Blog

Nearly every summer, the Plein Air Painters of Maine host a paintout at beautiful Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. In recent years, this date coincides with a "Brushes with Nature" date set by the New England Watercolor Society. Although a very popular site for artists, the heat this summer was exeptional and many fewer attended. I am looking forward to, perhaps, revisiting the lighthouse in the fall.

The lupine this year have been extraordinary! I have visited three lupine fields, each very beautiful and unique. But, painting these purple beauties against the greens around them is a challenge. My sketch seems to be pretty good, but expanding to a larger, more formal painting requires more disclipine and more information to fill the page.

Having perhaps hundreds of hours of plein air painting experiences behind me, each year a few stand out as special. In 2022, I was so pleased to paint in Camden/Rockport, ME and spend time there in July discovering interesting painting locations. The view from the park atop Mt. Batty was fabulous. A stunning lavender farm nearby also had handsome chickens! Camden harbor was and is always interesting, and the people (mostly tourists) who asked questions and offered comments were genuinely interested in art.

On a particularly sweltering hot July day, I began my painting session looking back into Rockport harbor from a rocky ledge.The sun was hot and the heat from the rocks beneath where I sat (I thought finding a place to sit was a great idea!) was too much. Rockport harbor was a busy place with lots of great subjects to paint. Some kids were jumping into the water and others were swimming with life jackets on. A group of men on the dock were stepping a huge mast onto a beautiful sailboat. I sat and made a quick sketches including a white charter boat. The brightest whitest spots were the ivory sails in the sunlight and the people waiting to board would add some wonderful notes of color.

All this fabulous stuff and nothing clicked for me.

After a short drive, I found a herd of cows huddled in the shade beneath some trees.
I have always adored Belted Galloway cows and the herd in Rockport is awesome!! This spot had a convenient place to park my car and ample shade under a giant tree where I could set my easel. Found my spot!! The cows lingered in the shade (my notes say it was 90+ degrees that day.) Their white belts connected to make a lovely shape among the blackness of the rest of them, and they cast a beautiful patch of shadow below that helped define the light on this summer day.

In this photo, the painting is not quite finished. I wanted to be sure I had a record of having painted on location. Some darks were added to define the dark fur.

Like so many, I relished putting the 2020 shutdown months behind me and hoped to find opportunities in 2021 to see (in person) other people. Among those opportunities, incredibly, I was chosen the Baxter State Park Visiting Artist for 2021. 

Accompanied by my husband, Marc, I spent two weeks in the park in the fall of 2021 We hiked and paddled to many, many places in the park that I had never experienced before. My travel pack was light to accommodate long days away from our cabin site. We packed rain gear, lunches, and lots of water. Marc frequently included fly fishing gear in his day pack, although the fly fishing proved to be more practice than actual catching. 

One new-to-me view of Little Niagara is shown in the photo. As many times as I have hiked to view the falls at Little Niagara, this past visit I learned a way to get to the other side. And, what a view!

A day and night of heavy rain preceded this hike. We paddled Kidney Pond, beached our canoe, hiked to a locked canoe, paddled another pond, beached our canoe, and hiked to the falls. The falls were dramatically enhanced with water from the previous rain. Where the water first fell in this view, the color looked the mucky ochre brown-yellow so often seen in woodland streams. But, as it leveled off and came closer to me, the flat areas reflected a lovely aqua-green light color. I spent a couple hours sitting on a large log that had fallen toward the river. It was chilly and damp from the constant mist escaping the falls. I made my value sketch using a brown Sharpie marker and a light brown marker . . . not sure of the brand or where it came from. This sketch is a great example of how I travel and paint. I try to work out the design for a painting and the values. Sometimes, I have to invent areas where the whites and lights will be. For those who don't paint with transparent watercolor, the white areas are "saved" and painted around. Generally, I don't use white paint and must figure out where to save white areas. It has to make some sense to the viewer of the painting.

The clouds were rolling in and I was misted to the point of being wet, and we had more than an hour of hiking and paddling to get back before dark at 6 pm. The painting is approx. 7" x 11" on D'Arches #140 c.p. 

