Wyeth Country - Cushing Maine

I dropped off three paintings to be evaluated for an upcoming juried show in Damriscotta.  I used this opportunity to take a trip to Wyeth country - specifically Cushing and the Olsen house (closed for the season).

It was late in the afternoon, but an unseasonable warm and sunny day for mid winter.  I had no real desire to paint the Olsen house, that was one of Andrew Wyeth's realms.  I was more interested in paying my respects to the artist and its now long famous inhabitants.  We drove down the dirt road to the small cemetery perched on the oceans edge.  I was reminded of NC Wyeth's painting "Here, there be Giants." as the afternoon shadows lengthened and the brilliant orange sunset settled in.  After paying my respects, I explored before the light disappeared.

Below are quick, and small, pen and ink sketches of Andrew's view of the Olsen house and a view of the ocean at the far end of the cemetery.  (notes in the margins).

                                         

I tried to augment my notes of color with an oil pastel sketch - that did not end well.   I also executed a quick water color study - intentionally keeping this loose to try to catch the atmosphere.  The reflections and shadows on the ice were more than I felt I could capture in watercolor so I decided to use this study as the basis for an oil painting.

I plan to do both of the Pen and Ink sketches above as finished paintings once I work out the compositions more.

Below is the oil I began today - Sunset on Ice (11" x 14")

I had originally planned to do more, but I quite like the simplicity of this composition so I'm just going to let it sit for a bit before adding more or simply signing it as is.

Pemaquid in Progress

 

Composition Sketch in progress- Pemaquid 

This compositional sketch is the result of the roughs below and two on location watercolor studies.  It is intentionally not detailed.  I enjoy the design process.  I never used to take the time to experiment with different compositions - I just wanted to dive into painting (Truth be told, I still struggle with that).  But I consistently started running into composition issues which were so labor intensive to correct.  

In this case, I'll also re-position the boat further back and alter the angle of its profile so it leads back into the cemetery.  These are small rapidly executed studies, including the watercolor on index card below.   There will be much more foliage, as was in reality, in the final paintings.  Shadows in the foreground were also part of this composition.  I will also try a winter scene with shadows as an important part of the composition. 

 

Watercolor Study on Index Card 4" x 6"

One of the effects along the coast and tidal rivers that I find particularly interesting are the vignettes of color of the ocean between trees.  I'm also working to study more of the dramatic skies that we have here in Maine.  The skies effects are so fleeting - yet beautiful and dramatic.  I also enjoy working in Monochrome - to focus initially on value and composition without having to give a thought toward color is freeing.  Working on the different color variations is an entirely different - yet no less exciting process. 

Stay tuned.

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"

What is your gut telling you?

"I like what I like.  I can't tell you why, I just do."  That was my Dad's oft repeated saying about Art.  He was a huge fan of Norman Rockwell and one of his favorite books was a book of Poetry illustrated by Maxfield Parrish.  Dad liked a 3d painting of mountains and a lodge in Japan, it was given to him as a present from an inn keeper in Japan and was always up in the house.   The styles could not have been any more different but he liked them all the same.

I do find that the different mediums I work with all inform one another.  For instance, I find working in pen and ink makes me think further about composition and design as the medium is so direct and unforgiving.  I know that I've barely scratched the surface of Pen and Ink.

I enjoy studying the many moods of the ocean.  The power of the waves.  The color and the shapes in the rock and in the surf, the reflections of the sun and moon, the mist, sea fog and foam, and , the movement of the waves create constantly shifting and new fascinations to me.  This is all purely the visual and doesn't even take into account the impact of the sounds and smells of the ocean.

The same composition of rocks and beach or a cove could literally be painted daily or throughout the day and every painting would be different.   Claude Monet studied the effects of light on subjects in series such as haystacks, Rouen Cathederal, Houses of Parliament and more.  The same subject in different light and atmospheric conditions held his interest (not to mention ours for more than a century) because the challenges presented and, therefore the subjects themselves were, in fact, different.  Sometimes subtle differences, sometimes dramatic differences.  

I remember reading a note from Winslow Homer describing one of his paintings to the dealer, describing in great detail the lighting effect of the clouds being 15 minutes before sunset and how different the lighting would be 15 minutes after sunset.  It's not something that the casual observer would even notice, but master artists such as Homer and Monet could never be described as casual observers of the world around them.

