Dog Toss Ballet Redux

6 x 8 Oil on Archival Board

Painting with my 'peeps' at Goose Creek Studio on Saturday, this was the outcome. I fixed up the water a little when I got home, but I'm leaving it as is. A quick study in oil. A very fun day!

Art in the Making

8 x 10 Oil on Archival Board

 

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Sitting on the rocks above the ocean, listening to the crashing waves, smelling the salt air, feeling that cool breeze; there is nothing like it in my opinion.  That's why I keep painting it :-)  This is a group of artists enjoying the moment.

Maine Abstract

9 x 12 Oil on Archival Board

This painting just seemed to happen.  I'm always amazed that some paintings work so easily, and some are such a struggle.  This was one of the easier ones for me.  I also think it has to do with time and place.  If your mind is somewhere else and not in the moment, things just become much more difficult.  I guess that goes for everything.

Maine Plein Air

SOLD

8 x 8 Oil on Archival Board

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This artist found himself a great place to set up his easel and umbrella.  He was so caught up in what he was painting, he didn't even know I was there watching him.

Rocks, Clouds, and Sea

                                                                       
                                                                        SOLD

6 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

Every year at this time we are on our way to meet up with other artists on Monhegan, so even though I'm sitting at my computer right now here at Smith Mountain Lake, my mind is checking into the seaside hotel and preparing to get the ferry over to the Island.  This is the view from Fish Beach, although I've moved a few things...It's nice to have such power :-)  Hope you all have a great Labor Day.

Maine Abstract

SOLD

12 x 12 Oil on Gessobord

This was painted for an abstract show at one of the galleries where I have my work.  Abstracts are way out of my comfort zone, but I'm really happy with the way this turned out, even though it's really a "pseudo-abstract."  That's not a technical term, so don't look it up :-)  It is, in a way, representational, but very impressionistic..right?!  Lots of big words that mean very little...I still like it no matter what it is.

Gull Convention During Rough Seas

12 x 12 Oil on Gessobord

I have become really fond of gulls.  I realize they are pests at times, but when they are soaring, they are quite beautiful...and of course, anything that has to do with the ocean has a special place in my heart.  Monhegan Island is like Vegas to the gulls that hang out there.  The tourists sit on picnic benches eating and spilling, dropping food, discarding leftovers, and then get up and just leave a big mess.  It's pay day!  Not only that, but some of the cooks bring the fish remains and toss them in the air.  What a sight that is.  I tried to catch the gulls in action with my camera but they were too fast, and I'm pretty sure I was running in the other direction.  They were pretty intense!   Jamie Wyeth did paint them, and of course, brilliantly.  If you get a chance, check out his incredible work.  Here are gulls during their down time.

North Wind Huddle

7 x 5 Oil on Gessobord

SOLD

This little painting was done rather fast.  My goal wasn't to get an exact rendering, just the "feeling" of the cold wind at the beach in Maine. We had all the clothes in our suitcases on, and it still wasn't enough to keep us warm.  It's 22 degrees here this morning and if I remember correctly, it felt like 22 or less there, and that was the beginning of September, not January.  I've painted this scene before in pastel, but thought of trying it again in oil...Like I said, just a quick one..and just for the "feeling."

Sketcher's Pose

5 x 7" Oil on Gessobord

$55, Unframed

You usually don't see this pose.  Most "sane" people would be sitting in a more comfortable chair, but not plein air painters.  This is one of the women in our group that painted on Monhegan Island.  Her little chair was a lot like mine, and believe it or not, they are really comfortable.  Plus, they fold and are easy to carry up and down the hills and rocks on the Island.  None of us would make the pages of VOGUE, but we produce art which, in my opinion, is more important than looking beautiful :-)  I still smile when I think of her! 

Conversation Pit

Three men sitting in a space between the rocks, probably discussing politics or the stock market :-)  However, I prefer to believe they were discussing the beauty of the landscape, which was breathtaking!!

Silver Sea

11 x 5-1/2 Pastel on Wallis Paper

20 x 14 Framed

This painting shows why I keep saying that it doesn't matter what the weather is like on Monhegan Island.  Each and every day is more breathtaking than the day before.  This was one of them.  The stormy sky with just a little sun trying to get through gave the ocean a sparkle that was incredible.  That is what I tried to capture here.  That sparkle...

Summer, The Cliffs (Smith Mountain Lake)

SOLD

This is a painting I did a while ago, but it is one of my favorites.  There was a place on the lake where you could jump off the rocks into the water.  It was quite a drop, but everyone loved it; especially kids.  A developer bought the property and it is now closed to the public.  I painted this when there were rumors about the impending sale because I knew it would be a little part of Smith Mountain Lake history.  It will always be known as "The Cliffs" to most of us.