Boreas Sanctus
Plein Air Painting 2014
May 26th 2014
Chestnut Tree, Cox Reservation, Essex MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 14 x 18 in
It was overcast and I tried to focus on the blossoms on this chestnut tree. I can’t get a great photo of it as of yet, there’s too much glare. Some days I show up to paint worrying about many non-paint related things. Sometimes I can shut these out and focus outside of my brain in in my eyes, sometimes I can’t. If I can’t resolve my thinking I strain to resolve the painting. On to the next.
May 19th-21st, 2014
Bass Rocks, Gloucester MA
Oil on Canvas, 24 x 30 in
Monday was a beautiful day, the weather was bright and sunny, with squalls of rain and storm passing through. To match my state of mind, I stuck with the squalls. I am still frustrated about what I can’t achieve with the knife in the way of spray and effervescent wave action.
Pocket Sunset
May 13th, 2014
Oil on Canvasboard, 8x 6 in
(sold)
I have never painted anything this small in oils. A company marketing their canvasboard gave me a free one in a paint order, and I was going to give it away when I decided “What the hell” and dove in. Technically, this is not plein air – as I worked from a photo and did so inside, because the hot weekend weather has retreated in embarassment after having gotten too carried away this weekend. I thought I was going to have to paint with a brush, in fact I thought I wanted to – but as usual, the knife just did a better job – or I did a better job with the knife than the brush. There’s glare on the left and I might need to level off the horizon a bit but all in all, a good day’s exercise.
May 8th-12th, 2014
Lake of the Woods, Ontario
24 x 30 in, Oil on Canvas
(sold)
I began this on a Thursday afternoon, getting the sky and treeline in I think – then I was too busy with teaching all day Friday to work. Because it’s been so warm, the paint was drying quickly so I had to bring it with me to Essex and work on it there, or waste the canvas. So I brought it and worked there, but had so many little things go wrong that I was seething mad at everything. When a fellow painter came up to make a kind observation about my work, I growled at him. Literally. This is what comes of spending more time with dogs than people. Anyway – Saturday I labored over the water, got the beach in – I worked all day Sunday and again Monday, several portions I had to scrape off and re paint because they had dried (with the knife, you can’t paint over dry paint – at least, I can’t / won’t.) I worked on it Tuesday too, when finally my shipment of paint arrived and I could scrape off the strange, marshmallow-fluff like new-low-standard white paint from Georgian and replace it with quality. Although I believe this is pleasing to the eye, it is not my favorite. I like my work best when in flows in uninterrupted bursts of energy. This one felt way too labored. Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be there in person, and have a whole new slew of reasons to kvetch about the state of my painting!
May 6th, 2014
Wingaersheek Beach, Gloucester MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in
(sold)
This Saturday was an Open Studio so I had to miss my day of painting, fortunately the “posse” were meeting today so I joined them. The days that one can park at an empty beach with impunity are numbered, and I did my best to make good use of the day. I plan to post a mini slideshow of this day’s work, but not today.
April 28th, 2014
Wingaersheek Beach, Gloucester MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in
(sold)
When I went to the beach to paint with the posse the plan was to paint the dunes – but as it happens, if I am anywhere near water, I have to be looking at the water. Painting dunes won’t do. Plus, there were two huge Grand Pyrenees and five Huskies and several other dogs – and they were hanging out at the beach. I always want to be where the dogs are. So I painted this – when I arrived the sun was out and the sky was mostly blue – but over the course of the three hours I was there, the clouds came and covered up the blue. When it’s sunny on Cape Ann there’s this rosy light – which is why my sand is pinker than the sand in the photo. Photo sand was after the sun went in. A few things I’ll tweak but on the whole, a much better day than yesterday and I’ll take it.
April 27th, 2014
Haggett’s Pond, Andover MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in
I can go about my business thinking all is fine, until I go painting and find myself choosing a subject of such dense, convoluted complexity as this. The weekend at Essex was rained out, so I decided to try a lake I love to visit. I found a nice spot with a great view of the lake, but found my mind arrested by this pond / swamp beside it instead. From the very beginning it was a disaster, but I pushed through for six hours because sometimes you just have to be brave and push through all the ugly to something truly beautiful. I didn’t get there on Sunday by a longshot, but the next few days of rain will be spent trying to make good of this unweeded garden of my mind and painting alike.
Emily
April 20th, 2014
Pencil, 8 x 10 in approx.
My niece is a remarkable artist, and one morning while we were both visiting her grandparents for Easter we decided to draw each other’s portraits. She was working very hard, hence the serious expression and downcast eyes. When not looking so studious, she’s bright eyed and full of spunk.
April 18th, 2014
Class Demo on Sarah’s Birthday
Wilmington
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16 in
I have been teaching an oil painting class in Wilmington Friday mornings and this morning I brought in flowers for my students to paint in still lives. One of them asked if I would be doing a demonstration at some point in the course, and I decided there’s no time like the present – so I got my canvas, easel and paints and got to work. I have never painted for an audience and did not think I would do too well, since I’m such an introvert. Luckily they put up with my “show, don’t tell” philosophy and this was the result. Oh – Sarah is my best friend from childhood who I haven’t seen in too long. I’ve been thinking about her all day, enriched by knowing her most all of my life.
April 14th, 2014
Bass Rocks, Gloucester MA
Oil on Canvas, 20 x 30 in
(sold)
I got to spend a glorious day yesterday sitting in the sun and wind at Bass Rocks painting and chatting with David Curtis. I had the canvas covered by the end of the day but a few kinks to work out – such as the curvy horizon – and a few details to add (the rocks in the foreground, the crashing spray of a wave, the glint of the sun on the water, and a building or two up on the rock near the horizon on the right.) Because it was such a lovely warm day, I was not prepared for how quickly my paint would dry – which made working on it today (when it was already tacky, and dry in some spots) imperative. Well, today there’s a very strong and gusty wind blowing rain and water all over the place. Since I’ve accepted the fact I just don’t like painting indoors, I went into the back yard into the gazebo that doesn’t (didn’t used to) leak and got to work. So many disasters, canvas blowing over a few times, paint blowing upside down, – one thing after another. I am hoping the rain that’s intermingled with my paint will keep it wet just one more day, so I can fix the water in the foreground, and quiet just a portion of the highlighted wave. And add the stupid buildings.
* April 17th – Have done most of what I can do while it’s still wet. Will take a better picture though.