Brick Store Museum

Today was a glorious day here in southern Maine weather wise. No way was I staying inside to do chores or anything else! My husband had a real estate closing(Yay Steve!) in Kennebunk so I decided to tag along for the ride. Kennebunk's Main St. is still a charming little village area dotted with locally owned shops and businesses, so while Steve took care of business I took a walk. After browsing through a lovely beautique filled with stunning garden and home accessories(I wanted one of everything) I headed up to The Brick Store Museum a few blocks away. The Pastel Painters of Maine 11th International Juried Show will be exhibited there from May 22-June 13 and I wanted to check out the gallery space. I introduced myself to two staff members who just happened to be clearing out for the PPoM exhibition. They were excited about the show coming into the museum which is turning over three rooms for the 60 pastel paintings from all over the US. I'm thrilled to be included in this year's show too!

I wandered through some of the permanent collection and then headed outside to enjoy the garden behind the museum. Spurred on and inspired by a group of plein air painters on my Facebook page (you know who you are)I decided to bring my sketchbook with me just in case...
Steve's meeting would end soon so I drew quickly. The private garden is tucked behind the three connected museum buildings offering visitors a place of rest and contemplation away from busy Main St. I sketched these original old windows and shutters because I liked the shapes and cast shadows.

I'll post one more announcement about the show just before it opens with a reception May 22 4-6 p.m at the museum.

For more info about PPoM and the show http://www.pastelpaintersofmaine.com/

Denzel

This is one of my first pastel portraits and was done in 1997....13 years ago. Denzel was a Hanovarian- Thoroughbred cross owned by a woman whom I worked for and I did this in exchange for some riding lessons. I think I got the better deal in the arrangement. Denzel's owner Carol, is a superb horsewoman and a very good teacher. I made some breakthroughs while riding for her that I will always remember. Carol specializes in Dressage and still runs her training and breeding facility in a neighboring town. It was inspiring to watch her ride(awesome in fact) and I stopped many times while doing barn chores to catch her during schooling sessions. She had a retired thoroughbred named Gulliver who had competed at Grand Prix level(Olympic) in Germany. "Gully" as he was known, was aged and arthritic but he really loved his job and would perform upper level movements, at the ripe old age of 27, for Carol, that astonished everyone. Carol used Gully as a schooling horse and I can tell you he scared the pants off me a few times during my lessons...he was a master.

It's always interesting to go back and look over past work to see if there is progress in my painting. Just like riding, there are breakthroughs, plateaus and "Gullys".

Red Sky at Night

Casco Bay and Portland Harbor in particular are beautiful in all seasons but summer to me is best for sunsets. Sometimes the cloud formations and brilliant orange tinged skies of sundown provide great opportunities for painting inspiration.

This pastel painting was done a number of years ago as a commision for a client who spent many summers on Peaks Island which sits just a short distance from Portland's shore. The client's mother owned a small cottage just up the hill from the ferry landing wharf. He recalled many great memories of spectacular evening scenes just like this and wanted to preserve it in a painting. The view here is from the island facing west to Portland Harbor.

Fly Away

A few years ago a Robin built a nest on a second story windowsill of the gallery I manage. Incredibly the nest was positioned right up against the glass. My crew and I were astonished that a bird would pick such an exposed spot to rear her young. Four beautiful blue eggs were laid and were on view for everyone who came into the gallery. Fearing that the nest would be abandoned I covered the glass with cardboard and left it there for a month. To our great disappointment the window covering wasn't enough to prevent that from happening.. and the baby Robins that we so anticipated were not to be. Through the summer we watched helplessly as the eggs disappeared one by one, but the sturdy little nest stayed perched on the ledge right through a very snowy Maine winter and then into spring, when a Robin, maybe the same one?... returned and lined it neatly with a round piece of plastic. All the edges were tucked sweetly into the bottom of the nest in preparation for the next set of blue eggs, but there were only three this time around. History has a way of repeating itself....

This pastel painting is 17.5 x 19.5 and for sale. Please inquire.

The Green Monster

This may seem strange but ever since we bought this funny little green toy for our dog Koda I've wanted to include it in painting. It was her favorite as a pup but we took it away because it started to fall apart. I saved it just for this..The weird shape and eyes really get me.

Koda has since moved on to more exciting oral fixation playthings such as Steve's leather mocassins, my shoes and art magazines. If we leave her home alone she'll gather them all up and pile them on her bed until we return. We also have a huge green tennis ball collection for her scattered throughout the house. Koda can bounce and catch a ball multiple times and will do it in front of us to signal "Playtime! Come on you two..liven up!"

Koda makes a great subject and she has very expressive eyes. Sometimes when she narrows them they look very exotic...almost sexy.

This is another pastel painting at 20 x 20 and was photoed with a flash so it appears pixallized and too red. Pastels are difficult to photo because some pigments reflect the light...like little mirrors.

All my work is for sale..except maybe this one.

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.

The Vegan

The final idea for this composition came after ruminating on it for a few weeks. Sometimes paintings come quickly and I rush to the studio to get them down and other times...well.. they may take a while to congeal. I've been disatisfied with the 'usual' and wanted to try something different so the acrylics have been put away for now and the pastels are back in use. This medium is the most comfortable for me and my favorite of all.... there's no hesitation about mixing to get just the right hue or tone when painting because the rich color sticks are ready to pick up and apply to the surface.. Only a handful were used because the terra cotta toned ground pulls the painting together and shows through in many areas. I made the support ground with Colourfix textured primer that was brushed on. Some of the brush strokes show through too adding an interesting texture to the pig's hair and skin.

Influences came from paintings by Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton.....and strangely enough, the beautiful blackboard menus I've seen in local restaurants, cafes and a big chain supermarket that uses painted blackboards to advertise throughout their produce sections. I admire the religious icon paintings of the Renaisance as well.

The pig's eye portrays a different feeling than originally planned...it was going to be more of a sneer...but sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

When I showed this to two dear artist friends I got completely opposite reactions about the meaning ...

On a very personal note. One of my favorite Aunts passed away yesterday at the age of 80 surrounded by her loving family. When I was a kid she was the Aunt who always laughed and played with us. She was affectionate, funny and will be sorely missed. God bless and peace to you Aunt Joan.. I do hope we'll meet to play and laugh again.