One Red Oar, 11x14

Sittin' on the dock in the bay.....

....a few years ago and I came up with this.  A friend thought I should post it so here it is.  I'm not sure why it never made it to the blog.

I like the strong craggy uprights of the pilings with their various colorings and the walkway jutting out of the picture plane....that actually sucks my eye into the painting and to the boat.  I think it was half filled with water and had been there more than a few nights. 

Painted today with my friends Mick Davidson and Rob Weiss at the Bloedel Reserve.  Had a great time.  Once I decide which ones passed the grade I'll post them.

Italy is a GO.  Too bad you aren't coming.... oh, maybe you are!

 

Acadia Shore, 12x16

Yellowstone, Yosemite, .....

.....Acadia?  The three most popular national parks.  Who would have thought?  Evidently the Grand Canyon doesn't come close....but Acadia is both beautiful and unique.

So that is where I found myself the day after landing and driving to mid-coast Maine.  One of those sunny, rainy, windy, cold, warm days typical for a changing season kind of time.  I had a lot of possibilities to choose from but I went with an 'overcast with emerging blue' approach. 

When I'm out there painting I think that what I've done is too vibrant for the conditions but so often, when I see it later in room light, I wonder why I didn't push the color more.  Even so, the colors I did use float pretty well together.  I wonder what it would be like to paint with rose colored glasses....

While there I hung out a bit with Daniel Corey.  Here is a link to his work at the Camden Falls Gallery: HERE   The photos on their website don't do Dan's work justice.  Perhaps they just need to be seen in person so you can appreciate his color and edge handling.  He was a finalist in the recent Raymar panel competition and is deserving of the recognition.

Harbor Sunset, 16 x 20

Big cumulus clouds.....

.....don't happen that often around here, so getting to paint them is a real event.  This is from an 8x10 study I did about a year ago.  I liked that small painting but always thought there was a bit more I could do with it.  Some altering of the color space, some moving around of details and changing the size of some of the shapes and this is what I got.  I wanted to show off the majesty of those ephemeral clouds against the line of those boats....just little dots of color.  It will be at the Roby King Gallery.

Eric Merrell posted a quote which was re-posted by Daniel Corey (both terrific artists).  It resonates with me....and is very timely for my current thinking:

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” -Martha Graham

Pemaquid Point, 2 8x10's

Pemaquid Point 1, 8x10

Pemaquid Point, Maine.  A beautiful and fascinating rock outcropping jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean where, because the rock strata has been tilted allows you to stand touching rock with your feet 80 million years apart.  The whole formation is about 500 million  years old.  Each band catches the light differently varying the color and texture.

Pemaquid Point 2, 8x10

I got caught up in the colors of all those rocks finding things I never expected to be there.  The longer the look, the more was there.  I didn't get it 'right'....so I'll have to go back next year and try to bring back a truer feel of this exciting place.

I was painting with my friend Cathe Gill and my new Maine friend and painter, Mary Byrom.  Her blog and website are well worth visiting HERE.  She posts lots of pictures and is a very prolific and talented artist.

Lobster Traps, 10x12

What says 'Maine' more than a pile of lobster traps waiting to be put to work.   Bouncing around on a floating dock made small marks difficult....but at least we were out of the wind sheltered by the stone bulkhead opposite the one you see.

The challenge was to find a way to say 'lobster trap' without actually painting in all the wire mesh they are made of.  Did you know that lobstermen pay $250 to $500 for each trap?  That makes losing one a pretty significant deal and, since there were lobster wars taking place, quite a number of them are now sitting on the bottom of the ocean with no buoy to show where they are or rope to retrieve them.

Happy Thanksgiving!  (Lobsters must breathe a sigh of relief)

Angeline, 12x16

 

Yes, I know.  It has been a long time since last posting.  Nice to be back.

I have a stack of work that can be posted and more in process but I last told you that I would do some from the Maine trip...so here they start.

I began the 'Angeline' with a quick marker drawing one afternoon but had to leave for a couple of hours.  When I came back the sun was sinking and the tide had come in.  I plunged in anyway but an interesting man showed up and we began to talk....and I got distracted.

  

With the waning light I decided to return the next evening to finish....and the ship had sailed.....literally.   Fortunately I had finished most of the ship and a good deal of the background so I could stare out, imagine the 'Angeline' being there, and finish tying in the boats behind enough to come up with a good sketch.  Perhaps this will lead to a larger work this winter.

