Thursday, July 31, 2008

Pine Point Evening

I have to pinch myself when I realize what a beautiful state Maine is. Visitors from all parts of the globe come here every summer to enjoy the scenery that I live with every day. At times I must admit to taking this privilege for granted.
This painting is of the Scarborough River in Pine Point and the sandy coastline on the far side is called Ferry Beach. The beach is wall to wall people in summer but on the fall day that I took the photos for this the crowds were long gone. I loved the light of late afternoon and the three lobster boats lined up facing west. Scarborough River meanders inland through a protected conservation marsh that provides wetlands for thousands of creatures. Winslow Homer resided not far from here about a century ago and produced some of his most famous paintings inspired by the fishermen of his day.
This painting and others will be for sale during the Freeport Creative Arts First Annual Sidewalk Art Festival coming up on Saturday, August 2. My tent will be on the lawn of Harrington House, the Freeport Historical Society building, just two blocks south of L.L.Bean. Hope to see you there!
This is acrylic on 5 x 7 gallery wrapped canvas.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Moored Off Little Diamond

I decided to try a little summer marine painting using acrylic. This scene is from a cruise taken on my dad's boat several years ago. He loved the ocean and was a skilled sailor. Every year he took our entire family out on his Grand Banks trawler for a day on Casco Bay. The bay is renown for it's many islands and is a mecca for boaters of all kinds. We'd usually moor off an island and have a cookout on the beach or pull up to a dock in a small harbor for a meal of fresh local seafood. There's nothing like a day on the water with the salt air filling your lungs and unrelenting sun to increase one's appetite. It rejuvenated our senses and everything tasted so good. We all enjoyed watching the variety of boats that traveled the bay from lovingly restored antique beauties to brand new power boats, sleek and built for speed.
These two were quietly moored off Little Diamond Island, a favorite and well known spot for the locals. The water was dead calm in this protected cove and I liked the reflections of the masts and lines on the gently rippled water.
This is 5 x7 .

Saturday, July 12, 2008

CHOICES

Well now.... As I mentioned in a recent blog I was waiting to see which painting had been chosen for an upcoming show. This is the one Bruce Brown picked out of the three I submitted for the Freeport Creative Arts show now on exhibit. Mr. Brown is the former director for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, Maine and he graciously agreed to help us out with our first group exhibition. Many thanks to him. The show runs through July 27 at the Freeport Square Gallery and is quite impressive. There is a wide variety of painting styles and genre along with some very fine crafts, sculptures and photographs....46 pieces in all and everything is for sale.
Please stop by if you're in the area shopping and help support local artists. The gallery is just two blocks north of L.L. Bean on Main Street and is open 7 days a week.
This is pastel and titled "Evans Notch-Gilead"...wish I could've been a fly on the wall....

Friday, July 11, 2008

Pastel Painters of Maine Show



I just received word that this painting, 'Midnight Auto' won the Jack Richeson award at this year's PPoM International Juried Show at the Chocolate Church in Bath, Maine. It also sold today..That's
all really good news..

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Summer Art Scene-Freeport Square Gallery

The summer art scene in Maine is very exciting and July is a busy time. My work will be in two shows that open within the next 12 days. The painting 'Midnight Auto' was accepted into the Pastel Painters of Maine 9th International Show at the Chocolate Church, 798 Washington Street in Bath, and the second is an exciting show curated by Bruce Brown of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art out of Rockport. Mr. Brown will be choosing one piece of artwork out of three submitted by each member of the newly formed Freeport(Maine)Creative Arts Initiative. This fledgling organization was started less than a year ago and has expanded to a whopping membership of over 80. FCA is an energetic and eclectic mix of local artists who are painters, sculptors, photographers, potters, musicians and writers. Obviously not all will be in this show but it will be very interesting to see which pieces submitted end up in the exhibit. I'm curious about which of mine was chosen.
Freeport Square Gallery, 140 Main St, Freeport is Maine's newest and largest gallery in the state with over 6,000 square feet of exhibit space in the former Copeland Furniture building. Kathleen Meade, the founding member and chair of FCA, along with five other members have partnered with art minded businesses to start this exciting private venture. The FCA show will have the first shot in the new gallery and opens July 13 with an artist reception and runs through 27th. Given the FCA activity and the new gallery in town Freeport is sure to make it's mark on the Maine art scene. As an artist who's lived in this area for over 30 years all I can say is it's about time!
The PPoM show in Bath opens with an artist reception on July 10 at 4 p.m. followed by a painting demo with Signature PSA member Doug Dawson who will present the awards. Dawson's work is atmospheric with a specialty in nocturnals(my favorite). He will conduct a plein aire workshop in Wiscasset the following weekend.
All work in both shows is for sale.
For more info
www.pastelpaintersofmaine.com
www.freeportusa.com
This is a pencil study of a Childe Hassam summery painting...appropriate I think.