along the same lines.  "There is no secret.  You have to dog it.  Keep working at it day and night till its done and done right."

I've always enjoyed watching people I've worked with who have the passion to excel and who have put in the work to do so.  This group includes artists, muscians, teachers, heavy equipment operators, athletes, and more.   When someone is able to make something look easy - you can bet that it isn't and that a lot of practice and experience has gone into their work.

"The will to win is worthless without the will to prepare."   Thane Yost

Whatever your passion is - dive on in.

After Ripley

One of my favorite artists, Aiden Lassell Ripley, spent some of his formative years studying the work of Velasquez and Hals while traveling throughout Western Europe, Spain in particular, and North Africa on the Paige Travelling Scholarship from the Musuem School in Boston at the turn of the century.

It is amazing what you can learn from studying other artists.  I much prefer to paint directly from nature, but there are times when studio work is the order of the afternoon.

This is a watercolor I did today, based on Aiden's work.  A poor imitation, but I learned a lot about composition and depth from this excersize.  A fun way to spend a little time between projects.  I

If you've never seen Aiden Lassell Ripley's work, check it out.  I am still amazed at the effects he was able to achieve in watercolor.

Evening Breaker #2

I've always loved the ocean.  The salt air, the sound of waves crashing on the rocks, the waves retreating back into the ocean rolling the rocks and sand.  A steady rythm, power,  and a vastness that seem to make everything else feel insignificant.

There are so many colors, both pure and reflected, and design elements that one could paint the same area of the coast day after day and never paint the same picture twice.  I particularly enjoy the coast during storms and other "off times."  

Though it has been many years, I still remember the power of the ocean when body surfing.  Literally being carried along, surprisingly fast by waves.  Learning to be patient and not to panic when held underwater by the power of the breaking waves.  The sting of salt water in my eyes and nose and the loud roar of the water of the breaker and the hiss of the wave stopping on the beach and retreating into the coming waves.

Below is a plein air seascape that I completed in Cape Elizabeth this past summer.

And a quick watercolor study from a sketch completed on location on Long Island, Maine.

Bowdoin Hillside Farm

This watercolor was created from an on location drawing trip to the neighboring town of Bowdoin.

I was struck by the hill rising and disappearing to the left - begging the question of what is around the bend and the contrast of the shadows spilling across the road and the field in the process of being plowed.

One of the things I've noticed in my travels throughout New England is how land is, or was, not wasted.  Rocky, sloping, and steep hilled land was, and in some cases still is farmed.  Toughness and persistence is required to earn a living in these conditions and climates.  I sense its far more of a calling than a business decision.

In Pennsylvania there is farmland as far as the eye can see.  So to it is here in Maine - the difference is the miles one can see in PA is so much greater as the land is so flat.  In Maine, in many places you will see a hayfield tucked in a corner of a property where the Spruce haven't yet found their way to the edge of a road.

The Spruce and Pine grow slowly, but are relentless.   When you drive along a road and there are many Birch and other opportunistic species of trees and few Pine and Spruce you know something has happened there - its not random.   Birch grow very fast, often after a fire or when land has been logged clear.   Pines and Spruce grow more slowly, but are relentless.  The acidic nature of their sprills also make it more difficult for other species of trees to survive.

Still the Pines and Spruce have their own charm.  I still vividly recall entering huge stands of Pine near my childhood home.  The undergrowth of the forest disappeared and their was an almost alienlike landscape of rust colored pine needles.  It was also so quiet until you heard the wind wistling through the pines.  So different than the sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

I only indicated a pine on the right of the painting.  The reality is that they dominated the road leading up to the farm.  The contrast betwen the dark spruce and open field was very dramatic.  One of the things I love about painting on location, is that the possibilities truly are endless.

A slight move up the road brings the farmouses into view and so many other subjects as well.  There was a tractor plowing when I was sketching so I'll try another version with that as well as fitting a sketch I did in PA with a horse and plow as well.