Motif #2

This is my most recently completed work, the front doorway and apple tree at the beautiful white house on the Greenbelt property called Cox Reservation in Essex, MA. I was struck by the pattern of the shadows on the house and I love tree shapes. I'll be putting this painting into the upcoming Newburyport show the end of this month. If you have comments about this painting, I'd love to hear what you think.

Port Clyde Weekend

from left to right:

Grace Daly, Betsy Lewis, Cindy Stern, Pam Perras, Mary Pyche, Bob, Carol Potvin, Lynn Murray.

Don't you wonder who got which of the "7 Deadly Sins"? (a painting project after the show at the Farnsworth)

Anyone up for another one, like instead of "Borrowed Views" we could do "No Place Like Home"?

Day 2 - Monhegan Island

Last day of the painting weekend. Up early, breakfast, and off to paint for the day until boat leaves at 4:30. Betsy had a house in mind to paint and I headed to Fish Beach. Betsy's came out really nice. I did two quick ones before lunch, then took the afternoon off to explore and visit the shops. We had unbelieveably good weather including a beautiful sunset. We were both exhausted and got back home around 10:30 p.m.

Day 1 - Monhegan Island Maine

What a day! Rose about 6, breakfast at 7:30, hiked to lighthouse and saw exhibits of maine painters and history of the island, painted up there until noon. Then I went out to the "wreck" and painted until supper time. Betsy finished a nice painting up at the lighthouse. Wreck painting was fun to do and I have more to do on it. No phone service for days now. Camera is dead too, left charger in car. Went for walk after eating a crab burger at Fish House, then early to bed at 8.

Day 2 - Port Clyde

We'll meet at Betsy's house for the deadly sins dinner and bring our "sin" paintings on Oct. 18. We got up early, skies were clearing, ate a chef prepared breakfast, painted until early afternoon. Betsy and I were taking the boat to Mongehan Island at 3 and everyone else headed for home. At Monhegan we watched big waves crash on the rocks until dinner at Monhegan House. Great accommodations, dinner good BYOB, beds good.

Port Clyde, Band of Brushes Group

I'm writing this the day after the 5-day atelier with David Curtis. I'm going for painting 9 days in a row. It's a cool, windy, very rainy day and I'm here with 6 friends. We went to Rockland to the Farnsworth and saw the "7 Deadly Sins" by Wyeth and the fabulous Dowling Walsh Gallery and saw "A Decade of Views" by Connie Hayes. We had a great meal at the Dip Net. We've decided to portray our versions of the 7 deadly sins and drew out of a hat, each of us receiving our "sin" to portray.

Day 5 - Curtis Atelier - The Finale

We headed back to the Quarry to complete our large 3-day painting. It was a nice sunny day until the clouds moved in in late afternoon. The weather for this week was very nice and we were very lucky, we even thought that David could control the weather. He was very busy with everyone giving our efforts a final big push. It was truly amazing how well everyone did–he was even excited for us. (Should I mention that after Tuesday, we was worried.) He kept cracking the whip. The energy and enthusiasm of the group never let up and I for one wished there was going to be more (time). I thought 3 days on a painting would last forever but, guess what, I didn’t even finish! We presented David with a card and everyone wrote a little something.

Now for those jokes: What do you get when a piano falls on a coal miner? A flat minor. What happened when a helicopter pilot landed on an army major. A flat major. A man looses a loved one, he was all alone, the thought he might get a pet, he never had a pet, and met the owner of a pet shop who showed him several dogs and cats. The man wasn’t sure which to get. The owner says, I have a very unusual dog, but I warn you, he isn’t for everyone. He introduced the man to the dog who says hello. The man was amazed, did he talk? Yes, said the man, and they talked with the dog for some time and hears some outrageous stories. The man says, I have to have that dog. I’ll pay you $1000. No, says the man, I couldn’t. He says $2000. Oh, no, says the man, only $50. The man pays for the dog and on the way out he says, I don’t understand, why would you sell him for so little? Everything the dog says is a lie. (David, I’m sorry that I’m so bad at telling jokes.)

