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

Lone Pine - Cape Cod

Lone Pine -Cape Cod  Acrylic 12" by 16"

(Doodle Bug)

Art is about discovery and the journey, for me at least.  Last week I went down to work on a subject for my next painting, and I ended up going in a completely different direction.  But that's a different story for a different day.  

This particular painting was done from studies completed on location last year as well as preliminary sketches done from those studies and blogged about previously.

I was captivated by the light and the dunes on the Cape.  The patterns of light on the dunes, the surf, as well as the shapes of the dunes themselves were such that one could paint them every day and have a different painting result every time.

With this painting I also really wanted to experiment a bit with the sky and even though the initial subject of interest to me was the pine, I actually came to enjoy working on the surf - a small but important part of this composition.  

To me, the pine had a story to tell.  How it it survived and thrived here when no others had?  It was bent and twisted by the elements, but it continued to grow and persevere.  It appeared to me to be cautiously looking over the dunes toward the horizon to what was coming next.  

As I completed the painting, I was overcome by a feeling of melancholy and I couldn't really identify why.  Then it hit me.  I'd actually completed a portrait of my buddy - Doodle Bug.

This was Doodle Bug's last trip with us.  She too was holding on so that we could get ready for her journey beyond the dunes.  She is missed every day.

Cape Cod - Dunes and Pines in process

Cape Cod - Dunes and Pine

Charcoal on Paper

Cape Cod - Dunes and Pine in Process

This subject was from our trip to Cape Cod last summer (2018).  The sun was very low so that the near dune was completely in shadow, only the top of the pine was illuminated as well as the far dune.  This is another example for me of the benefits of painting on location.  This was an effect on a brilliant sunny day that lasted for probably 10-15 minutes.  I would not have imagined this scene with the back dune illuminated - but there it was.  It was such a striking contrast.

On the right are half a sheet of small sketches done on location at the Cape.   I then did the large colored pencil sketch the top.  I don't work with colored pencil often, but decided to shake things up a bit and do some experimenting.

The small pen and ink sketch was a composition sketch resulting from a feeling from the other sketches and wondering if the background dunes closed the picture in too much.  I then began to work on the large charcoal sketch to further work out the composition.

Eventually I will complete a watercolor and or acrylic of the subject.

There really isn't one way I approach a picture.  Sometimes I work from pencil to charcoal to watercolor to oil.  At other times, I work from watercolor to charcoal.  It just depends on what I'm trying to express and at other times - what I have at hand. 

Every artist develops their own shorthand I'm sure.  I've seen studies by some of my favorites including John Stobart that made zero sense to me, but they weren't for me or even for public consumption.   I also find the process of doing preliminaries is very freeing, and sometimes wonderful things happen that wouldn't have if I had feared to "color outside the lines"

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

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