Maine 4

Sketchbook pages from Otter's Point, above, and the Seawall picnic area in Acadia.

We didnt bring our full watercolor kits and then found when we got to Seawall, the perfect place to set up ... But we had sketchbooks and colored pencils.

Sketching can be a nice break from the anxiety of wanting to produce a "good" painting.

We also visited the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse today and got this a photo of this iconic view!

Maine 3

.                             11x15

Friday morning we met up with an art teacher of mine, Leigh Culver ( check her out on Instagram), who recommended we go to Otter's Point--a fantastic recommendation.

We plunked ourselves down just off the path and had a go at painting the sublime view. Of course we both found our results somewhat disappointing, but we now have tons of photos of rocky, tree coved coastine to paint when we're back in NJ.

Maine 2

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.                              12x14

Yesterday we took the ferry to Monhegan Island, which is beyond beautiful. I'll post some pix later.

It's a lot of terrain to cover carrying all the painting gear so we didn't see the whole island. But we did make it to the southern point of the island, Lobster Cove.

Happy anniversary, Peg and Dan.

Maine so far

The low tide outside our cottage.

Got to our cottage Sunday afternoon, and have been doing some sketching or painting every day. Along with having some great food and drink and meeting a lot of nice people.

Tomorrow we're taking the ferry to Monhegan.

A tree outside our cottage.

Couple of scenes from Portland Head Lighthouse park.

old paintings

Also found these, from my first watercolor class, which I took at Cooper Union in NYC, my father's alma mater.

The instructor focused on glazes. These have a flatness and lack of strong value contrast that appeals to me.

I wish I could remember her name, she was a good teacher and really got me interested in watercolor.

old drawings

Cleaning out my flat file and found these drawings for the drawing class I took in college. I won't tell you how long ago that was. But several of these buildings are now gone, replaced my mansions.

la bella luna

Trying to paint the full moon!

John Marin copies

Trying to copy a couple of Marins.

Difficult but engrossing.

Learned a couple of things:

He uses a lot of black-- or at least that's what I used to approximate the colors on my reproductions: both grayed and full strength. Or mixed with colors, esp. greens 

He uses shorthand marks: squiggles and upside down Vs for trees; small slashes for grasses.

He doesn't mind outlining.

My colors lack the subtlety of his (my copies are about half the size of his, and done quickly). And I'm not too good with the charcoal.

But I did feel like it helped me gain some insight into Marin's practice.

more practice

                             

8x10

I'm bringing a 12x16 block of paper to Maine, and a smaller rough Arches pad.

Leaving for Maine before dawn tomorrow.

This morning I watched a great 2-part video on YouTube by James Potter on how to mix color.

I'm posting my attempt to try his method below. But don't judge what he's offering by my results!

practicing

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More practicing Maine-like subjects.

Leaving day after tomorrow!

classwork

                           7.5 X 11

Landscape studies from a class with Salty Water Art.

I tried out a sheet of rough Saunders Waterford paper.

I'm not entirely happy with the results but it's not the paper's fault: I let the paper get way too wet and as a result the colors look tired to me.

started ...

this painting of my friends' dogs. I've been wanting to paint them for a while. Maybe it's because of David Hockney but I think they're a very appealing subject.

I stopped here, at the "you're about toess this up" stage--already made one mistake I hope I can fix--and will see tomorrow if I have the courage to carry on.

morning sketches

Gina and I are keeping up with our pre-ma8ne practice: 1.5 hours of quick sketches. Followed by a huge breakfast.

maine preview

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                                 10x6

A little Maine preview.

I feel like the greens are too green! But I am trying not to shy away from strong or intense color.

Realizing all the places I want to go--Scotland and northwestern Ireland; Pacific NW; Maine; the Maritime Provinces--have a lot in common.

revisiting

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A return to the subject of the Highlands. Plan to spend a lot of time this winter with all the photos I took.

One week from today I'll be landing in Maine for a week of painting with my friend Gina.

This is the first spread in a little travel sketchbook I'll be bringing.

Susan Abbott recommends beginning tour travel sketchbook before you reach your destination-- a great idea.

I kept a little sketchbook in Scotland that turned out to also be a chronicle of where we stayed, where and what we ate, who we met. I really treasure it.

A couple of pages from the Scotland sketchbook.

Photo of a juvenile black-backed gull who followed me along the shore a bit this a.m.

Idk why it's sideways ... Happens sometimes.🤷