Not quite summer, and the calendar is filling up nicely with opportunities to paint en plein air. It is a welcome change from last summer. I have been outside several times to paint and am making plans to participate with plein air groups all over New England.

A few weeks ago, I joined the Connecticut Plein Air Painters for a morning paintout in Newtown CT. It was a beautiful day and several artists joined in. The owner of a beautiful home (that was the subject of several paintings that day) came out and offered us a tour of her lovely carriage house barn. As a result, she also offered to host an art show of the paintings created that day.  The show will be held on June 18 & 19. How incredibly generous! Details will be posted as they evolve on my "Events" page.

Last week, a painting friend and I rented a beautiful AirB&B in Lubec, Maine. When we hatched our plan, we hoped Campobello Island would be open. But the border to Canada is still closed. Really not a problem, as we explored the area and found incredible vistas at Quoddy Lighthouse State Park. Our biggest critic was a little red squirrel that would not leave us alone.

Over the last week, I painted in Wiscassett, Maine. The town is a-bloom with gorgeous lilacs, tulips and blue batchelor buttons. The greens are still coming out, so the colors are very lively. While painting, an organizer of a plein air event for The Maine Art Gallery came over to speak with me about participating in the gallery's Paint the Town event. It will be held in July and numerous artists will participate. Details will be posted as they evolve on my "Events" page.

The New England Watercolor Society is hosting their "Brushes with Nature" paintouts all over New England. I cannot attendance all, but will be at Harkness State Park on June 5 and Pemiquid Lighthouse on June 23, weather permitting. These events are intended especially for water media artists, but artists of all levels may participate. A full list of the watercolor events will appear on: https://newenglandwatercolorsociety.org/Programs/Plein_Air.html and updated on their facebook page. 

Most of us are dragging through 2020. The pandemic has forced us to isolate, be away from our families, change our schedules, and find new ways to "be" with ourselves. Like most, I have not enjoyed 2020. I have patiently endured. I have experienced both joy and immense sadness.

As an artist, days of quarantine provided me with time to do unique and fun projects. I learned to Zoom with artist friends and together we schemed about how we would spend our creative time. Occasionally, I met up with plein air painters in either Connecticut or Maine. It was a joy to see real people (keeping socially distant) and paint outside. I painted subjects that were new to me, the cars in "Bumper Crop" and the over abundant crop in "Early Apples".  During some sessions, we sat around (keeping socially distance) and shared our in-progress creations while offering support and constructive criticism. Three of my plein air paintings proved to be especially worthwhile. The paintings were accepted into the New England Watercolor Society's "Brushes with Nature" Exhibition at the Plymouth Center for the Arts. Please view their sites for details on gallery hours.

https://www.newenglandwatercolorsociety.org
https://plymouthguild.org

Not quite sure where I am going with this. Toward the end of 2019 I had the opportunity to travel to Millinocket, Maine to participate in a painting event. The event was designed around the Millinocket Marathon by North Light Gallery owner, Marsha Donahue. Marsha is also a fabulous artist and plein air painter. Several plein air artists gathered to learn about and paint scenes of the marathon and surroundings. 

     In the day before the marathon my painting buddy, Suzanne Savage Brewer, and I toured the route of the marathon by car. We had our painting gear and warm outdoor winter clothing. We found beautiful sites for photo taking, but not another car in sight and slippery conditions indicated we needed to be careful. When we found a great painting location, we donned our warmest clothes and ventured out across the snow banks and through the snow.

     One of our most favorite and picturesque locations was McKay's Station. The hike into the gorge was down hill and through the woods. We came out on a cliff northwest of the Nesowadnehunk Deadwater on the West Branch of the Penobscot River, and on the shaded side of the cliffs.

     A chilly wind moved the powdery bits of snow around. And, the snow depth made it difficult to really understand where the cliff's edge was. After much thought and fighting the temptation to "tough it out", we decided it was safest to take a few good photos and return to the car. We would work from the photos in the gallery during the marathon.  (BTW - I looked up the meaning of "Nesowadnehunk", pronounced "sourd-knee-hunk", and the best meaning I can find is potentially Abenaki or Algonquin meaning "swift river between mountains".) 