It's interesting to note that even people with little to no interest in art can, if they are familiar with the subject matter, can "tell" if a realistic picture "rings true" with their expereience.  They may not be able to describe what is right or wrong with a picture but their "gut" will let them know if something "isn't quite right." 

Acrylic

Acrylic is my second choice for on location painting.  It dries incredibly quickly - which can create some challenges but it allows for many of the same properties I mentioned about watercolor.  The primary advantage I find in acrylics is that areas can be quickly painted over and it can also show brushstrokes which can add greatly to the feeling of movement within a painting.

Pen and Ink - Breakers Two

I'm not sure what started me on this particular exploration of pen and ink but I do find it quite enjoyable.  I work in a variety of media: Watercolor, Charcoal, Acrylic, Oil, Pencil, and most recently Gouache, and Mixed Media experiments.  I'll write more about the differnt media in subsequent posts.

Charcoal 

Charcoal is probably the medium I enjoy working with the most.  I love its flexibility and the acutal feel of working with Charcoal.  It's a medium that can be worked with very rapidly and can create both fluid compositions as well as highly detailed drawings with very wide ranging tonal values.  Charcoal can also be layered and built up over time should one choose to do so.

Watercolor

Watercolor is another medium I enjoy very much.  It's my first choice for painting on location.  I find watercolor is able to capture so many of the effects found in nature very quickly - which is especially important as the light is constantly changing.  I also believe watercolor to be far more flexible than the common public perception.  While its true that its important to plan your lightest lights and darkest darks - beyond that I find it to be a very maliable medim.  I personally prefer transparent watercolor and "untouched" watercolors done in one session - but thats simply a personal preference.

Oil Painting

As of this writing, I've only done a couple of oil paintings on location.  I find it challenging to store the wet paintings while on the move.  I haven't really taken the time to explore what exists for this beyond the paintbox itself nor have I taken the time to try to invent something due to the ease of working with watercolor.  I enjoy working with Oil Paint in the studio, but have done little of it so far.  I currently use water soluble oils as I don't really have a ventilation set up for oils.

Show Me - Oil over Acrylic Base

24" by 36"

Gouache 

I've just begun working with gouache so I have very little experience to comment on.  I've just begun experimenting with this medium, having experimented with working gouache over charcoal drawing and to add a few highlights to abandoned watercolors.  I think there certainly are possibilities.

Gouache over Charcoal - New Hampshire Memories

12" x 18"

Mixed Media -Experiment -  Abandoning worry about what "could happen" is incredibly freeing.  I had a charcoal sketch that I'd set aside long ago.  Never quite satisfied with it.  I decided to experiment by  putting watercolor over the drawing.  Below is the result.

Mixed Media - 12" x 18"

This process helped me work out different compositions.  Although the "look" is different I ended up liking it more than I thought I would.

Exploring Harpswell

I spent Friday morning exploring Harpswell and South Harpswell.

My first stop was at the driveway entrance to the former home and studio of Stephen Etnier.
The land is no longer in family hands , the house and studio are long gone (which is another story all together).  However, the area surrounding the grounds of the studio is striking.  Farmland, spruce forests, wild ponds, and working houses of lobster and fishermen with boats large and small, for working and for pleasure.  The road was serpentine and very narrow.  That, and the fact that I was an uninvited guest, I didn't stay long.

Here is a photograph of "Old Cove" house and studio from the dock (uncredited - StevenEtnier.com)  I could understand why Steven Etnier chose this place to build his home and studio.  I must admit that I imagined seeing his good friend Andrew Wyeth visiting captivated by the endless subjects to paint at every turn.

My second stop was a subtly marked parking area (a Maine tradition) alongside a cove.  There was a picnic table and access to the water a short walk across the street.  It was a low tide with small waves lapping against a beach of tiny rocks - nothing like the cliffs pictured above.  Maine and New England are filled with these unadvertised hidden gems.  They are well worth the effort to find. 

