Brushes with the Landscape

Breaker - Cape Elizabeth Oil on Canvas Board 12" x 16" This painting is currently on display in the members show at River Arts Gallery in Damriscotta through August 15th.

Ammonnoosuc River - Watercolor on Paper I did some detail work on my large watercolor of the Ammonnoosuc River in Northwestern New Hampshire.  On the lower left, was the early pass at the subject.  I will, from time to time, revisit a subject.  As I had left the picture, it struck me as close to what I was trying to achieve, but overall too dark.  It was accurate feel for the day and time, but the river didn't match the sky.  I decided to just leave things as they were for the time being to get some distance.  Often in Nature - there are times and locations that are quite interesting and moving, but they don't necessarily translate into a strong composition or painting without some artistic license. There were parts of the picture that seemed flat to me, not enough of a difference in value.  I wanted to increase the interest throughout the picture while not confusing the eye with too much detail.  I remember vividly my first art show many years ago.  I was not really ready to s

Rocks and Wildflowers - 2nd Pass Acrylic 12" x 16"                                               Rocks and Wildflowers Two Lights The picture above left was the first pass at the painting, the picture on the right is the finished painting. In addition to adding the wildflowers, I also did a little color work in the rocks, and some slight compositional changes to the water , rocks, and shrubs which I think made the composition a bit more dramatic. I may even scale this painting up to an 18" by 24" or a 24" x 36"  There are so many compositional possibilities let along different seasons. I've included a link to the previous post which describes a bit more about the genesis of this particular painting below. http://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2020/07/rocks-and-wildflowers.html

Rocks and Wildflowers Two lights  Acrylic 12" x 16" This is my latest Acrylic Painting of a composition that is a common sight in and around Two Lights.  I explained the process to this point in another post if you are interested in learning about methods for creating painting.  Below I've put the large charcoal drawing (12" x 18") side by side with the Acrylic When I had reached a stopping point in the main painting, I decided to quickly sketch out some other ideas from my trip with leftover paint on 4" by 6" note cards. Sketch " x 6" I really enjoy these quick sketches.  I learn a lot from them with very little time invested.  For instance, in the painting above, the ocean seems to "run off" the picture to the left.  Through the placement of rocks or shrubs I will reverse that so that it leads the eye into the painting and not out of it.  It's a win win.  I don't waste paint and I get to explore ideas in a much looser mann

Comprehensive Charcoal Drawing Between the Rocks and Sea Two Lights Cape Elizabeth 12" x 18" Although I don't have  any single process for creating a painting, this subject has progressed in a fairly typical way of late.  Spending time on location is always motivating.  I make a number of quick notes and sketches on note cards in addition to simply spending some time walking a location and observing.  I've begun using note cards for these sketches as they fit into a travel kit very easily. Pencil notes from direct observation 4" x 5" I then review a number of sketches and decide which subject to elaborate.  See below. Pencil Comp Sketch 8" x 11" Years ago I had a happy accident when looking through some old sketches - they were on top of one another and at times created new and interesting compositions.  So I now will intentionally crop drawings to examine other possibilities.  When I'm on location, its still easy for me to get caught up in the