Southern Maine

"Maine Coast", 5"x7", Oil on Board
I haven't been doing a lot of painting this summer because I've had so many other things going on. I painted this quick, little landscape of a scene I found down near Cape Elizabeth. Over the past couple of weeks, I've also made some trips to the coast to view and sketch boats and dinghies so I may be working on paintings of them in the future. A few weeks ago, I was also fortunate enough to get down to Boothbay Harbor to view Kevin Beer's work at Gleason Fine Art gallery. It was a pretty impressive show of Maine landscapes especially the paintings of Monhegan Island. I was hoping for a chance to go to Monhegan before the summer is over.

Landscape

"Albion View", 5"x7", Oil on Board
I've been wanting to paint some more landscapes in oil so I decided to paint this small study. The original image is a little brighter than this photo even though I used the white balance adjustment on the camera. I actually did replace the camera that I was having a lot of problems with and bought a digital Panasonic Lumix. It's a nice camera but I still haven't worked out all of the settings for lighting my artwork. I'm not as comfortable painting landscapes in oil as I am in pastel so there's room for improvement here. I haven't decided if I'll paint more landscapes or move on to a still life.

Schoodic Point Pastel

"Schoodic Point in Fog", 5"x8", Pastel
I finished this pastel landscape of Schoodic Point last night. For those of you who are not from Maine, Schoodic Point is downeast on the coast in the town of Winter Harbor. That whole region is one of my favorite places in the state. The day I visited was foggy but I thought it was beautiful. I'll be working on a landscape in oil today and will get that posted as soon as it's finished.

Pastel Finished

"Fall Drive", 8"x10", Pastel
I was happy to have finished this pastel landscape of rural Maine. Am I happy with it? No! I'm usually never happy with my work because I'm so critical. There is always something in a painting that I could have done differently but there is always next time. If I decide to frame this, I will not spray the pastel with fixative. I don't like fixative on the final layer because it really does alter the final colors. Usually a good tap is all that is needed to get any loose pastel dust off of the surface. When framing a pastel, I also use spacers and a mat with a reverse bevel so if any pastel dust falls it will not end up in the corners of the mat.

Pastel Continues

The photo of the my pastel came out a little dark but I wanted to give you an idea of how far I've gotten on the piece. I decided to work the piece from top to bottom to eliminate smudging. On some pastels, I'll work on the piece all over. A taped edge is left around the perimeter for ease of handling at the frame shop later. I'll hopefully have this completed soon!

Another Marsh Painting

"Scarborough Marsh II", 6"x6", Oil on Canvas
I actually painted and finished this yesterday but didn't have time to get it posted because it was late when I finished. I have a mixed opinion on this one because there are some areas that I like in the painting and other areas that I'm not happy with. It does go great with my other marsh painting. I'm not sure what I'll attempt next, maybe another still life.

Finished the Paintings

"Scarborough Marsh", 8" x 10", Oil on Canvas

This is the landscape painting I finished two days ago of the Scarborough Marsh here in Maine. As you can see from the photo below, even the folks in the canoe were enjoying the beautiful day It's a scenic state to live in until you hit January then you feel like you're going to freeze to death every time you go outside and the only thing you're going to see are snow flurries. The marsh painting will actually go to the gallery in Westbrook in a couple of weeks. I also finished my still life for the painting a day today. I will list that painting tomorrow. I would like to list it on Ebay only I'm not sure of how to link it to my blog. Maybe there is a blogging for idiots article somewhere on the Internet that I could research.

Started a New Painting

Scarborough Marsh in The Fall

I started a new still life painting today and no it's not finished. That's my problem...I'm slow. I realize that I'm going to need to pick up the pace if I'm ever going to paint a painting a day. That's my goal! It was beautiful here today and yet I spent half the day dealing with issues and errands instead I wish I could have gone over to the coast to paint. A missed opportunity!! Last night I finished a landscape of the Scarborough Marsh in oil, maybe I'll post a photo of that when I get the chance. Above is a photo of the Scarborough Marsh this time of year.