From the parking lot, there was an easy hike, just over a mile, through a spruce forest to another cove with a similar pebbled beach with one large difference.   It was largely covered by snails that hadn't burrowed into the sand yet.  The walk reminded me of childhood days.  Walking along the towpath through the pine forests along the remnants of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal near my childhood home in Westbrook.

Large pines with thick roots snaking across the ground.  Evidence of the wind surrounds you murmuring through the pines.  You can see the treetops swaying, the patterns of light shifting silently on the ground, the creaks and pops of pines swaying in the wind,  yet the air remains very still inside thick stands of pine.  There were numerous deadfalls, trees toppled by the wind, caught by their neighbors before they reached the ground.  Those trees still standing had many gnarled dead branches - unable to reach the shafts of sunlight soon enough to support life -  create abstract patterns on the rust colored floor, low ferns, branches and tree trunks.

This Pen and Ink is an impression of the entrance to the forest path as well as some of the interesting scenery on the way to the beach. 

Pen and Ink Exploration

Pen and Ink - Breakers Two

I'm not sure what started me on this particular exploration of pen and ink but I do find it quite enjoyable.  I work in a variety of media: Watercolor, Charcoal, Acrylic, Oil, Pencil, and most recently Gouache, and Mixed Media experiments.  I'll write more about the differnt media in subsequent posts.

I do find that the different mediums I work with all inform one another.  For instance, I find working in pen and ink makes me think further about composition and design as the medium is so direct and unforgiving.  I know that I've barely scratched the surface of Pen and Ink.

I enjoy studying the many moods of the ocean.  The power of the waves.  The color and the shapes in the rock and in the surf, the reflections of the sun and moon, the mist, sea fog and foam, and , the movement of the waves create constantly shifting and new fascinations to me.  This is all purely the visual and doesn't even take into account the impact of the sounds and smells of the ocean.

The same composition of rocks and beach or a cove could literally be painted daily or throughout the day and every painting would be different.   Claude Monet studied the effects of light on subjects in series such as haystacks, Rouen Cathederal, Houses of Parliament and more.  The same subject in different light and atmospheric conditions held his interest (not to mention ours for more than a century) because the challenges presented and, therefore the subjects themselves were, in fact, different.  Sometimes subtle differences, sometimes dramatic differences.  

I remember reading a note from Winslow Homer describing one of his paintings to the dealer, describing in great detail the lighting effect of the clouds being 15 minutes before sunset and how different the lighting would be 15 minutes after sunset.  It's not something that the casual observer would even notice, but master artists such as Homer and Monet could never be described as casual observers of the world around them.

It's interesting to note that even people with little to no interest in art can, if they are familiar with the subject matter, can "tell" if a realistic picture "rings true" with their expereience.  They may not be able to describe what is right or wrong with a picture but their "gut" will let them know if something "isn't quite right."

Scarborough Barn

Old Country Church

Breakers Two

Pen and Ink - Breakers Two

I enjoy studying the many moods of the ocean.  The power of the waves.  The color and the shapes in the rock and in the surf, the reflections of the sun and moon, the mist, sea fog and foam, and , the movement of the waves create constantly shifting and new fascinations to me.  This is all purely the visual and doesn't even take into account the impact of the sounds and smells of the ocean.

These drawings are half memory half imagination from my childhood explorations of Higgins Beach in Scarborough Maine, Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth, and my most recent trips to Pemaquid.

Tidal Pool, Incoming Tide - Pen and Ink

Pemaquid Beach

I've managed to explore much of the coast of Maine, but somehow I'd never made it to Pemaquid before.  Julie, Ari, and I had a wonderful day at Pemaquid.  Before we left for the day, I decided to reorganize my paint box to strictly watercolor so that all the materials that I'd need would fit in my paintbox.  Brushes, paper, paint, water, palette,  tape, pencils, sketch pad, sponges, razor blades, pencils.   I wanted to reduce things so that I wouldn't need anything beyond the paint box.  Still a couple of things to iron out - but all in all I was pleased.  What I think I'll do next is get another paint box to prepare for acrylics and related materials.

After exploring and finding some sea glass.  I did this pen and ink first.  I finished the day doing a quick watercolor study of this same scene.  I'll use both of these to do a finished work eventually.

The next work was this watercolor.

