Anyway to follow up on Cashiers which at this point seems a lifetime ago. I won third place in the competition for the Painting "Robins 57 Chevy"

Third Place Winner!

 I would like to Thank all that was involved in making this event a great succes on many levels.

Speacial thanks to: Mary Palmer Dargan, Trish and David Wariner, Karen Weihs, and Robin and Jacques.

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What can I say about Easton that I didn't last year. Well, it was HOT! 

Easton is the preimere plein air event in the country as far as most artist are concerned. This year was a banner success for the event. They almost doubled sales this year at just over a quarter million dollors. 

During the four days of brutally intense heat and humidity I completed the required two competion paintings plus the alotted 8 back up sale painting for the event.  

I'm not going to post all the paintings I did but here are a couple. The first painting entered into the competiton won "BEST MARINE PAINTING" sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

"Crow Bothers Last Stand"        SOLD      22" x 22"      BEST MARINE PAINTING

Unfortunantly I didn't get a photo of one painting I sold of an interior of a Resturant/Bar. 

This painting (below) was painted at the Winners Brunch on Sunday the last day of the event.  All the winners from the competition and the quickdraw on Saturday were allowed to paint the morning of the brunch. The burnch is always held at one of eastons premereie properties and this year was no let down. The estate was spectacular. Latter that day all the paintings were auctioned off to the collectors that were present that day.

"Harleigh Boathouse"                      SOLD                      12" x 16"     

Thank you to all that make Easton a huge success and to Ginger and Marion Bevard.  

How can you not love these guys! These two begals are part of the Farm where I'm staying. 

"Red Barn at Stillwater Farm"         24 x 20

Here are two paintings completed at a wonderful place called Lonesome Valley. This picturesque valley reminds me of Yosemite. Who knew we had such a pretty place so close to home. When we arrived (all 25 or so artist) everyone headed for the hills to paint the majestic scenery. I stayed back to capture what I thought was just as beautiful some green apples on a tree. 

"Lonesome Apples"               12 x 9

On the next painting I guess I surrendered to the call of the majestic scene and created this painting.

 

More tomorrow.

"Barn Interior, Stillwater Farm"            Sold          16 x 12

A pretty good day in all!

On my recent trip to Maine I took a fare amount of photos and I had limited time to paint up there so I'm forced to use these photos to produce some work.  When I approach working from images there are certain rules I always adhere to.  First of all I always use photos I take.  Don't ever work from other peoples photos. If I take the images myself at least I know I've had the experience of being at the site of the subject. Secondly I try to work on paintings rather quickly after taking them so that the subject is still fresh in my  mind when i start a work. Lastly I always give myself about the same amount of time to execute the painting that I would if I were painting it in plein air.  

I took this particular photo right before I started working on the painting "Bar Harbor Boats" (see previous blog).  It was taken right in front of this sort of ritzy hotel right in the main part of Bar Harbor. What I liked about it, right off, was the fact that it looked so natural.  The large birch trees on the right framed the subject so well in combination with the islands off in the distance and the rocks on the left and the bottom. I further liked the fact that the image had naturally occurring positive and negative space.  As the rain had just stopped before I took this picture the rocks were still wet and the clearing sky was reflecting in them which caused some interesting color harmony throughout the image.  Unfortunately photos never do colors justice. I would have to make it up.

After choosing a canvas size I started out doing a couple little thumbnail sketches using the original photo.  To get a better I idea of value in the piece I converted the image to black and white and printed it out on a cheap piece of printer paper.  After deciding on one of the small sketches I did a full size drawing with charcoal on newsprint.  Being satisfied with the way it came out I transfered the drawing to my canvas.  I used a method learned back in college to transfer the image. Basically you charcoal the heck out of the back of the drawing and place it drawing up on top of the canvas then trace the major lines and shapes. Waa laa instant guideline for starting a painting.  From here just using the B&W print out I started with the under painting.  I used the classic burnt sienna / ultramarine blue combination to get an idea of were my values would fall.

