Island's Edge

Island's Edge

Charcoal on Paper 12" x 18"

This is my latest piece, inspired by many trips to Long Island, Maine and along the Maine coast in general.  The more frequently I draw, the more I approach drawings like a painting.  Not just in terms of composition, but also in terms of technique and approach.  When my drawing becomes more free, I begin to experience the "happy accidents" that occur in watercolor painting as well.  Where the effects of nature, the emotions you are feeling, appear almost unconsciously or accidentally.

I've been paying more and more attention to sky.  Each day , each few minutes actually,  brings its own abstract painting into being.  The ocean, even as a storm approaches or in full storm, has always brought a sense of peace to me.  It's vastness and power always serve to put things into perspective for me.  Problems that seemed so vast, almost insurmountable, vanish in the spray and thunder of the ocean.

Nor' Easter

Nor' Easter

Charcoal on Tissue Paper

This drawing was accepted for the exhibition "storm" at River Arts Gallery in Damriscotta.

The opening reception for “Storm” will be Saturday  afternoon, March 14 from 3 to 5pm.  This show runs until April 11, 2020.

Low Tide Dennis Mass

Low Tide - Dennis Mass

This large charcoal was an elaboration of a quick on site sketch from last summer on Cape Cod.   I will likely do another sketch based on this but with high tide / storm surf.

With this drawing I experimented with applying charcoal and blending with a brush in parts.  There are so many different ways to blend charcoal and the effects of different types of charcoal are also so different.  This drawing was completed with both vine charcoal and compressed charcoal.  Compressed charcoal produces a very rich dark stroke.  For me, vine charcoal also can produce a wide variety of shades, but not as dark as compressed charcoal.

I prefer to use vine charcoal - its very thin and fragile, but I enjoy both the visual effects of the vine charcoal as well as the tactile feel of utilizing it.  It may sound kind of strange, but the vibrations of the charcoal over the tooth of the paper is as close to running your fingers directly over unmarked drawing paper as is possible.

If you are wondering, I utilized a paint brush for blending in the sky and in part in the mid ground.  The remainder of the painting I utilized both my finger as well as a kneaded eraser to blend and lift out highlights.

If you read the recent post on the Lone Pine, you would  turn 180 degrees to see either view (with a little artistic license) - the actual background of the lone pine would have been more dunes and no ocean.


https://robertkahlerlandscapepaintings.blogspot.com/2019/07/lone-pine-cape-cod.html

Old Mill - Sabattus

Old Mill, Sabattus Maine

If you see and old building or any building that strikes you, record it in your own way.  I cannot count the number of buildings and scenes that I wanted to paint that were gone by the time I got around to trying to paint them.  In the U.S. in particular, our history is fleeting and the "old" is often bulldozed for the new.

I often rise early in the morning and explore for subjects of interest.  This mornings journey took me to Sabattus.  A weathered mostly abandoned Mill complex caught my eye.  It was a grey day but the greys and rusted roof of this buiding spoke to me.  I took a few notes for reference later when I decide to do a painting of this subject.

As often happens to me when I'm on location, is that I get lost in the moment and the subject requires more simplification and scaling than I accomplish with the first pass - still I was able to put down enough of the subject for further study.  There was an old dam and mill pond to the right of the subject which I'll explore further later.  The reflections in the pond were fascinating and could have been the subject of many paintings.

Old Mill Sabattus, Maine

The advantage to utilizing Pen and Ind for these field sketches for me is that it is quick, easy to transport, makes me think before blocking in the composition and I can take reference notes quickly and easily.

The disadvantage is that color notes are not the same as matching the colors.  Which is why i also enjoy sketching on location with watercolors.  I could have easily combined the watercolor with the Pen and Ink, but for now I prefer to keep the two seperate.

Nana's House

I recently took a trip Down East with family.  This post was from more than a year ago.  A picture drawn from strong childhood memories.  I was watering plants in the backyard yesterday, including a cutting from the lilac tree in front of the house (to the right outside this picture)

I hope you enjoy the picture and poem.

Pembroke

A few half buried fieldstones are all that remain

The house is gone

The Barn and Shed…

Gone

Gone. Not forgotten

I see Nana’s house

In abandoned farmhouses 

In bowed barns

In my dreams

I remember walking up the dirt road from one adventure or another

Taking the short cut up the hill toward the house

Avoiding the old well (Not really – Sorry Mom)

The tall grass tickling my hands

was laced with animal trails

At the top of the hill

The horses were shuffling in their stalls

Anxious to get out

The shed

A large barn connecting the barn to the kitchen

A magical place to me

Could that have been Santa’s sled?

Why one barn was “the barn”

The other the “shed”

I don’t know – it just was

The geese tap at the low kitchen windows

Hoping for some of our breakfast

Grampie looks up from his coffee

Shaking his head “No” at the geese

Morning ritual complete

The geese move on

The memory remains

I wasn’t yet six and he was gone

I prefer this memory

To those from the nursing home

Back to Pembroke, Masonic Lane

Dining Room

Sloping floors

Great for marbles and Matchbox cars

Enough room for seven story baseball card forts

As much fun to take down as to build

From kitchen to bedroom

Stairs narrow and steep

There was always a chill in the air upstairs

The only source of heat radiated from downstairs (or so I was told)

I’ve never gotten dressed and undressed indoors as quickly

Before or since

It was so quiet

You could hear yourself think

No T.V.

No Streetlights

Few cars

Lots of cats and dogs

Bald Eagles nesting by the river

The wind rattled the windows

Full of imperfections

Creating unique views and

Moonshadows on the wall

The house spoke in soft whispers and groans

As I drifted off to sleep

When my brother speaks

to his girls (Geese) and his pugs

I sometimes hear Nana’s voice.

The lilac in her dooryard has spread

To each of our homes

So has her hardy laugh

And her fierce spirit

The house is gone

So much more remains