A Taste of Maine

It's fair to say that my landscape paintings are inspired by Maine so I thought this blog would feature the "before" images that may end up in my work.
We took a three day getaway trip to Camden last week and enjoyed a stay at the Windward House B & B on Main St.. Our room was charming and included a private deck that faced the well known landmark, Mt. Battie. The deck was peaceful in the evening as you can see from this shot with the cresent moon overhead. I sat with a glass of wine in the chill air watching the light fade.

We had a mission the next day to check out one of the local wineries, Savage Oakes Farm, in Union. The
weather was sunny and clear so I was able to get photos with good color and shadow along the way. Our digital camera is my sketchbook and invaluable when it comes to capturing scenes for paintings. The second photo is of the blueberry fields we passed by in the town of Hope. The reds, oranges and purples of the leaves stopped us in our tracks! There were several fields like this on our way to the vineyard in Union. Blueberries are big business in Maine.
Savage Oakes Farm is located on top of a hill on a back road. When we arrived, the tasting room was full and in progress so we joined the group(at 11 a.m. on sunday no less). We were surprised at the number of varieties offered and the superb quality. Their grape wines are elegant and very smooth and they offer two blueberry dessert wines that were also quite delicious.. The farm is open to the public so we walked through the fields to see the animals and vineyard. It was astonishing to see blueberry fields flanking the vineyard..who knew these plants could thrive side by side here in Maine. We bought bottles of Rose and White and enjoyed them with our family on Thanksgiving. Both wines were made only with grapes grown on the Savage Farm.
I'll post other photos of this trip in another blog featuring scenes of detours to places neither of us had visited before(even though my husband is a native!). So much to see..so little time.

Some of these images will show up in future paintings ..maybe you'll recognize a few.

Autumn Tapestry - Campobello

Several years ago Steve and I decided to take a
fall trip to northern Maine. I've written about it in previous blogs. In middle October we headed up the coast and made a late afternoon detour onto Campobello Island in Canada, which is across the bridge from the village of Lubec.
As it turns out it was the last day that the famous summer cottage owned by President Franklin Roosevelt was open to the public. We arrived late and had only a short time to see it all before the staff closed it up for the season. We were surprised at it's unpretentious size and furnishings.....and it's remote location. The cottage is not an easy destination even today, but in Roosevelt's time a ferry had to transport them across the bay because there was no bridge from Lubec to the island. After our hurried tour of the camp we drove around the island knowing there was only about an hour's worth of light left. Except for a few local families who remain there year around the island was deserted. We felt quite alone, but the autumn light cast a beautiful warm glow on everything..it's a spellbinding time of day and season ...and it seemed that we had the whole island to ourselves .
The narrow winding road took us through a little village where we stopped to take photos of this abandoned old farm. It stood precariously close to the road which wound around the corner and up over another hill behind it. The building appeared to be disintegrating into the ground and looked as though it would fall in at any time. We wondered what life had been like there when the place was built long ago. Across the road and out of frame was a cove with an old wharf and a view of Eastport across the bay. The former owners had been fisherman no doubt. Winters there must have been a challenge but just then, at that moment, the spot was lovely and so peaceful...It was easy to understand Roosevelt's affection for a place like this in summer.

Tray Chic-Maine Discovery Museum Auction

The "Tray Chic Auction Catalog" is up and most of the tray tables for the auction are ready for viewing...and bidding. The contributing artists put their hearts and souls into the furniture pieces this year which makes it so hard to choose from but I'm putting my money on two that really strike me.

At the last minute I decided to add my reading glasses to the tray before it was sent off. It's impossible to see much or paint without them, and that includes reading the books that I use for reference painted on the table top... so there you have it....Some of my favorite things.

Check out the other great tables in the catalog...the rest are on their way and will be posted very soon...Pick your favorite and make a bid. It's for a great cause because this museum encourages children of all ages(my age too) to explore and enjoy the world around us. The bidding ends in November with a dinner bash at the museum. Check the site for details.