     

Full Size Sketch - "Acadia Song"             Under Painting - "Acadia Song"

Now that my under painting was done I proceeded as I would on a plein air painting.  I established my darkest darks first then I worked all my way up to my lightest lights (highlights).  I mentioned before I had to use my knowledge of working outdoor painting for 16 years to create my color choices. It most definitely helped that I did several paintings of he Maine coast when i was up there. This along with memory helped me come up with color choices for this painting. My goal is not to copy the photo or take the photos color to literally. That never creates a good result.

"Acadia Song"                       Available                                20" x 16"

Here is another painting I did from a photo taken in Bass Harbor, ME. The procedure for this was the same as above. I did a air piece "Bass Harbor Lobster Boats" while there of this same boat.  When I started this painting the boat was in the water and when I finished it (two hours later) it was very much on dry land. The difference between high tide and low tide in Acadia is 8-12 feet. That's pretty amazing but, its nothing compared to were we lived in France (St. Malo) where the difference is like 30 feet. I took the images for "The Sun Catcher" after completing the plein air piece whe the boat was out of water.

"Bass Harbor Lobster Boats"                                 Available                            11" x 14"

      

Full Size Sketch - "The Sun Catcher"     Under Painting - "The Sun Catcher"

"The Sun Catcher"                       Available                         18" x 14"

As I mentioned before, this was both a family vacation and a painting trip.  Having had the great fortune, as a young lad, to visit this marvelous Eden I wanted my daughters to have the chance to connect to this jewel of a place as well.  In between taking numerous hikes, exploring tidal pools, coastal drives, and whale watching I had time to complete six small canvases. Of the half a dozen paintings I completed I wanted to focus on three in this blog.

"Bar Harbor Boats"                                                                                          11" x 14"

The first painting I want to talk about here, "Bar Harbor Boats" was painted in the town of Bar Harbor.  When I started working on this painting it wasn't sunny, but it was late in the day and I could tell that the sun was going to emerge again before sunset.  I usually don't recommend changing the lighting in your painting as you go, but in this case I think it made for a stronger piece. When I had almost completed blocking in the paint with local color the sun started to make its appearance.  As the light started to intensify on the boats I made the executive decision to take a gamble and go for it.  The two foreground boats were most effected by the sun.  Not just the light sides of the boats were affected but also  the reflected light on the shadow side.  Along with the sun came this wonderful bright white on the left boat and the reflection of the white in the water. The sailboat behind the foreground boats was effected minimumly with  the exception of a few highlights on the forward sails. The middle ground which consists of lobster boats and Bar Island were again effected minimally.  The front of the boats where I added the warm whites were really the only change here.  The background was virtually untouched.  The color of the sky and the reflection in the water were there when I blocked it in.  I wish I had had the foresight to take a picture of the painting pre-sun to compare the before and after.

    

"Acadia Afternoon"                                         12" x 16"  "Maine Coast"     16" x 8"

I want to make a comparison of the other two paintings, "Acadia Afternoon" and "Maine Coast"  They were both painted looking at Otter Point at about the same time of day, but the vantage points are different.  They were painted looking from opposite sides of the Point.  Besides the obvious differences in composition and format, the primary difference is the position of the sun compared to the subject.   In "Acadia Afternoon"  the light is flooding the rock landscape and giving a predominently warm color feeling.  There is a cloud covering the rocks in the foreground, but you can imagine that the sun is above and to the left of the you, shining directly onto the rocks in the outcrop.  The light in "Maine Coast" is more backlit so it appears cooler.  The light is coming from behind the outcrop.  Before Thomas Kinkade came along and bastardized the term "Painter of Light" there were artists who made a study of the effects of light.  Artists like Claude Monet, Willard Leroy Metcalf, and Aldro Hibbard, to name a few, were the true painters of light.  These Impressionists knew the importance of painting outdoors in different light situations to master the effects of light on canvas.  So get out there, observe the light, and most of all paint.