     The final and sixth version of these paintings is a quarter sheet. I think the first two shown are truer to the actual cliff and canyon and I like the simplicity in both.  The last and larger is overly dramatic with the angle of the opposing cliff and depth of the canon. But, it is also four times the size of the first color sketches and, due to the size, requires more detail. I like the texture and color of the trees, the variety of color in the sky. I learned some things about painting snow and painting snow on trees, and that the forests of northern Maine have lots of shape and variety. 

A few months ago, I was invited by the New England Watercolor Society to give a watercolor demonstration in Boston at the Guild of Boston Artists. It is a prestigious gallery located in the heart of Boston on Newberry Street and is a place I have visited numerous times. Grateful for the invitation, I accepted. As the date approached, I made a visit to the gallery and visualized myself in the space. Yikes!! When I visited, the show on view was fabulous and I wondered how I dared accept this offer to demo. But, I realized it is time for me to stretch a bit as an artist, and some of the biggest projects are realized by having a good plan, practice, and a quick prayer for guidance. To be honest, I have attended a few demos that were not "the best", but I learned a lot and greatly admired the artist. So, I planned, I practiced, and I said a few prayers!! And I knew I'd be in great company.

On February 18, 2018, with the help of my husband, I went to Boston to give my demo. I had a good plan, lots of visuals, prepped my paper, cleaned up my palette, washed my brushes, and arrived (too) early. All good.

Here are a couple photos from my demo for the New England Watercolor Society (NEWS) at the Guild of Boston Artists. Several attendees asked questions about equipment, and plein air events. (See the NEWS website for events they are organizing.) I very much appreciate the kindness of the audience and their questions. In preparation for this day, I had already painted on site the scene for my demo and did a good job, but I am quite sure the painting I made that day was not my best work. 

I thank the New England Watercolor Society for this opportunity, and  especially thank all who attended! 

Time just flies on by and I have not posted a blog. It is snowing today and I sat myself down to write this. Throughout 2017, I was quite busy with art activities and am starting 2018 by revisiting my plans for the year. All the electronic marketing pursuits take time, but the time is wasted if I don’t get out and paint, and then finish those paintings. I have some great starts. Last year, I experimented a bit with different papers. I separated my pile of unfinished paintings into two piles. One pile of paintings will be finished. One pile of paintings are less interesting to me, and I will explore using opaque watercolor or cut them up and use them for collaging or turn them over and experiment with watercolor pencils (I have been having some fun with watercolor crayons and pencils in weekly life class). And, I am looking at keeping sketchbooks differently, themed by where I travel, so I have past references for great painting sites to try again. 

Most recently, on a warm February day I painted out at The Hendersen Cultural Center in New Milford, CT. It is the former home of Skitch Hendersen and his wife, Ruth. They are no longer with us, but the property continues on with The Silo Cooking School, an Open Mic Night, a gift shop, and beautiful views to paint! They always welcome plein air artists and on this day the new director came out to meet me. 

My purpose in getting out was to practice for a demo for the New England Watercolor Society. This time of year, everything is so gray and dull that I felt I needed to practice . . . so, I made my sketches, made my notan, did a value sketch with a bit more color glazed over, and set up my gear. The sun was out, the sun went behind the clouds, several cars went by really really slowly (stretching their necks to see what I was doing). It could have been so distracting. The wind also blew one of my sketches into a muddy trench off to the right. 

Considering all the potential distractions, I am happy with myself for getting outside, for making a sketch, for slowing down the process and not letting myself get caught up in “getting this done in a few hours.” I stopped painting when I took this photo. I went home. And, I will finish this on another day with similar atmosphere and lighting. I am happy that I didn’t go too dark, too fast. Happy the silos are fresh-looking and look like light hitting cylinders. The light changed so fast!! Happy I did not finish all the gray tree branches, and am thinking it will be nice to go back when the tree buds are fat and ready to pop!! Two weeks? Maybe three?