When a Painting Connects

A Monet Day, 24" x 24", oil on panel

It's such a joyful experience when a painting connects with someone. Such was my experience at a recent artwalk in downtown Bangor which resulted in the purchase of this painting:  A Monet Day.  The buyer is a friend of a friend who has recently moved to Maine. While I had met her before, this visit to my art walk exhibit was the first time she had seen my work. She asked for the full tour, painting by painting. She is an art collector and especially loves to own works by artists she knows. When we arrived at this painting, she really responded to it: the colors, the fluidity of the marks and glazed areas. I told her that last summer I had spent a few days painting at the Lily Pond in Stonington, Maine. I had done several paintings on site, one from which this larger one was conceived. She knew the place. While new to living in Maine, she's had a brother here for years, and on her very first visit years ago, he took her to the Stonington Lily Pond, his absolute favorite place. She had been looking for a very special birthday gift for him, and this, she decided, was it!  I took it back the my studio to frame and now it is in her home, waiting to be delivered to him.

I learned how important it is to talk about a work. Prospective buyers like to hear the story of the work, the place, the process. You just never know how the story will resonate and make a connection.

Leaving the camera at home

This summer I decided to leave my camera behind while on painting excursions, leaving only sketching as an option for recording the experiences. I did this for a week on Monhegan Island, a week in Stonington, Maine, and several day trips. Some sketches were more detailed, but here's an example of thumbnails I did on location in Stonington. Doing sketches really makes one look carefully at the landscape. While only recording the essentials, and doing some serious simplifying, one can set up the structure of a painting, while totally absorb the experience of the place.... color, atmosphere, light, temperature. The painting above the thumbnails was done later, in the studio, directly from the sketch on the right.

Getting back to it.

Yike, it's hard to believe it's been since June since I've posted. This fabulously beautiful summer went by so fast and now I've got a fire in the fireplace tonight. I spent one wonderful week on Monhegan with painter friends, then another great week in Stonington, for Stonington Painter's Workshop. Both weeks were heavenly and painterly. Much of the remaining summer painting time was spent fulfilling orders for little 6 X 6 paintings which have become very popular for wedding gifts and experimenting with new techniques and approaches that I learned at the Painting Workshop. I will do upcoming posts about that and Monhegan.  For now here are a couple of the 6 x6" works that were commissioned for young Mainers leaving home...special places for them to remember.

7 February 2010 - Now Showing

These two pieces are currently exhibiting at the Bangor Art Society's Members' Show, at Bangor Public Library through February. The result of several very loose gouache sketches that I did this past autumn at a friend's farm. Working on canvas this time, the work feels very different from those I've been doing on panel. Looser and lighter, with a more conservative use of paint. Leaf Peeping Time I and II. Oil on gallery wrap canvas. 18 X 18"

October 2 - Tidal Falls

This is a place that I used to frequent back when my son was a lobster cooker at the little shore-side restaurant there...a real Maine summer job. We used to enjoy our lobster at the picnic tables that sat near the shore and watch and listen to the tidal whitewater and marvel at the reversing falls. Lots of shore birds too. This is a 6 X 6" oil on panel.

September 30 - Zoom in, zoom out

Bangor Art Society's summer project was to choose a subject and zoom in close to it, and zoom out for a broad view. I chose one of my favorite Maine spots, Flye Point in Brooklin, Maine. Great color at low tide. The little spruce trees on the island really do grow like that! The broad view is 6 X 8 and the closer view is 6 X 6. Both oil on panel.

September 18, 2009 - Thinking autumn

The crisp cool air brings thoughts of autumn, and that always makes me think of the wonderful coastal blueberry barrens in their brilliant crimsons and oranges. They aren't there yet, but will be soon. I used to paint them a lot, and then stopped because it seemed so many Maine painters were painting them...but now, with a commission for one in hand, I decided to make a few small studies in preparation for the large one. In doing so I remembered how much I loved the views. These are all 6 X 6" on masonite panel.

August 21, 2009

Another in a series of island views inspired by my experience on Great Spruce Head Island in June. I am finally catching up with these small paintings to get some ahead. People are finding that they make great wedding and housewarming gifts, so I've been very fortunate that they sell very quickly. A nice problem to have!

Sold.

May 28, 2009

Dreaming about my island trips coming up this summer, I've started a little series of island paintings. These are the first two inspired by photos from a trip to Lubec last spring. I love the morning light there, the sky is like pink champagne.

SOLD

May 14, 2009 - Oh, Forsythia!

I've spent the last several weeks experimenting in mixed media and larger formats, some results of which I will post soon...photographing them has been a challenge. Meanwhile, I made a trip to the coast, my old neighborhood on the Blue Hill peninsula. It was a dreary day, sadly, but I was brightened by the encounter at nearly every turn by brilliant, dazzling forsythia in full bloom. Eagerly upon returning home, I tried to capture the color on my little 6 X 6 masonite pieces.

6 X 6" oil on masonite. Recently sold from Etsy shop.

April 2, 2009 - Downeast Shore

A rough few weeks of time management and unsuccessful paintings. Nothing post-worthy.

This little one though made me happy. Working in complementary colors always makes for a vibrant composition.

6 X 6"  oil on masonite.