I like what is happening in the brushwork and the contrast between calm and indistinct shapes one one side and staccato brush marks on the other.  It imparts a kind of good energy to the piece.

Friendship

Friendship, Maine.  An inlet/harbor filled with lobster boats, buoys, sparkling water and fishermen who do it for an income. 

This drawing is also about another type of friendship.  If you look carefully you can see my friend Bob sketching almost the same scene.  He probably looks like a fire hydrant if you glance casually.  He's seated just below center in front of the closest dock....see him? 

Bob is a terrific artist.  He has a book out called 'The Simple Sketch' in which he shows you how to go out drawing with just a pen and a carpenter's pencil.  The results he gets are inspiring.  I'd give you a link to his book if he had a website (hint, Bob).

I never seem to get over how a blank piece of paper can be transformed into a recognizable place with just a few strokes of a pen and some tone.  The same goes for a canvas.

Think about it.

We take some hair and put it on a stick.  Then we mix some vegetable oil with some colored dirt and put it on a piece of cloth....and actually convince people that they are looking at a person, a scene, a bowl of fruit.  Magic.

If you went to the patent office with this idea it would be the joke of the year.  "Hey Harry!  Get a load of what this crackpot wants to do...,"

I have a few Maine paintings to share but they will have to wait until I get back from Montana. 

Wharfside, 11x14

Remember that painting give-away?  Well, I'm about to announce the winners as soon as it all gets tabulated.  So many great comments.  I'm on my way to Montana tomorrow and will let you know the contest results later in the week.  You will be impressed with the method I used to make the picks.  Stay tuned.

Those of you that have my book, 'Value Sketching With Markers', may recognize this from the front cover.  I've always meant to get back to it with paint but summer is pretty much the only time with the lowest tides in the day time.  So yesterday had to be the day.

Big shapes followed by doodads....  In the marker drawing I didn't include any background buildings but it was formatted somewhat differently.   They both work, I think.  I personally keep wondering who lives in the house even though I know it's actually a restaurant.

Keep in touch.  I'll be back with the winners in a few days!

Beached Buoy, 11x14

Last Chance to Enter the Painting Giveaway!  Make a comment on the blog, by sending me an email or on Facebook.  You have nothing to lose....and I feel more connected when I read your comments.

OK.  One oil and one acrylic....I'm sure you can tell the difference.  These weren't supposed to be the final paintings but time was running out for me as I'm getting ready for some extended painting and travel.  Stay tuned.

Painting is such fun.  I've given up trying to figure out what people like and now I just paint what appeals to me.  Predicting what catches my eye enough to paint is impossible.  I wouldn't have thought that either of these paintings would be things I'd do....but here they are.  It's the unpredictability that is part of the fun.

"Harbor Walk", 8x10

That's it.  End of the Contest.  I'll be compiling the names and drawing a winner in the next couple of days.  There will now be a Winner and Another Winner.....Two!  Can't wait....

Evening at the Cove, 12x16

Number Five in the 'Make a Comment and Maybe Win a Painting Give-Away Contest'....  I can't wait to see what the final painting, number six, will be.....and when it will be painted and posted.

I spent an idyllic peaceful evening straddling a large log, one foot up on a rock while bending to the right and leaning over to make each stroke as the sun was setting.  The next morning it took me an hour to figure out why I was feeling so sore.

The board I used was an old trashed painting that had a dark green on it (similar to the shadowed green you see) and I began by putting in the light water and sky shapes.  It was fun as the visual ideas took shape quickly and the board color stood in for the greens in the painting for a long time before I moved them to their finished hue and value.

Make a comment.  Enter to win.  Now I'm giving away two.....one is so fun, why not two?

Log Raft 2.5, 10x12

Painting Giveaway #2.5.

For reasons known only to the Facebook illuminaries, my blog entries aren't posting to FB...so lots of people are missing out on this contest.  I'm posting this as 2.5 rather than 3 to see if I've got it straightened out. 

Make a comment and enter to win a free painting which I will draw and announce after I've posted number six.  This one counts for comments but not in the six.   This was painted for the abstract qualities of the shapes.

I'm teaching another plein air workshop this weekend and it promises to be a perfect two days for working outdoors.  There is room for another if you want to join us even for a day.  We are meeting at 9 am at the Winslow Art Center and heading out from there.