Sometime I'm so caught up in the moment, trying to capture colors and the other elements of the subject that catch my attention, I forget to keep overall composition in mind.  All in all I was pleased with how the watercolor captured the mood of the day.  I continue to be amazed at how differnt the ocean looks both in terms of color and structure of waves and wind.  For the next trip I want to paint from the rocks at the light house.  The surf and mood was so different in the short distance from the beach to the lighthouse.

On a side note, my paint box was a gift from my father in law for Christmas of 1994.  It has literally been on all of our family adventure days and is nearly three years older than Ari.  I can look at the scars, scapes, and paint on the box and they bring me back to each adventure.  Another post for another day.

Georgetown Inlet

This watercolor sketch of an inlet in Georgetown, Maine serves a couple of purposes for me.

One, I'd been so focused on pen and ink drawings I missed painting.  In addition to composition and design, I truly enjoy working with  color and paint- watercolors in particular.  For whatever reason, I find it more enjoyable (and more efficient) to experiment with watercolor than the other mediums I work with (Acrylic, Oil, Goache, Charcoal, Pencil).  The medium of watercolor itself, I find it to be the quickest medium to get ideas to paper.   Some of that is simple physics - water flows quickly and smoothly.  Another reason is the ease of transport and clean up of watercolor.  I also began my artistic journey with watercolor so that is the medium I've worked with the longest.

One piece of advice I would give, is take whatever advice that is given to you for what it is worth for your journey - not as gospel.  One of the most common pieces of advice that I recieved is that watercolor is very difficult to work with.  That once you make a "mistake" you cannot correct it.  If we go into anything convinced that we cannot correct mistakes, that we must be "perfect" - we are unlikely to try in the first place or to persevere when we encounter the inevitiable challenges that go hand and hand with learning.

Don't get me wrong, classes or advice from those more experienced can be incredibly valuable and can save you a lot of learning time.  Just don't be afraid to forge your own path.

This studio sketch (living room actually) was an interpretation of a sketching trip Julie and I took to Georgetown Months ago.  I look forward for going

It was a grey day when I was sketching on location but for the purposes of the watercolor I wanted I experiment with different effects that sunlight would have.  This sketch has also given me some different compositional ideas.

What I've started doing now is storing sketches and paintings (when possible due to size) together for future reference.  For now, my pen and ink sketches are all still in the original sketchbook as I often find when sketching on location I'll find a subject for a quick margin sketch that fits with other subjects (such as one page of reflections) for potential future development.

The Georgetown area is so beautiful, I can not wait to go back.  And talk about having a magnificent "office!"  We are so lucky to live in Maine.

Georgetown and Tenants Harbor, Maine

Here are a few working sketches that I completed while picking up some of my paintings from the Plein Air Painters of Maine show at the Georgetown Library.  It is such a beautiful area.

The sketchpad I use is a simple 11" by 14" Acid Free medium weight paper. This first page represents some quick sketches I made sitting on a granite bench right alongside an inlet.  I generally make a few quick compositional sketches of scenes I am considering as well as local sights that could turn into additional paintings or elements that I might add into the composition later.  In other words real local buildings or natural scenes that you wouldn't see from this point of view but that anyone familiar with the area would be recognized.

This was a grey day and quite windy, but enjoyable.  Two ducks kept me company the entire time I sketched.  One black, one white.  Both very busy fishing.  I'm going to change the mostly hidden modern car port for a lobster shack that I remember (or imagine I remember) from Higgins Beach.

I plan to adjust the patterns of the lobster traps in the final painting as I've begun at the bottom of the page.

The sketch below is of a working wharf in Georgetown.  I happened to stop by as the days catch was being brought up to the wharf and then loaded onto the waiting truck.  I'm going to move the boat unloading to the near side of the wharf in the final picture.

To the right in the margin is a sketch of some fascinating reflections in a small building next to me on the location of the sketch above.  I could see reflections as well as into the building and out the other side.  It reminded me of something that Andrew Wyeth might paint ( no pressure there :)  

I recently purchased the book Wyeth and Kuhners.  It was filled with many of working sketches leading up to the final paintings.   It was very interesting to "see" his thought process behind some of his finished paintings.  The older I get and the longer I paint, the more my appreciation of his work grows.