Day 4 - Curtis Atelier - The Boatyard

Most of us arrived at low tide and set up to paint as we had to get 3 9x12's done--it's not a race, but. Where was Bill? Even though we all started ahead of Bill, as usual, he finished his 4 paintings when we did three. I finished my first one first, but by third one only had about 30 minutes on it before the critique started. David was pleased with us as a group and said we all did better today. We also could see that all our fellow artists were doing better. It's a good hard working group. I didn't take any notes today as I was working feverishly, it's not a race.
Tomorrow--the finale--we will return to the Quarry where we will complete our 3-day effort on our large canvas--one day ahead of a big bad storm. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as it's always a surprise to see what will happen.
I won't be blogging for Day 5 until Wednesday, September 2nd as I'll be away. I hope to hear back from everyone in our group from time to time to see what you are doing. I'm in a show at the Beverly Farms Library, Sept. 2-29. Come to the reception Thurs Sept. 10, 6-8 p.m.

Day 3 - Return to Halibut Point Quarry

So here we are for our second day of a 3-day painting at the Quarry. First order of business is setting up in the high wind. It took me a whole hour to get ready to paint, but then first we were to scrape down our canvas. Then He said, 'draw' 'draw' 'draw' for the first 2 hours. What do you think that means? Well, I drew and found it was very rewarding, I liked it a lot, it works great especially w/rocks--BUT--He didn't mean 'draw'. Go figure.

1. Use liquin for fast drying.

2. Use veridian for work by the water.

3. Use the 20-foot brush.

4. Put sky holes in then paint around them.

5. Put more design in trees near center/middle area.

Remember: It's not a race, but whoever finishes first.

Understatement: "Rocks are hard".

Jokes today: 1) Pianoman, 2) Helicoptor and 3) The Talking Dog. Friday I'll tell you these jokes.

Tomorrow's task, paint 3 9x12s in impressionist manner in 5 hours.

Curtis Atelier - Day 2 - "The Breezeway"

David chose this site because it is an amazing cool, shady and breezy spot as it was a very hot, sunny day. The tide was coming in so he wanted us to paint our first one before the tide came in. The task today was to complete 3 9x12's between 1 and 5:30 p.m. hitting the right color notes as our primary goal. All six students completed 3 paintings in the time allotted--Connie finished first (I think she actually started before anyone else), and Bill painted the fastest (since he had larger canvases)! During the day, David regailed us with many interesting stories of the folklore of the area (I think his family goes back to the days of the 'witches' of Dogtown), and he tells good jokes, too! OK, OK, he did spend most of his time actually instructing! We finished the day with a critique--it was a great day for everyone. In my case, by the third one, things changed. There definately is something about thinking only about the shapes and color relationships--not thinking about the things. Working quickly forces you to "attack" AND you can 'get' the time of day better. In my opinion, I need to use more paint and stronger color.

Tomorrow we return to Monday's location on our 20x24 3-day piece where we will scrape it down and continue. We are starting earlier to hopefully get something done before the expected rain storm.

David Curtis Atelier-Day 1

The site for today was Halibut Point in Rockport, a quarry by the sea. The lesson was to start a 20x24 canvas which we will work on three days this week. The idea was to work on design, draw, paint thin, key the painting for about 5 p.m using only one of each, red, blue, yellow and white and do a block-in of three or four values. OK, plenty of time (5 hours). It was suggested to draw several times during the day to see which time of day gave you the best composition or placement of light and shadow. I started out slowly, thinking I have lots of time. Wouldn't you know it? By 3 p.m. big thunder clouds came overhead and it rained. There should be a cute French word for "painting in the rain" because it always happens! We packed up and went to the Rockport Art Assoc. classroom to continue for the day.

There are 6 in the class, Bill, Sandy, Susan, Connie, Claire and myself. Three of us had cameras. I didn't have that much accomplished and had to refer to my shot of the site. So every 2 minutes my camera shut off and I had to be continuously turning it on and finding my shot. Everyone seemed to have a good grasp of the lesson. At the end of the day, we were instructed to "stitch" all our edges to prepare for the next time we would work on it. This prevents ridges and makes the next layer work better. In the photo of my block-in, the upper left corner is stitched.

Tomorrow we do three 9x12's, one every 2 hours, working on colors and impressions rather than good design.

The night before........(The Atelier!)

