House on Monhegan

House on Monhegan (finished)

8"x10" oil on canvas panel
$125
click here to buy

How she looked when I left Monhegan

At the end of class last Wednesday

That's me

A couple of weeks ago I painted on Monhegan Island with Mary Sheehan Winn and Carol Douglas. What a blast we had! I completed a couple of small oil on paper sketches and two paintings on the island, but I wiped one of the paintings and should have done the same with the other one. I brought back three unfinished paintings to work on at home. Henry Isaacs once said that starting a painting on location is the most important thing. I can see his point. If you can stop before you loose the freshness, you can regain the wonder that began the painting and hopefully not overwork it when you aren’t pressured for time.

This was my last painting of the trip, started while we waited for the ferry to take us home.

The top image is the finished painting, the second image shows my initial work on Monhegan, and the bottom painting image shows work on the painting during last week’s painting class with Rob Abele (see previous post about Rob). I finished it the next day.

A visit to Monhegan is in some ways a trip back in time, as there are few vehicles on the island beyond the pickups used by the inns and lobstermen. And even fewer televisions available to guests. There are only a few places to get something to eat, and only the Island Inn and the Trailing Yew serve dinner on weekdays. To finish my tourist guide, my favorite place to stay is Monhegan House. It’s a historic rooming house, absolutely charming, one of the cleanest places I’ve ever stayed, and they have a fabulous breakfast. And it’s a great bargain. If you are heading to the island alone, do ask for one of the rooms on the 4th floor, the garrets as Mary calls them. Wonderful!