Playing Hookey

What to do on an exceptionally beautiful day like today?....play of course. I should've been working in the studio...deadlines are looming and I have work tomorrow, but instead I played hookey.

My husband had some Real Estate business to attend to up the coast so I went with him. He didn't have to pull my leg believe me. We love Orr's Island and Cundy's Harbor and that's where he had to go. Both peninsula's aren't far from here but they seem decades away in the pace of life lived there. It's still very much off season for vacationers but the local fisherman have equipment ready at the docks to load onto their boats. Here are some shots I took this afternoon...Lowell's Cove was a surprise..we've never been through this little area. The cove was dead calm but the colors of the fishing euipment jumped in the bright sunlight. The lobster traps and buoys are painted brilliant colors and indentify the owners.

If this unseasonable weather pattern continues I won't complain..but summer people may show up alot earlier.

Check out the lovely cottage right on the water...what a spot!
Some shots will become paintings...but until then I'm enjoying some sun.

Studio painter

I really admire plein air painters for their ability to focus during outings and the scenery in this region provides all kinds of opportunities for artists to produce a wide variety of outstanding work. Lots of Plein air groups have sprouted up recently and offer artists a chance to meet other kindred spirits who enjoy painting out doors. The experiences of painting on site infuse work with an honesty that sometimes can't be achieved in the studio. It hones ones abilities of observation just as life drawing does. Dragging art equipment on site, fighting insects, the wind, rain, cold or heat, adds more drama and time than I can manage. I've painted plein air a few times and have to say..it's not for me. I'll stick with my camera for memory references for the time being. The comfort and convenience of the studio provides a place where I can focus completely on my work. (there are enough distractions right now). The studio is a place where I can get into "the zone"....which is solitary and peaceful(not to be confused with lonely), kind of like meditation. When I'm painting everything else is far away.... I believe the sole objective for each artist isn't just a finished work, it's also the individual experience it takes to get there...the journey is just as important and just as individual for each artist. Here are a few photos from a recent drive my husband and I took to a favorite place along the coast not far from here. These will be used for future work. We love this area...fairly lacking in the usual summer traffic.. a real gem.

Green Apples

One of my grand daughters, Sydney, is the thoughtful, tow-headed girl in this piece. The scenery is the view from the front yard of the house you see in my painting 'Summer House-Parker Head'. I wanted a more expansive landscape beyond her so I opened up the trees and removed rock formations that are actually across the marshy inlet. Also the apple tree is closest to the viewer and much larger in the photos I worked from. The shots were taken during a family picnic and the kids were having a ball playing around the tree and stuffing fallen apples into the crevice left by an old injury.
The bright green colors of the unripe apples and the halo of golden hair, hit just right by the sun, caught my eye......
I realized recently while looking at this image with a fresh perspective, how feminine the tree form is...an interesting revelation to me, since it wasn't intentional.
My grandchildren are so sweet and innocent at this young stage in life. They have so much to learn and experience...will they be tempted by the forbidden fruit?

The house in Parker Head

Summer House-Parker Head and My Favorite Room

This antique house sits in Parker Head, an area located in the quintessential coastal village of Phippsburg, Maine . Parker Head is a picturesque and peaceful hideaway that has yet to be spoiled by development and commercialization. Of historic note the first ship ever built in Maine came out of this region. The winding and twisty road that runs along the peninsula to this beautiful spot and on to Fort Popham(originally settled in 1607) passes small harbors, snug coves, and boat yards still owned by the locals. Lobster traps, buoys and lines, used for real, are stacked for storage around their homes. Cemeteries with gravestones dating back to pre Revolutionary War are scattered here and there between the moss covered ledges and pines. It's not hard to imagine why people chose this area to homestead so long ago.

The house was built in the late 1700's and one of our family members bought it to use as a summer place a few years ago. Aside from the inherent charm and beautiful location of the place, when inside, one is struck by the incredible views that can be seen from almost every window in the house. I was enchanted by a corner room whose northeast window, frames an inlet that curves back around to the open sea. The worn out walls and old metal beds reminded me of Andrew Wyeth's paintings. The house needed repair, but even so, the personality of it was so pervasive that it inspired a third painting called Green Apples that I will talk about in the next blog.
Summer House was accepted into the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod National Show in 2005 and My Favorite Room is one of two paintings accepted into the Pastel Society of the
West Coast's 21st International Exhibition at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center, May 8-June 2.