OK, I'm psyched. I'm excited. I'm hoping that I'll learn something, and that some of the things that are taught, actually stick in my brain. I'm making sure that I have all the right equipment. We start every day at 1 p.m.. I guess we are going for evening light. 1 p.m to 6 p.m.

I didn't mention that I'm going to Port Clyde, Maine after this 5-day atelier with David Curtis, and after that, I'm off to the famous painting spot for the last 100 years: Monhegan Island. I'll have to update this blog on Wednesday when I return from the long weekend. I hope I'll have something good to show you. The weather is supposed to be warm, maybe hot, and humid.

These workshops always state that they will take you to the next level......let's hope. I guess this is the challenge: Next level or not?

A Week with David Curtis

I'll start the one-week atelier on Monday with David Curtis. I'll post daily to this blog to inform you of my activities/progress/aches and pains, whatever. Except on Friday when I head up to Port Clyde for a couple of days then on to Monhegan to paint other gorgeous motifs.

I painted last Saturday at Thatcher Island and tackled painting the houses by the lighthouse--a much painted subject.

My usual activity on Saturdays is painting at Cox Reservation in Essex. This site is beautiful and this website gives very interesting history of the area. http://www.escapesnorth.com/trail_art/history.php?sec=art

The Guardians sold at Auction!

I'm please to announce that my award-winning painting 'The Guardians' sold recently at the Newburyport Art Association Auction. The painting of an osprey nest and lighthouse on Thatcher Island was donated as I'm happy to help the association, and a grateful 'thank you' to the buyer for their generosity and for liking my painting.

I will be showing local and New England themed work with The Band of Brushes, a plein air special interest group of the Newburyport Art Association. The annual show is August 6 thru 12 with 14 artists showing.

Newburyport, Firehouse Building

This painting of the "Not Your Average Joe's" restaurant in the Firehouse Building in downtown Newburyport was painted on Tuesday in front of the new Gelato (Italian Ice Cream) store in Market Square. It was chilly in the morning and got hot by noon. The wonderful patio dining at Not Your Average Joes wasn't open yet for lunch, but it is a bustling place usually and a great place to people watch.

Plein Air and Landscape Painters on Boston's North Shore

Some people have had trouble finding this Facebook Group--so here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=81459708392&mid=677d24G567c81faG55fe87G40
Hopefully it will work.

JC Airoldi Fine Arts Studio-Small Treasures Show

See these original oil paintings of Taos, New Mexico painted at the JC Airoldi Workshop at the "Small Treasures Show" at JC Airoldi Fine Art Studio, Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3 at Artists’ Muse Studios, 9 Water St., Amesbury, MA. Reception Saturday May 2, 5-8.

Facebook Plein Air and Landscape Group

I have recently put up a group on Facebook for painters north of Boston called "Plein Air and Landscape Painters, North of Boston".

Please join this FACEBOOK GROUP if you paint on the north shore or even anywhere north of Boston and tell your painting friends about it as well. It will be nice to have a place where artists can meet, talk, share photos of their work.

Please take a look and jump on board!

Spring Members Show Newburyport MA

These two oil paintings have been entered into the Spring Members Show at Newburyport, MA. The New England Spring Seacoast Marsh oil painting is 9x12" and the Gloucester Dory oil painting is 5x7". The Marsh is gallery wrap canvas. The Dory is masonite board with maple floating frame. Both are very reasonably priced at $150. You can see them in person at the Nbpt Art Association.

NAA 2009 Annual Art Auction, June 20

This award-winning painting

of Thatcher Island's North Lighthouse

on a foggy day

with the osprey guarding it's nest

has been donated to the Newburyport Art Association

for their auction this year.

Ron Straka's Class

At Rockport Art Association's Ron Straka's Class we were asked to do a copy of a work of an artist that we liked, and I chose to do one of Patrick Matthews' works that I saw in Santa Fe, NM. I enjoyed the process of making this "after" painting. His is very large, probably 4x8' but mine is 2x4'. Putting them side by side here is the first time I have been able to see the comparison, although the photo of mine is probably off-color a bit. I love his colors.

Photo vs Painting

The first picture above is the painting of the photo of the palm tree on the right. The painting is a 6x8" oil on canvas on gatorboard, and the photo is matted and framed 18x24" and called "Reproduction". The photo of the painting doesn't show the vibrancy of the paint colors very well, sorry. The tree is located in Punta Gorda, Florida on Fisherman's Whaf.

