Brushes with the Landscape

Here is another full sheet watercolor study by Elmer L. Ham.   The pictures don't do it justice.  It has an almost abstract quality about it.  It strikes me as another on location study.  Faint pencil lines block in both the major masses of rocks (Feels more like California than Maine to me) as well as of the wave action - see below. The sense of movement is captured and the white of the paper also is utilized effectively to capture whitecaps as well as foam from waves crashing on rocks.  It all implies to me a familiarity with the ocean as well as this particular location.  That is only reinforced by the deft strokes of a loaded brush throughout the painting.   This strikes me as a rapidly executed sketch (you have a max of a couple of hours before the light changes too much - and my reality of painting along the coast is that you tend to have a shorter window).  But everything is contained within this first pass to allow the artist to go back at any time to finish

Sketch of Fishing Boats - Watercolor by Elmer L. Ham 8.5" x 10" Sight Size 11" x 14" Framed There is a quality about a sketch that I particularly enjoy.  You get to see the artists thinking and focus as they work.  What the artist finishes and what the artist leaves out is often telling.  To me, this study is one of light, shadow, and reflection.  Note how the shading on the boats add depth and form.   On the near boat, how the shadow and rust on the way below deck add form and substance.  The shadows on the second boat on the fishing nets the shadows from the fishing nets on the small boat in between the larger boats. Also, note the reflections in the foreground, they are not static.  They are fluid and evoke the feeling of moving water. This is the result of years of observation.  Whether or not this was done on location, I have no proof, but it is too close to the subject to have been done as an exercise or from a photograph. The pencil

Elmer L Ham Watercolor  5" x 7" framed. This is a fragment of an unfinished floral watercolor by Elmer L Ham.    In addition to many finished paintings, the portfolios of paintings I purchased had many paintings in various stages of completion.  There were many finished still lives, others that were clearly studies of floral still life in watercolor and pastels and still others that were started but not finished beyond the pencil sketch (outline really) and some areas of finish.   You can see the faint pencil indications in this sketch - which would be erased partially or completely in finished painting depending on the artists decision on whether the pencil added to or distracted from the desired effect. I gave much consideration to the uncompleted still lives.  Many studies were on full sheets of watercolor paper - too large to be displayed with so much unfinished and all unsigned.  After studying the paintings intently, I decided to experiment and crop, m

Eastport Maine - Abandoned Cannery, Tides Institute Charcoal and Gouache on paper This painting is an elaboration of an on location watercolor sketch that I did in Eastport last summer.  The effect of the light striking the abandoned cannery and the strong shadows was what drew me to this subject.   I'll set this aside and go back to it at a later date. Its also another example to me that I'm never quite sure where a painting is going to lead me.  When I think of Eastport and the coast of Maine in general - I don't think of barely including the ocean in a scene painted on the coast.   I plan to do five or six variations of this subject, including increasing the space between the buildings to show more of the harbor and the working coast. While working, I had a visit from one of my studio assistants (Whisper).  I think he likes the painting - but he's not saying.  The cat has his tongue.  

Here is another light filled watercolor landscape painting from the portfolios of Elmer L Ham that I discovered in New Hampshire.  Ham spent much of his long life along the Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachsuetts Seacoast (Portsmouth, Boston, Newburyport, Eliot, and Kittery Point to name a few).  This includes nearly a decade that Ham spent in Los Angeles California. Although the ocean (or river) is not a large part of this subject, it is important to the composition and color pallette of this painting.  It creates more of sense of light and brings the yellow maple into focus as well.  This is a quintessential New England Scene. The effects captured in this painting, of light and shadow, of the atmospheric effects of the clouds and sky lend further credence to my belief that Ham spent much of his time observing and painting on location prior to executing these full sheet watercolors. Another thing that attracts me to these paintings is their sense of spontaneity.  The effect

Here is another watercolor painting in the portfolio's that I purchased by Elmer L. Ham. The sense of movement and color that he has captured here speaks to me of someone who spent a great deal of time painting on location and observing nature.  I have no evidence to prove that, only conjecture, a lifetime of observing the ocean and twenty plus years painting on location. This painting is also freely and confidently painted.  The brushstrokes are visible and help define both form and movement without being overworked. Today, Ham seems largely forgotten.   A quick review of sales records indicate that he seems to be most well known for his pastel still life drawings of flowers which reflect his training by noted Boston and Newburyport artist Laura Coombs Hills.  The watercolor above and paintings I'll share later show his talent and his interest in his surroundings.  Here is the beginning of what I've been able to find out about Elmer L. Ham. Early Years :  P

I was rummaging around the top floor of an antique store and I saw two black portfolios tucked in a back corner on top of a stack of chairs.  I made my way through the stacks of chairs and pulled the portfolios out to where I could open them up. I figured there would be a few school sketches and some studies as each portfolio was quite thickly packed (each appprox 2" thick).   There were some studies of still lives, some partially completed watercolors, but things quickly turned even more interesting. The Fenway, Boston by Elmer L Ham (1884-1978) Scores of boldly and confidently painted watercolor's, some signed by Elmer L. Ham, some not signed but clearly by the the same hand.  I've been researching the artist since this find and will share more paintings and information in future posts. Many of these paintings I will keep, but others I will sell and attach his biography (as much as I can complete it) so that others may rediscover him too.

Had a wonderful three day stay at the Mt Washington House in Bretton Woods New Hampshire.  This pen and ink sketch was done from the conservatory.  I'd woken up early and gone downstairs and pretty much had the room to myself.  Eventually a few other people came into the room and then we had a surprise guest - a red squirrel.   The patterns of snow and the beginnings of spring were striking.  Natural abstracts actually.  I went for a walk along the Amonoosuc River.  When the trail moved away the river, I went off trail, for about 20 feet.  I went from less than an inch of snow - up to my waist.  I retreated back to the safety of the trail and choose the view below. I did a rough pencil sketch with a focus on composition and observational notes.  I did the on location watercolor sketch below for color notes and will work on subjects using these as reference.  My favorite studio!  The great outdoors. The painting above was the view looking upriver