Impressions Cape Cod

Below is a link from my last entry, explaining why I started this process of quickly recording impressions from some of my road trips - while memories are fresh.

https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2018/08/too-much-to-paint-too-little-time-paris.html


Here is a set of rapid and small  Pen and Ink Sketches 3" by 4"  These are from my recent trip to Cape Cod with Julie and Doodle Bug.  These impressions will form the basis of future drawings and paintings.

                 Gnarled Pine - Dennis MA Cape Cod              Dunes - Dennis MA  Cape Cod     
                           Pen and Ink 3" x 5"                                         Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

              Dune House - Dennis MA     Cape Cod                   The Harbor - Dennis MA   Cape Cod

                    Pen and Ink 3" x 5"                                                   Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

                      Beach - Eastham - Cape Cod                            Dunes - East Orleans - Cape Cod
                          Pen and Ink 3" x 5"                                             Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

                 Dune Houses - Dennis MA   Cape Cod                 Beach - Dennis MA  Cape Cod
                          Pen and Ink 3" x 5"                                              Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

Too much to paint, too little time - Paris Hill

What do you do when confronted with Artistic Overload?  When every corner hides another dozen scenes to paint?

I suppose there are as many different answers to that question as there are people in the world.  For me, direct observation and sketching and painting from nature are key to my process.  However, there are simply times and circumstances where it is not possible to do either.  In those cases I will try to take a few pictures for later reference.  As soon as possible, I'll record my impressions with a sketch and sometimes a brief written description of what drew my attention to the subject - initially without even referencing the photograph.

The first time I went to Paris Hill was for a wedding at the church on the green.  If you've never been, it's well worth the trip and the effort to find it.  There used to be tours around Christmas of many of the historic houses.  I'm not sure if they still do that, but once again, worth it if they do.

Below are some small (3" by 4")  quick pen and ink sketches to explore different compositions and to develop a bank of historical house sketches for potential use in the future.  These particular sketches are all on a larger sheet of drawing paper sectioned off into 8 grids.

Paris Hill Impressions

               Church with Hannibal Hamblin House                         View from behind church toward

                              Pen and Ink 3" x 5"                                               village Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

                     Sunset and Distant Hills                                            Distant Hills, Sunset

                        Pen and ink 3" X 4"                                                 Pen and Ink 3"x 4"

New Englander - Pen and Ink 3" x 5"

I now really enjoy playing around with these sketches and compositions before launching into a painting.  It is time spent up front, but in the long run it is good practice and saves time from having to make large adjustments to a painting in progress.

Another thought I had while doing these sketches is to later take these sketches as a basis for finished sketches to have a unique momento of a place.  Many small sketches in the space of one larger sketch.

I hope you enjoy these impressions of Paris Hill.  In future posts I will share impressions of recent trips to Eastport and Cape Cod.

The link below will take you to some painting sketches completed in Eastport

https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2018/08/sea-glass-and-sketches.html

Sea Glass and Sketches

Had a wonderful time with family and friends Down East!  But those are stories for a different blog.

The sketches from left to right top are Acrylic 4" x 6", Acrylic 12" x 16", Watercolor 8" x 10" and Acrylic 4" x 6"

Bottom Left are two quick pencil composition sketches and bottom right is a partial sketch with notes and some small composition sketches which I will work up into larger compositions and paintings.

The 4" by 6" were a first time experiment for me.  The format did make me simplify very complex subjects.  The jury is still out for me regarding this small format.

The 12" by 16" inch painting is really four sketches in one.  Sky, Water, Distant shoreline and Mid ground cliffs.  I wasn't pleased with the overall composition but for study purposes it was a productive exercise.  I really want to focus more on my paint handling with Acrylics.  Need some new bushes, but more than that I just need to focus on it more.

These color sketches, the time spent observing the scenes, and notes will be combined into new subjects with some photos I took for reference.  The sea glass and pottery were all collected in Eastport in one morning.

Between Cape Cod and Eastport I have enough source material to keep me busy throughout the fall and winter.

I have a new idea for some composition sketches when I return from the trip.

Local Color - Juried Exibition, River Arts Gallery

This Acrylic painting was accepted for the Juried Art Show - Local Color at River Arts Gallery in Damriscotta.  The opening is this Friday evening.  I look forward to seeing everyone's work.

https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2018/07/lisbon-farm-in-summer-2.html

https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2018/07/so-much-for-waiting.html

https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2018/06/farm-on-location-sketch.html

New Hampshire Memories - Sold

New Hampshire Memories - Gouache over Charcoal 12" X 18"

This painting is now in a private collection in Georgetown Mass.  The genesis of this painting was from a trip to New Hampshire with my family.   Here is the link below to the original post.

https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2017/04/new-hampshire-memories.html

Thank you so much for your purchase and your support!

Cape Cod

I so enjoyed spending some time on Cape Cod with Julie and our dog Doodle Bug last week.  There was so much to see and paint.  Subjects were everywhere.  I remember hearing artists talk about going to places like Venice and having difficulty choosing what to paint due to the sheer number of possible subjects.  I felt a little like that at Cape Cod.  I'm not sure if its because it was all new to me or simply due to the beauty of the Cape.  We stayed in Dennis - and this church (@ 1838) was literally five minutes down the street from our hotel.  There was a cemetery next door, but I didn't want to take the time to dig too deeply in only one or two areas on this trip.

It can often be challenging to find a place to paint a subject based on traffic and such. This morning was not one of those challenging days.  There were a number of benches throughout the church grounds and this is actually the view from one of the benches.  This small watercolor painting was completed on a block of paper.  If you've never tried using watercolor blocks (paper) I'd encourage you to do so.  The paper doesn't need to be taped down and it doesn't buckle while you are working on it.

Watercolor - On location   Dennis MA.

We traveled throughout the Cape - from Dennis to East Orleans, to Hyannis and Hyannis Port, to Brewster, Eastham,  Truro, and Provincetown.   Just some quick impressions that left us wanting to come back for more.


The landscape brought so many images of Edward Hopper's and Aiden Lassell Ripley's Cape Cod paintings to mind.  They absolutely captured the atmosphere and the landscape in their work.

Setting Out by Aiden Lassell Ripley

Watercolor - Private Collection

Edward Hopper

It also reminded us of how lucky we are to live in Maine, where we too have world class beaches, rivers, and more.  During our travels I made mental notes and took a few photos for reference.  I'm transferring as many memories to canvas and paper as quickly as time allows.

Here's a well known Hopper painting of Two Lights in Maine

I also want to give special thanks the owners of Lucky Stone in East Orleans for their incredible warmth and generosity.  It was an art filled week that allowed us to renew old acquaintances, make new friends, and to spend time with our daughter and her extended field hockey family at Brown University in Providence on our way home.    We also had the opportunity to stop and visit briefly with an old friend from my childhood neighborhood to drop off a painting they had purchased - which will be a subject for a future post.

It was a trip I'll not ever forget.

The painting below is an acrylic on canvas board from sketches, memory, and photos.

Lucky Stone - East Orleans, MA