Regional Show Entries

Two entries for the photography category. I liked the phalic symbolism of the coconut palm and named it "Reproduction". I also did a 6x8" oil painting of it while I was in Florida. My friends and I love the shot of a store window at Christmas time with nicely lined up reflections from across the street in the glass, balloons, and the title is "Moments of your Life" which is also the title captured in the text of the signage in the window. The location is St. Almond's Circle. This has been beautifully double matted with a black metal frame, finished size is 18x24".

I had huge problems trying to get these prepared and put on the CD to enter into the show.

Newburyport Annual Members Show 2009

This is a juried show and these are the two paintings I'm submitting. I wanted to submit a photograph, but couldn't get it matted and framed in time so I'm putting in the pump painting instead. The first one 12x16 is the famous Burnam boat builders building in Essex, Ma. The pump 8x10 is at the famous Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm in Newburyport.

Spring is on the way...

Photos here are: 1) Sunset Palm at Ft. Myers Beach, Florida and 2) Rainy Day Newburyport. These will be available in the gift shop at Newburyport Art Asssociation for only $160! They are 6x8 framed original oil paintings.

I can't believe that three months have gone by since I've added to my blog. I've been very busy painting--one month of that time in Florida. Part of the reason why I haven't updated this blog is that I took a class in Elements to be able to put photos of my paintings on CDs and then I had to replace my broken camera and bought a Nikon D60 and now have to learn how to use that! I'm intimidated by the new camera. Now I have to photo all the paintings I have been working on and update my web site as well.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

This color sketch was done last Saturday on Gloucester's oceanfront in 20 degree windy weather in David Curtis' class. Most plein air groups are taking a sabatical until spring--not David.

It was warmer in October in Indian Rocks Beach, FL, at Carol Marine's workshop where I won the coin flip and purchased the demo of three red peppers. Great class and great fellow class members!

Campobello Painting Trip

I'm back from the north country, Lubec, Maine and Campobello Island, N.B., where it was sunny all week! I painted the Quoddy Lighthouse, eastern-most point in the U.S., while attending a mentoring workshop with Michael Chesley Johnson. All the visitors to the light house were very nice, stopping to visit with me and take MY picture! It was fun.

Of course, I painted many other beautiful spots and took lots of photos.

Honorable Mention

Not only did both my paintings get juried into the Members Fall Show at Newburyport Art Assoc. but "The Guardians" won an Honorable Mention. How sweet it is! This painting was done of the osprey nest and one of the two lighthouses on Thatcher Island, off of Rockport, MA.

Thatcher Island and it's two lighthouses was a often painted motif for all the Gloucester and Rockport artists of the past generation of Cape Ann artists.

Newburyport Sept. Show

I'm submitting these two oil paintings for the next NAA show. The beach scene named "Happy Days" was done after attending a demo by Frank Federico. I like it and I enjoyed painting it using his technique. The other, more traditional plein air painting is of Thatcher Island's osprey nest entitled "The Guardians".

I'm off tomorrow to do a mentoring workshop at Campobello Island, N.B., Canada.

August painting delights

Lots of plein air trips this month, lots of starts and no finishes, as usual.

Have been in two shows, Thatcher Island and Newburyport Show I (juried, mixed media). I am working on a large one for the Newburyport Show II (oil) due Sept. 15th. I'll be in Canada that week at a mentoring workshop with Michael Chesley Johnson, hope we have good weather.

Have built a really nice easel (4'x8') like Jeff Weaver's of Gloucester and can't wait to try it out tonight. Maybe I'll try the up-side-down method which I just saw demonstrated at North Shore by Frank Federico--semi-abstract.

I'll report in after my September workshop. I have one arranged in Florida in October with Carol Marine. Remember to check the box on this site to receive updates on my blog. Thanks, see you next time.

Plein Air Summer--Sweet!

How glorious it is to have such wonderful weather and two days a week outdoors painting beautiful landscapes. I have lots of starts and no finishes, but not a problem, I'll finish them and remember all these wonderful places when cooler weather arrives. I still have a couple of months left of getting outdoors to paint, and I see improvement in my abilities now each time I go out--what fun it is when you are pleased with your work.

