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.

August 12 - Starboard Watch

I spent the last week, August 11-17 at Starboard Watch in Sargentville, Maine, the home of my dear friends, Bob and Jane. It was a glorious week of spectacular weather and great outdoor painting, looking out over Eggemoggin Reach. Having lived for 13 years in that town, this visit was very special to me. I enjoyed meeting and visiting with fellow house guests Nancy and Deidre of Manhattan, who went home with this little painting, hot off the easel, inspired by my week on Great Spruce Head Island in June. Thanks, Nancy and Deidre...hope you enjoy this little reminder of Maine. I will have more paintings from this week to post soon.

July 11-18, Monhegan Island

I also enjoyed working in my sketchbook more than ever.  Mostly pen and ink sketches like these.

July 11 - 18, Monhegan Island

I also did some experimenting with Yupo paper...  it's a synthetic surface, not like paper at all, on which the paint just sits on top easily moving around after application that can make interesting textures and mixtures. I enjoyed the happy accidents that frequently happened.

July 11-18, Monhegan Island

I worked in gouache and pastel for the entire week, sometimes combining the two. These two pieces are among my favorites. The view of Manana is gouache with some pastel worked in; the other shows my fascination and love for the delicious color of the rocks and low tide treasures surrounding them.

July 11 - 18 Monhegan Island, Maine

The week was a wonderful and challenging experience for me. I tend to be a solitary painter, and I also have had little success painting plein air. But, the color and the light were so inspiring, and the company so encouraging and nurturing that I found myself producing work very much outside my comfort zone.

This photo is from my first day at Burnt Head. It shows the essence of Monhegan, for me.  It was all about the rocks and the water which provided me with an all new palette. The painting here was done sitting on the rocks in gouache on watercolor paper.

July 11 - 18 Monhegan

My first ever trip to Monhegan Island, Maine, describe as " a small, rocky Island ten miles from the nearest mainland and scarcely a square mile in area. It is accessible only by boat and there are no cars or paved roads on the Island. For more than 100 years Monhegan has been a summer haven for artists and others who appreciate its isolation, the beauty of its wilderness areas, its quiet relaxed atmosphere, and its unhurried pace."

I was so fortunate to be invited to join  15 other painters (self-named the Plein Air Heads) for a week of (miraculously) beautiful weather. We shared an incredibly funky converted fish house right on the beach. When looking out any window, all one could see is water and rocks.