Lobster Buoy 2

Orange White and Green Buoy

6"x6" oil on Raymar panel

Today I did the value under paintings for three more buoy paintings. This is one of my favorites, I love the tricolored stick. I may replace the photo if I can get one with a better color reproduction of the water.

Here's the under painting. I wiped off more of the dark before painting over it, to minimize mixing with the upper paint layer.

Red White And Blue

Red White and Blue

8"x10" oil on canvas panel

Sometimes I look back through finished paintings to see if there are any that could be improved. This one was a good example, and it includes a couple of mooring buoys. Below is the previous version. Which one do you like better?

Thanks to Suzanne and Gail for good suggestions.

Lobster Buoy 1

Lobster Buoy 1 (Orange and Black)

6"x6" oil on Raymar panel

Now that my workshop with Anne Blair Brown is over, I can focus on the theme for the September 30 Paintings in 30 Days. And that's buoys. In our coastal waters, buoys are often used to mark locations. If you've been out on the water, you've seen the green cans and red nuns that are navigational markers. Mooring balls are also buoys, in that they mark the location of a mooring on the bottom, to which a boat can be tied up. And finally, my favorite, are lobster buoys, also called pots, which mark the location on the bottom of a string of lobster traps, usually one at each end.

Above is my first in the series, Orange and Black.

Owls Head Harbor

 

Owls Head Harbor 

6"x8" oil on canvas panel

My last painting from the Anne Blair Brown class was painted at Owls Head Harbor. Through the class I came to rely more and more on my Notan thumbnails (see below). That was particularly important here, because the boats swung around while I was squeezing out my paint. So I used the Notan for the composition and glances at each boat to grab their dark light patterns as they swung. Then, when I got home, I broke my rule number 1 of plein air painting "Don't muck with it when you get home".  I simplified a few things, and sadly I don't have a picture of the original. Lesson leaned!

The Notan I used for the above painting.

Other Notans of this scene, where I didn't think the composition was as strong.

40 Strokes Exercise

Boats in 40 Strokes

8"x10" oil on canvas

Anne Blair Brown's Brushstroke workshop was excellent. The 40 brush stroke exercise was where most of us made the most progress. This is mine, 38 brush strokes in total, you can see them marked off at the top. Oh, the lost opportunities to use fewer strokes! You really have to pay attention to what's on top of what. It's actually little bit like a reduction woodcut in the thought process.

Linden Street

 

Linden Street, Rockland, Maine

12"x12" oil on linen panel

Another exercise using a four value under painting. Anne showed me a few calligraphic strokes at the end. I'll be practicing those!

Beech Street

Beech Street, Rockland, Maine

8"x10"

Oil on canvas panel

It's 30 paintings in 30 days time again, and I'm starting out with paintings done this week in Rockland in a workshop with the wonderful Anne Blair Brown. We are starting with a four value underpainting and adding color on top. The biggest challenge for me so far has been mixing greens with a new palette. I was very tempted to grab my cadmium yellow medium from the car, but I've soldiered on with  Hansa yellow (Anne uses cadmium lemon, which I'll get some of today), yellow ochre, and Indian yellow (I love that one).

Blueberries and Watermelon

 Blueberry Pie

10"x10" oil on cradled board (sides painted - no need to frame)

$200

#165

Watermelon

10"x10" oil on cradled board (sides painted - no need to frame)

$200

#164

to purchase, click here for the email and telephone number

Does your kitchen need sprucing up? Here's an easy way to do that and to help a great cause. My two paintings of garden produce are available at the online Tidewater Farm benefit run by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Half the proceeds go to the farm (and half to the artist). The sale ends on September 2.

If you’re ever in the Portland Maine area and want a beautiful place to paint, I recommend this saltwater farm. I love teaching my plein air class there. Let me know, and I’ll go with you. Here are a few posts of paintings of the marsh on the property. There are also buildings, the garden, and additional marsh views.

http://bobbiheath.blogspot.com/2015/09/marsh-at-tidewater-farm.html

http://bobbiheath.blogspot.com/2015/09/tidewater-greens.html

http://bobbiheath.blogspot.com/2015/09/tidewater-in-secondaries.html

http://bobbiheath.blogspot.com/2015/09/tidewater.html

Wet Beach at Trouville

Wet Beach at Trouville

7"x9" oil on panel

$75

On my trip with the Wapping Group, we spent five days in Brittany, followed by three in Normandy, near Honfleur. We stayed in the small town of Villerville-sur-mer, where we found gorgeous villas, very paintable houses in the village, and a lovely beach with a walking path the whole length of town. There is a creperie and a fish restaurant in addition to the very posh one at our hotel, Le Bellevue. We tried them all!

We had a very wet day of painting in nearby Trouville. Sally, Jenny, and I stood beneath the overhang in front of a block of beach changing rooms, and painted the beach in the rain. Others got totally soaked, but cranked out some wonderful paintings. This area has a lot to see, but I’d been there several times before, so Sally and I stayed close to Villerville, and painted on the beach, chased a few cows, and tried to stay dry.

Some of Sally's paintings from the trip are here on Facebook.

And here are a couple of Rob Adam's beautiful pen and ink drawings from the trip, also on Facebook.

Low Tide at Pont-Aven

Low Tide at Pont-Aven

7"x9" oil on board

$75

To purchase click here

I’m just back from a trip to France with the Wapping Group of Artists. I was very much looking forward to this visit with my friends from four years ago, when I joined them for a similar visit to Brittany and Normandy. Alas, trouble followed me all the way! British Airways lost my bag on the way over, so, no paint, tripod, panels, clothes, or camera. I did have my paint box, brushes, and PJs in my backpack, so all was not lost. But lots of time was, as I struggled to cobble together a painting kit and something to wear! And of course, I was ever hopeful, but the bag never showed up. I’m now trying to figure out how to get reimbursed for its contents.

In addition to the luggage fiasco, it rained on us pretty much all the time. On one painting, I had to lift up my box, turn it sideways, and dump the water off the palette, two times! I only did a couple of paintings worth showing. This is my favorite from Brittany, done in Pont-Aven, a lovely town where Gauguin spent lots of time. The river Aven flows through the town, and is pretty much only puddles at low tide. The boats all sit on their keels with small wooden sticks on the side to hold them upright where needed. It’s an interesting view, as here in New England, we only see boats out of the water in orderly rows, held up by many jack stands. The painting was done with one blue, red, yellow, and white tube of paint.

Pont-Aven, in Brittany, is well worth a visit. There is an art museum, with a history of the period when Gauguin was in residence and a few of his paintings, along with those of his contemporaries, in addition to more contemporary exhibits. My friends Mary, Christine, Sally, and I enjoyed the boat trip down the Aven to the sea. And everyone enjoyed the galettes, moule frites, crepes, and cider. Take a look at my Facebook page over the next few days for introductions to artists I painted with on the trip.