A day on Peaks Island

 "Rocky Shore"

8"x10" oil on Raymar panel

On Monday I took the ferry to Peaks Island from Portland, and what a beautiful day it was. Gorgeous puffy clouds, but still lots of sun, and a nice 65 degrees. After much futzing around checking out locations, learning island history, and finally renting a bike to get to the back side of the island, I set up on a rock overlooking the Atlantic,... and it started to sprinkle. I thought I was back in Brittany with the Wapping guys! I covered everything, took a walk, and it started again. So I just started painting.

 The scene, but of course by this time the tide was much farther in.

 Artist riding the bike with backpack on, tripod and panel carrier in the paniers. Am I sore after all that walking and riding? Yes, but it was a fun day on the island.

  Ocean Point Pine 6"x8" oil on panel

 

Ocean Point Pine Sketch

 

Sketchbook page

Betsy painting

These are more from my day in East Boothbay last week at the OPA paintout. The top image is my first painting of the day, the same tree as in the painting in the previous post. But here, I'm looking into the sun, or at least it started out that way. My preliminary sketch is the second image, and as is often the case, I like it better than the sketch I did on the panel for the painting. Perhaps a notan would be better preparation for the painting, since it's masses rather than lines that matter. Next time!

I had lots of fun with the drawings, particularly of the other painters. And Betsy did not have two umbrellas.

"Ocean Point" - OPA Great Paint Out 2012

 "Ocean Point" 10:x8" oil on Raymar panel

The scene.

On Wednesday I painted with the Plein Air Painters of Maine group at Ocean Point in East Boothbay for the Oil Painters of America Great Paint Out 2012. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun. I met some great painters, including one of my heroes, Tony van Hasselt. This kind of day is such a treasure, with winter heading our way.

The painting above was done about 4PM, when everyone else was gone, in the spot where Tony stood in the morning. I was thrilled to have been in his painting. I was closer in at that point, looking into the sun, painting the tree on the right.  I'll post my tree painting and some of my sketches when I get back to my scanner.

Corn and Sunflowers

With a forecast for rain all day, I was happy to see clouds moving out around 10AM. I stopped the car for a better look and couldn't resist painting this scene of rows of corn, trees, and other crops. It took 3 sketches before I got what I wanted, and as often happens, I like the composition of the sketch better than that of the painting. Something to work on!

Laudholm Marsh

Laudholm Marsh 10"x8" oil on Ampersand Panel

 The platform that solidly held my umbrella

Yesterday I painted at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm. It's been years since I painted there, I used to very much enjoy their annual wet paint auction. I wish they'd bring it back.

I wanted to paint the marsh near where it goes into the ocean, and was lucky to have this platform to stand on, with an excellent railing on which to clamp my umbrella. It was sunny and a bit windy, so this was a welcome surprise. Umbrellas clamped to tripods often tip over in a breeze, which I know from experience. With this set-up, it wasn't going anywhere.

My Favorite Model

My Favorite Model

8"x10" oil on Raymar panel

Last week my favorite model (my niece Jessica) was visiting and we managed to grab an hour to do some quick oil sketches. She's very good at holding a pose. I tried to remember all of the Peggi Kroll-Roberts DVDs I've been watching since I took Peggi's class in April. This was the result.

Sketching on the Boat

Last week we got in some sailing, and I used my sketchbook rather than my camera, sketching as we sailed along. The goal was to try and capture the shapes of the sail and lobster boats, particularly while the sailboats were heeling over. I like to use pen for this, going over anything I don't like with something I like better. The extra lines give some depth and movement. What do you think?

Sketching at the beach

Sunbathing Sketch

This week I've been sketching at the beach. In Massachusetts we have beaches on our lakes as well as the ocean, and there are several near my house. I'm pretty sure the sand is imported, but people still love to sunbathe and then run into the water to cool off.

I think this lady was reading a book, which gave me enough time to do a quick sketch. Today I tried some water color and gouache on a similar figure. More experimenting needed there.

Littlejohn, Summer Morning - NFS

"Littlejohn, Summer Morning"

8"x10" oil on Raymar panel

I've sailed by the dock on Littlejohn Island in Casco Bay many times, but July 8th was the first time I'd painted there. Janice Cooper and I had a great time that Sunday morning, and I went back last Friday morning to finish up.

Big Loulou and the artists

Big Loulou (rescued from the rain)

8"x10"

Derek Daniells and Steven Alexander

 Peter Cronin

Rob Adams

Michael Richardson

Haidee-Jo Summers and Richard Bond

Sorry for all the images, but I wanted to introduce you to some of the great painters that I met while on the Wapping Group and friends trip to Brittany. Starting at the top, in Port-en-Bessin, many of us were entranced by the large fishing boats loaded onto cradles on the marine railway. My unfinished painting is at the top. Gros Loulou (Big Loulou) is the boat on the left, and in the second photo you'll see Dereck Daniells and Steven Alexander, members of the Wapping Group, with the same subject. It was a day of swiftly moving clouds and lots of patches of rain. Up and down came the umbrellas, and finally we got clobbered with a torrential downpour. Haidee and I gave up, but Derek and Steven finished their paintings, which were beautiful. Take a look at Derek's website here and an article on Steven here.

Next is Peter Cronin, from Wales, who paints wonderful watercolors. Check out his website and be sure to look at the demo.

I enjoyed Rob Adam's work in both watercolor and acrylic, and bought a watercolor sketchbook like the one he uses at Cornelissens in London. He has a very instructive blog (Brittany post here and in the next post) and a nice website.

Michael Richardson is another Wapping Group member, and with his partner, Kate Borg, organized the trip. Many thanks to them both! They do several painting trips to France each year, so check out Michael's website for both his paintings and the trips (Holidays).

I've mentioned Haidee before, do look at her website, and check out the paintings in her soon to open Exhibition 2012.

Richard Bond paints both in oils and water color, and they are both wonderful. His website is here.

I was fortunate enough to come home with paintings by several of these painters, and hope to complete my collection.

And I promise to finish "Big Loulou".

Thanks for your patience.