I have not been able to update this blog much, even though it only takes a minute, but mostly because I don't have anything finished to photograph. I do want you to know that I am out there working. I spent one week in a workshop with Michael Chesley Johnson up at Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, Canada. It was cold, windy and rainy most of the time. I have since recovered. It is a beautiful place, I have lots of pictures that will inspire me.

I've been to Rockport and Gloucester's Art Associations fairly regularly and my favorite artist of the month this month is Jeff Weaver http://www.jeffweaverfineart.com/Cape%20Ann.htm.

Nice weather for plein aire.

Finally spring has hit here in New England and I've been out twice a week with two different groups painting on location. It's been great. I'm trying out different easels and boxes, ways of carrying my gear, etc. This is going to be a great summer for me for working outdoors.

I am not able to complete the painting in the approximately 2 hours that I work on a painting outdoors, so more work is needed before I can put them up on my site or here on the blog.

I'm also experimenting with working off my new laptop screen to finish these paintings.

I entered my first show by way of a CD submission this week, and now I see that I need to improve my photography and well as learn more about the Photoshop Elements software needed to make these CDs.

Carol Marine is my new favorite artist, check her out http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/

Pennies from Heaven

Tonight is the reception for the current open show at NAA. If you are in the neighborhood, please stop in from 7 to 9 p.m. Also Newburyport has it's art walk today from 3 p.m. I have two paintings in this current show. One is early spring on Newman Road, a marsh painting, painted on a day that was cold and windy, around 32 degrees. The other is a happy interpretation of the theme for the show, pennies, etc..

I've been out painting this week at the Yacht Club in Manchester-by-the-Sea, a beautiful sunny warm day, my first expedition with Pam Giarritanna's a painting group. Kids were scurrying around the rocks with their little rubber clogs on and parents brought their kids to the park with a picnic lunch. I did a little 8 x 10 study of the very nice gazebo building with a view to the sea.

Commission Accomplished

I finished this painting yesterday of Judy Rehill of Punta Gorda, Florida. The setting was somewhat Sargeant-esque in the home of Harold and Evelyn Harriman.

What Spring?

The difficult month of March is finally over, and I'm looking soooo forward to getting outdoors to paint!

I'm planning to verture out with 2 different painting groups on a weekly basis and have arranged for two workshops, one in June and one in September. One is a mentoring workshop, a step up for me.

Florida Trip

I had a great and productive 2 weeks in Florida this year. I always want to paint a lot while I'm there, and this year I did! I did a portrait class, 2 classes with Michael Vires, and a 2-day plein air workshop with Larry and Judy Pumfrey. I also kept up with my 30-minute paintings although not every day, sorry to say. I took close to 1,000 pictures which will provide lots of inspiration in the future.

The main reason for my trip is to visit my friends, Judy Rehill in Punta Gorda and Harold and Evelyn Harriman in Bonita Springs, and to attend the Naples Art Festival.

Two paintings made it!

Two of my paintings have been juried into the Newburyport Art Associations' Winter Members Show:
1. The famous and historic Lowell Boat Shop (9x12), an oil painting that was started on location there last spring during the big storm that flooded all of New England it seemed. The mighty Merrimack River was only about 2 feet below the floorboards where I was painting, and
2. The famous and historic McCurdy’s Smokehouse (8x10) in Lubec, Maine. Lubec is a tiny town where I was painting around the Campobello Island area of New Brunswick, Canada last August. The tides there rise an amazing 15 feet or more. The light is wonderful there and the fog banks roll in daily. The smokehouse comprises several buildings on piles and is practically the centerpiece of the town and was undoubtedly the main source of employment in days of old. In the distance between two buildings you can see the bridge between the U.S. and the Canadian island of Campobello (and the summer home of the Roosevelts).

February 1st already!

I've been doing 30-minute painting sketches every day. It is a good thing to do and helps you to see where you need to improve. I don't care to paint this fast, but I can see where it is helpful to do these exercises.

I'm also planning to enter two paintings next Monday into the Newburport Art Assoc.'s juried members' winter show. I've chosen the Lowell Boat Shop painting and the Lubec Smokehouse painting to enter. We'll see.

This week I have been working on the "My Friend Judy" painting (shown above). I'm having problems with the background--that the dark shadows should be cool. Any advice?