To those of you that have posted, keep them coming.  It's fun to hear your comments and you get another entry for that free painting. 

On Quitting Painting, Again...

Gillian gave me a call about a week ago and we went out to a familiar painting spot.  Lured by these rocks I just sat down and painted.....seemed like a good way to explore cool colors on a gray day.  It took G a while to find her subject ... me, and her efforts can be found HERE.

The other day a couple people in class said they felt so discouraged about trying do to a portrait that they wanted to hang it all up, just stop painting.  I responded in an email with this:

On quitting painting.  Like I said in class, I've done it a thousand times….I did it just yesterday when I was painting in Roslyn in a wind storm so strong that I had to take off my belt and tie my easel to a street sign.  After chasing it for twenty feet I tied my hat to my head.  There was dirt flying in my paint.  The board I was painting on was vibrating in the wind…..and the painting became a flop.  My pants fell down.

I quit.  Gave it up.  Mentally I gave away all my painting gear and books and burned every painting.  Decided to just sit the rest of my life.  Safer that way. 

Today I was out fixing the painting and trying to figure out how I had gone wrong…..posted some stuff in my blog and ordered some gessoed linen.  You see,  I've started painting all over again feeling like an absolute beginner a thousand and one times…..

Rest of the Clowns, 6x6

Do Clowns creep you out?   The comments that have come through have been that, although people like the paintings, they find the clowns unsettling and a bit scary.  Come to think of it all the comments like that are from women.

James Gurney, author of Dinotopia, had an interesting post yesterday with an image that I find unsettling....maybe this is what people are responding to.  Like the horror movies with clowns, are these the images we have unconsciously grown up with?

Interesting.  I always thought clowns were just fun....oh, well, there was that old Alfred Hitchcock movie....

Anyway.  Here are the other two clowns and we can be done with them.  They were fun to paint. Sweet dreams.....

Cool Red Nose 2, 6x6

These clowns spend their free time....when they aren't clowning around....visiting the kid's wards at hospitals, boosting immune systems with laughter, a la Patch Adams.   I think I could be good at this.  Wonder where I can get an application.....like I need one more project.

This guy had 'glow in the sun' pink hair but he looks better with it toned down a bit.  All of these small paintings were done with a 3/8  inch and 5/8 inch soft bright brush, sometimes held on its side for small places.

Have you ever wanted to be a clown?

A Days Catch, 10x10

Remember Noelle?  While she had a vet appointment to remove some of her feminine assets I stopped by a friends studio and then Fisherman's Terminal where, between rain squalls, I was able to paint this little study.  The task was to find color notes out of the substantially gray sky, water, background yet keep the feeling of a cold rainy overcast day.  The rain and wind finally chased me out but I think this makes an OK statement.

Noelle came through fine but I suspect she's holding a grudge....

Wednesday, No Fish, 8x10

Another day with sun and few clouds and, between chores, I stopped long enough to paint this which I had been meaning to get to for at least a year.  I can't help myself.  Try as I might to tone things down I still see all this color which hypnotizes me into its spell.

By the time I was cleaning up the tide had made the boat and dock level and much of the charm had vanished.

Cloud Break, 8x10

When the Spring weather breaks begin to happen we know that Summer will be somewhere close behind.  This painting starts the plein air season for me and a pleasure it was to once again sit in the sun, talk to the passing dogs (who always want to sniff the paint), and put a brush to canvas.

My hand feels a little outdoor rusty but with luck we will have improving weather and more paintings will loosen things up.  Come and join me...

Rockland Pier, 10x12

With the workshop over and all that beautiful Atlantic coast to paint it was hard to know where to begin....but this seemed a natural.  Of course, as happens when working plein air, things change.  The boat didn't have more than two strokes of color on it when the crew decided that, with fish unloaded, it was time to leave.  I could have abandoned the piece or continued using what my visual memory retained.....the latter was the better choice.

All those boats, all those docks, all the picturesque towns.......did I paint any of those, well no.  Instead I was mesmerized by these rocks.   Flat lit on a fairly sunny day they proved to be a challenge in finding how to translate a jumbled mass of close tonal values to a two dimensional surface, but I enjoyed every stroke.  Notice how color notes repeat throughout the painting.  I keep telling myself, 'It's not what you paint but how you paint it.', and I rather like this one.