The table was primed then painted with two coats of a high quality latex. The images were sealed with two coats of an acrylic sealer for protection. I signed the bottom of the tray and the table. Good luck with your bids!

Rise'n Swine

For the Skyline Museum Art Show and Sale this year I asked my carpenter son Eric to build another big bench similar to the one we made for the Maine Discovery Museum last year.
As usual he came through with a beauty made of solid wood. My husband Steve painted the body color corn flower blue then I painted a couple of images to finish it off. ..A true family effort this time. I want the benches to be something the owner will enjoy for a long time so I chose a theme that seemed timeless and slightly whimsical...pigs.
This bench is about 65" high and 32 inches wide. The seat is 23 inches from front to back with plenty of storage underneath for boots, scarves, mittens or other paraphernalia.
The opening reception was last night and judging by the large turnout(and the line of people knocking on the door before the opening time) it was a big success. The museum is open on saturdays from noon - 3 and open by appointment for anyone wanting a private look at other times.

Native Son

The opening date for Skyline Farm's Fall Exhibition is approaching fast. I'm so excited about this year's show because there are fine craftspeople included this year...I know many of them and the quality of their work is really outstanding. The Museum has made a concerted effort in the past three years to bring artists from Maine into their exhibitions and there is a wealth of talent to choose from here. Metal sculptures and furniture, blown glass, felted wool, jewelry, bone carving, wood engravings, just to name a few of the crafts included. There will be paintings and photography by 12 other artists as well. The artist reception is next Friday evening from 5-7. We hope you will come, meet and talk with the artists and craftspeople and enjoy what Maine art and craft has to offer. Everything is for sale and many of the participants offer commission work. The holidays are just around the corner and this a great opportunity to purchase something very special that's Made in Maine and help support the local economy.

This painting of Billy O'Reilly's working skiff is in the show. A little boat like this may be lacking in the beauty or speed department but it's seaworthy, dependable and used often....Rough and Ready! There are skiffs similar to this one in all the local working waterfronts, sometimes filled with baskets of lobsters or equipment being tranferred from the main boat to the dock. "Native Son", acrylic at 16 x 20.

The Promise

This fishing boat, filled with lines and nets is part of Billy O'Reilly's arsenal of equipment he needs to make a living on Cliff Island. I took the photo for this a few years ago and the image has haunted me since. The upcoming Skyline Show, "Maine Harvest, Land and Sea", provides a venue for this painting and two others I'll be exhibiting about this subject. These works are part of an ongoing series that was started a few years ago and I'm excited about exploring this subject again.

Billy's property in winter is chock full of equipment like this...and so much more. I'm amazed at the amount of work and resources it takes to bring food in from the sea. This rugged dory along with several others around the property are stored safely on land for the next season's endeavors. They might look clumsy on land but in the water these hearty craft can take on big swells with ease.
Winslow Homer's paintings of fishermen show many of them working on dangerlously high seas in the same type of boats. The bow and stern are pointed to ensure that they ride right over the waves.
This painting and others as well as fine crafts by some of Maine's finest artists will be available for sale through Skyline Farm.

I'll post more info about that very soon with a link to see work by other artists in the show.

There will be an auction of donated works too.....and you can bid on line.

This is acrylic on canvas.

Tools of the trade

I just finished painting the table and tray for the Maine Discovery Museum Auction..A little behind in my commitments..but it's been a bit crazy this month with so many deadlines coming at once. The base color for the table is Cornflower and the paintings are acrylic with a sealer to protect the images. I really hope the museum does well with their auction in November..I may bid on a table myself. It would great to own one done by another artist. All proceeds from the sales will go to the museum. I had some fun showing a few paints and a favorite small brush that has seen better days..but I love it anyway, scrunched bristles and all. The painted tray sits on top of this.

On to the next projects...The paintings for Skyline Farm and Carriage Museum..and a bench my son Eric just finished building for that show that will have more Tromp l'oeil images too....wonder what to paint on that...hmmmm. Portrait commissions to do also...

The painted tray was featured in a recent blog so check that out if you haven't seen it..some of my favorite artists are represented on that.