"Sunshine on the Marsh"

 "Sunshine on the Marsh"

9"x12"

pastel on paper

Have you ever tried a scene in more than one medium? It's such fun. Here's the marsh in the Rachel Carson preserve again, but this time in pastel. What do you think?

"Rachel Carson Marsh"

"Rachel Carson Marsh"

8"x16" oil on Canson treated paper

Marsh drawing

Yesterday I discovered a wonderful place to paint the marsh in the Rachel Carson preserve in Kennebunc. It's hard to find a place where you can get some interesting structure and have a place to park. Often when I find a decent view, I'm lucky to get a photo by standing on the pavement in a spot where it would be dangerous to paint. So this was a real treat. And shortly after I set up, another painter showed up. Kudos to you, Gerard Blouin!

Hampton Falls Marsh II

"Hampton Falls Marsh II"

8"x16"

oil on Canson treated paper

This is my second painting yesterday afternoon. I'm pleased with it!

Here are a couple of photos of the process.

"Marsh at Hampton Falls"

"Marsh at Hampton Falls"

8"x16" oil on Canson treated paper

I spent a wonderful afternoon and early evening today in the marsh near Hampton Falls, NH. I started this painting there last week on Monday and was keen to get back. It's a great spot, and was so windy today that I had to use the open back of the minivan as a windbreak. Tomorrow I'll show you the a second painting. This one shows last week's weather.

"A Summer in Maine" at the Artist Cottage

"With Pie"

8"x8" oil on Raymar panel

$300 framed

"Lucky Lady III"

10"x10" oil on Raymar panel

$385 framed

I'm delighted to let you know that two of my paintings have been accepted for the "Summer in Maine" exhibit at the Artist Cottage on Cousins Island in Yarmouth, ME. The cottage is a summer rental and event venue filled with art for sale on one of our Casco Bay islands accessible by bridge from the mainland. A beautiful spot for a bike ride or a beach walk, if you can't stay overnight.

Scott Christensen Workshop

"Plantation Drive"

6"x8" oil on Canson oil paper

NFS

 "Plantation Road" phase 1

A couple of weeks ago I attended a workshop taught by Scott Christensen, held at a wonderful spot on the Cooper river, near Charleston SC. Despite a lot of rain, it was an incredible experience. The focus was on making quality paintings, and the things one needs to do to make that happen. And how those things involve your brain more often than your paintbrush. I don't have a lot I want to show, but this one I was particularly pleased with, and I think it illustrates some of what we learned.

The phase 1 photo shows my initial stab at the painting. With Scott's help, it became the version at the top. Though the orientation and even value of the road was in reality more like the phase 1 image, I think the foreground of the finished painting is much more effective and gives a better flavor of the place. What do you think?

Fun with Pastels

 Dry pastel on black sanded paper
6"x8"

 Pastel over watercolor

6"x8"

 Watercolor underpainting on Belgian Mist Wallis paper

Pastel over alcohol/pastel 

6"x8"

 Pastel underpainting with alcohol wash 

Pastel underpainting before alcohol wash on Belgian Mist Wallis paper

Yesterday I attended a pastel workshop taught by Joelle Feldman. We all had so much fun! I'd never really tried pastel before, but someone had given me a wonderful box of Schmincke pastels and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a workshop with Joelle. She's a marvelous teacher, everyone in the class left with beautiful paintings and a smile on their face. We each did our painting three times; first on black sanded paper, which I wasn't too enthused about at first, but I very much like the result. We prepared two underpaintings, one with watercolor and one with a light pastel block in, washed over with alcohol. After those dried we worked with our pastels on top of them. Value was key, and it took a while for me to realize that I could go kind of crazy with the color as long as the values were good. A good exercise and lots of fun.

Concord Art Association Members Juried Exhibit

"Boatyard"

10"x10" oil on Raymar panel
$385

I'm honored to have had "Boatyard" chosen for the annual Concord Art Association Members Juried Exhibit this year. Larry Powers of Powers Gallery, in Acton, MA was the juror. The show will be up through February 16th. Check out all of us happy artists with our paintings here.

Happy Holidays!

"Strawberry Banke"

6"x8" oil on Canson paper
SOLD

Happy Holidays to you all, and a safe and prosperous New Year!

Last week on Wednesday, I painted with the Plein Air Painters of Maine in Portsmouth, at the Strawberry Banke Museum parking lot. We'd had a lot of snow, but the sun was shining and it was a great time. Here's to more of that next year!

"The Irish Piper"

"The Irish Piper" 

11"x9"

reduction woodcut on paper

I'm excited to finally show my finished woodcut from last week. See number 4 of the series of 8 above. It's a three color reduction woodcut, with a small amount of the white of paper used as well, of the Irish Piper. She's a fishing boat that lives near our cottage in Maine.

It was such a great experience working with Don Gorvett. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would love to do more woodcuts. I was disappointed on Friday when I realized I had forgotten to take a photo of the final prints! It was great to go back today and bring home the finished product.