Boreas Sanctus
Showroom
January 18th, 2018
Rearview of the Storm at Sunset
Lake of the Woods
Oil on Canvas 24 x 30 in
I worked on this painting a long time, because there was a lot of variation in color and light in the sky and water that I really wanted to capture; the feeling of cleansing motion when a storm front is blown away by a cathartic, clearing wind. Ultimately, I think I captured the energy I was feeling in the scene.
December 17th, 2017
Boats on Thin Ice
Annisquam, Massachusetts
Oil on Wood, 18 x 24 in
Working in studio while teaching; my student lives on the Annisquam river and he took the photo I used as reference for this painting.
December 10th, 2017
Muskie
Oil on Canvas, 24 x 30 in
A gift for a friend of mine who is so much a fan of this variety of fish he concurred far too readily, by my lights, when I said I needed to fix part of his mouth where there should be more of an underbite. It was a fun change of pace for me, to conceive of what water looks like from underneath.
December 7th, 2017
Moonrise on Lake of the Woods
Oil on Canvas, 24 x 30 in
I am happy with this one; the silvery quality of the water… could not be achieved by someone using paint from a tube as opposed to mixing and matching colours exactly. The range of hues and shades – definitely showcases my expertise, if I do say so myself.
November 5th, 2017
Annisquam, MA
Oil on wood, 3ft x 4ft
I have been working on this commission for quite a while. I had to work in sections, since I only paint wet-on-wet (can’t paint over dry knifework) and it is such a large painting. The sky was one section, the trees and yard another, the house another, the seawall, and finally the water in the foreground and reflection. I saved the most fun part for last. My client was pleased with his painting.
“Gloucester Blue”
The Sargent House Museum
July 2nd, 2017
Gloucester, MA
Oil on Aluminum Panel, 12 x 6 in
I was grateful to have the opportunity to paint at the Sargent House garden on an absolutely glorious summer day. I opted for a spot in full sun and was careful for the sake of being able to see my palette consistently to position myself so that even through the course of the 5 hours I was there no shadows would hit me. The downside of course was that it was a very hot day – not only was I roasting, but also the board I was working on! Generally I think of myself as relatively intelligent and yet it had somehow not occurred to me what the effect of a canvas primed black would be – effectively, a skillet.
I mixed & matched all my colours carefully and slapped them on the board in a hurry trusting I could resolve all the flaws the next day. Well, the next day the painting was dry as a desert and therefore unfixable. So I used my painting as a guide and the colours I had mixed on site and painted this the next day.
I got a little tour of the museum while I was there, including the John Singer Sargent room. The room features one of his old palettes, which I’m told features a colour blue that doesn’t match blues on any of his other palettes. It’s possible there’s a very dull reason for this – like he had run out of his preferred blue and had to settle for what there was available to him in Gloucester at the time… but I prefer to believe it is because of the unique roseate quality of light in Cape Ann, and that nowhere else do you see such a dizzyingly gorgeous violet blue skies.
Wednesday June 14th
18 x 24 in, Oil on Canvas
Unable to get to the lake this year until deep into the summer (Well, mid-July but May & June are my favorite months there) I have been “mooning around” despondent. Seemed fitting to paint the moonlight.
Loon – May 17th
8 x 10 in, Oil on Canvasboard
After painting Obama I felt like I was not entirely ready to return to the broad strokes I’m used to as a knife painter. In the mood for more detail. Hence this small painting of a loon in my lakewater (Lake of the Woods.) I think it looks better in person though.
May 10th 2017
A Better Man
They say that it’s important for the maintenance of good mental health to devote time every day to gratitude. To that end, I spent the better part of the past two weeks staring into the noble eyes of this good man. I painted it, and then scraped it off, painted again, scraped again I don’t know how many times. But I wanted to do my best. Because I am grateful that for eight whole years this country was led by an honourable man. A thoughtful, sage, temperate and decent man.
(there are sure more fixes to do, but maybe I should just let it be. For tonight anyway I will.) PS Ask me who it’s supposed to be and you will suffer the consequences.
Showboats – Annisquam
March 28th-31st, 2017
Oil on Canvas, 24 x 30 in
This was painted in studio in Annisquam, with reference from a photo and from the view outside of the river, boats and shoreline. It’s “Golden Hour” and the colors were so egregiously gorgeous I almost didn’t paint it. But of course, in the end I did.