"Autumn Vines - Ridge Winery"

"Autumn Vines - Ridge Winery"
6"x4" oil on canvas panel

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A few weeks ago, while in California on business, I was able to spend the day with my friends Brent and Betsy in Los Gatos. We had a blast hiking, enjoying their lovely town, and visiting Ridge Winery. A big fan of Julian Merrow-Smith's Postcards from Provence, I was on the lookout for views of vines in appropriate light. My friends good naturedly joined in the tramping around, and then we visited the tasting room. A good time was had by all!

"Satsuma Orange #2"

"Satsuma Orange #2"
6"x6" oil on canvas panel

This is my second attempt at a 30 minute painting of the Satsuma orange, and I think it took a bit longer than that. There were actually two different oranges that I painted as one. One of them had a nice leaf, and the other had a great shape with some interesting structure on the top. So I put them next to each other, turned the light such that the shadows were parallel, and tried to meld then into one. I like the way this one came out.

Then I ate them! Very tasty indeed. Which one do you like best? Compare this one with the previous post.

"Satsuma Orange #1"

"Satsuma Orange #1"
6"x6" oil on canvas panel

This is my first try at a 30 minute painting, and I have to say it looked pretty good after 25 minutes! But then, you know how it goes, you see one little thing to fix, and then it all goes wrong in a hurry. I got frustrated and started second version, which I will show in another post. When #2 was done, I went back to this one, and was able to bring it back, above.

"Gilsland #6"

"Gilsland #6"
6"x6" oil on board

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Back again to Maine Audubon's Gilsland Farm in Falmouth, you know how I love that place! This was something of an experiment, because I painted it on gessoboard instead of the Raymar panels I normally use. I also used an approach of starting with a simple value and color sketch and refined the details on top of that. I like the result.

"Westford Road"

"Westford Road"
6"x6" oil on canvas panel

From the top drawing in the November 3rd, "Best Two of Three" post, in this fall scene the near trees have not yet turned, but there is a blaze of color in the background. And too soon, it is over again and the branches are bare. Only 5 more weeks until the days start getting longer again!

"Boarded Up"

"Boarded Up"

6"X6" oil on canvas panel

On my walk in South Freeport the other day, I was struck by this cottage view, all boarded up for the winter, all the clutter put away, the yard so neat and tidy. I did one more thing for the family, and painted their cottage red. It's really green, but I though this made a nicer painting. I cut down some trees too. Don't tell.

"Harraseeket Road"

"Harraseeket Road"

6"X6" oil on canvas panel

SOLD

Walking down Harraseeket Road in South Freeport the other day, the light was brilliant on the sides of the white houses that back on the harbor. I loved the contrast with the foliage on the burning bush in this yard. A stunning fall day!

"Gilsland Pine"

"Gilsland Pine"

6"X6" oil on canvas panel

Here we are again at Gilsland Farm (Maine Audubon) in Falmouth. This is a view of the big pine down near the water from close by in the north field. I did the underpainting for this one, in burnt sienna and raw umber, on site a couple of weeks ago, and then finished up with the color in the studio. I think you can see the underpainting sneaking through.

"Wolfe's Neck Farm"

"Wolfe's Neck Farm"

6"X6" oil on canvas panel

Yesterday I went to Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport in the afternoon, to paint a group of trees that I had scouted out on a previous visit. There were quite a few people there enjoying the sunshine, some taking a hayride, and others just walking or driving through. One man stopped his car and came over to see what I was doing. He was disappointed that I wasn't painting the Belted Galways (a very popular cow in this part of the world) that had wandered onto the edge of my scene. Maybe next time.

I am proud to announce the winner of the August Painting Giveaway drawing, Elizabeth Michaud. Elizabeth's prize is another painting from the Freeport area, "Winslow Park". Congrats, Elizabeth! Do check out her photography blog. She has a great design sense and the color is sensational.

"Porter's Pine Color Study" - SOLD

This is my 100th post to the blog! I have so enjoyed these small paintings and the pull of the blog as an incentive to paint them. I want to thank every one of you for sharing this experience with me and for all the enthusiasm and support you have given me on this painting journey.

I hope you aren't sick of the wonderful pine from Porter's Landing! This time, I used the color studies in gouache to inspire an oil study. Porter's Pine Color Study is a 6"X6" oil.

Oh, and I almost forgot, the September Painting Giveaway winner has been notified, and I will announce the name and painting shortly.