Artist Renee Lammers

     Here is Daisy at 8 weeks old April, 2000.  She was so cute!  She was my

first golden retriever.  Daisy was born on Valentine's Day.  She is 14 years old now.

   I loved to carry Daisy around.  I had owned cats and yorkshire terriers before Daisy.

    Daisy loved to watch me paint!  I was working on a large cheeseburger and french fry

painting with a rat in the happy meal package...a real hit at Stetson University.  No one

had ever seen a rat in a still life before. 

   Here I am at 40 years old.  Time sure does fly! 

   Today Daisy is surrounded by love!  They enjoyed sitting on the deck in the sun.

It was really cold out today.

    I took my Daisy on a car ride to Sandy Point.  We walked about 500 feet.

She walked with great determination at first.  She liked to walk off leash.

I encouraged her during our walk.  Sometimes she stopped to sniff. 

   She slowed down a lot on the way back.  We took our time. 

    We arrived home to be ambushed by the puppies.  They were all over us!  Where did you

go?  Was it fun?  What is that?  Donuts?  Can we have one?    Have a great night!

"Country Feeling" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ Framed in gold wood.  Or black with gold. Shipped!

     It is a very cold February day here in Maine.  I decided to paint the aster flowers again.

I love rearranging the asters in the mason jar.  All those years of flower designing makes me yearn

to do this!  I decided to concentrate more on the twine bow and mason jar. 

    I decided to down play all the stems so my bow would stand out.  Poppy sat on my feet

as I painted.  What a nice feeling to have a dog do this.

    There are some aster flowers I want to stand out and some I want to push back.  I push

some flowers back by keeping them more simple and softening their edges.

    The dogs have done so well today allowing me to paint.  Now there is a mutiny.  They

weigh more than I do.  So I will keep this brief!  Here is a photo of Monet yesterday.  He

was watching the snow fall!  Have a great night!

   Off to take them for a car ride and walk!  Always interesting... maybe I will drive to Acadia!

"Country Flowers" 10x10 oil on copper.  Sold today!  Thank you very much!

     It is quite a trick to paint a painting and then sell it off the internet the next day!  The

client wanted to purchase this painting unframed. I always deduct the price of the

frame and take in consideration less shipping charges and less time framing!

 How do I sell a wet oil painting?  I explain to the client I will wait several

 weeks for their painting to dry, frame it or not if they request no frame,  and ship to them.

  I am very excited to sell this painting.  I think I am on the right track painting flowers! 

"Country Charm" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ framed in gold or black with gold.  Shipped free.

    The aster flowers I purchased still looked fine today.  I rearranged them, tied the twine

bow, adjusted the doctor's light, gave all the pups a raw hide bone to celebrate the painting

sale, drank tea, and painted!  I might be able to paint the aster's tomorrow as well! 

 They are holding up great.  They are such pretty flowers. 

   Here is a close up detail of "Country Charm". 

    My Mom asked me how I paint such a difficult flower?  I told her I concentrate on

the shape of each aster first capturing the sunlight and shadow.  Then I work on detail.

    I thought this painting looked nice in a dark with gold frame!

   Daisy working on her bone.  She was very happy I sold the painting!

   The puppies discovered a way to chew on their bones safety!  Daisy has the philosopy:

Your rawhide bone is mine.  Often we have to rescue a puppy from Daisy when there

are bones around.  Daisy will collect all the bones and work on one at a time.  I thought

the pups were very smart today! They chewed side by side using my chair as a place to

hide from Daisy! 

    My feet stayed warm today with all the puppies laying around my feet! 

    Thought this was so cute of all the puppies last night!  It is very icy

outside!  I am staying by the fire and painting!  Have a good night!

Thank you again!  There is nothing like a painting sale in February!

"Country Gardens" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ framed in gold wood or black and gold wood.

Shipped free!  Sold!  Thank you so much!

    Here are a few close ups of this flower painting.  I worked very hard to soften most of

my edges to create movement and to make the painting look like a tapestry.

    I decided on the blue back ground after reviewing a color scheme book.  I like it!

    The wood fire was roaring!  I was using my new for me (used Dr. office lamp) from ebay.

This Dr. office lamp provided great light illuminating my flowers all day long!  All my

flower bouquets before this were illuminated by natural light coming through a window.

I like the natural light but it forces me to paint so quickly.

    Daisy was admiring a little dog bone I have so she looks nice for the photo.

You can see the Dr. light on the left.  

    Last Saturday at Sears Island Robert picked up Poppy to get her out a little

bit deeper in the water.  He was trying to teach her how to swim.  Cute!

   Have a great night!  Get out and paint!

    I looked at photos to paint all day long.  I was not inspired by any of them.  When you

paint outside or from life you can easily become inspired.  I finally bought some

flowers at the store.  I showed one of them to Monet and Poppy.  They have never seen

a flower or probably anything green for that matter because they are both winter puppies!

Monet grabbed the flower right away.  He dashed off to show Robert.  Robert

gave him a lot of praise.  He showed the flower to Daisy too.  It is fun watching their

expression to new things. 

    I was very brave, loaded up all three dogs, and took them for a walk.  Monet is so

funny in the car.  He is very melodramatic.  Here Monet sits and moans like it is the end of the

world.  Sometimes he puts his foot on my driving arm!   Duke did the same thing. 

Poppy is a good traveler;  however,  Poppy likes to sit on the driver.  Sitting on the driver will

only going to last a little while longer!  Get out and paint if you can.

I will be working on my flowers.  Good night!

   Poppy weighs 36 pounds now.  I thought she looked like a bird dog today! 

     It took a lot of energy to get Daisy down Sears island's ramp to the beach.  Robert

carried her back up to the street off the beach.  I enjoyed watching her play and swim on Sears

Island once again.  The puppies watched as she sank into the water.  They tried their

best to join her in the water.

      The puppies are developing a personality now.  They come running up the stairs when

they hear I am awake.  They search for socks and hide many things in their mouths

to carry down the stairs.  Daisy lays at the bottom of the stairs.  She once was Robert's

alarm clock.  Now she enjoys watching the puppies.  She

watches as I fish things out of their mouths.  She doesn't seem to mind.  She knows we

will be well cared for by Poppy and Monet. 

     Today Daisy started to bark.  Poppy barked too.

Then Monet joined in barking.  They were all sitting in a circle.  I don't know what she

was telling them.  I had not heard the puppies bark in such 'adult voices' before.  Robert

and I sat in amazement wondering what they were doing.  Was she teaching them how to

speak?  Have a good night!   I can feel Spring is in the air!  Get out and paint! 

   I decided to share more photos of Monhegan Island.  I have always wanted to travel

to Monhegan during the winter.  Monhegan is magical all of the time.  I found myself

wanting to visit all the places where I have painted just to see them with snow!

   What an amazing view from the lighthouse.

   I found myself mesmerized by the shadow.

   The home on Manana is getting an interesting addition. 

    I walked down the road along the shore to find Cathedral Woods.  I didn't turn down

the right road.  I loved this area.

The fish house and cottage looked beautiful.

   I have been inside this small cottage on the right one Summer.  It was a hot day.  There

was a faint smell of fish from long ago.  Great views!

   I went in to Bangor to read more art magazines!  Much fun.

    Have a great night!

"Monhegan Lavenders" 10x10 oil on copper.  My private collection.

    This was the most challenging painting trip I have experienced yet!  I was very frightened about

traveling on the Monhegan mail boat 10 miles out in freezing cold water to Monhegan.  It was snowing.

This made everything more challenging including driving,  parking the car, unloading the painting equipment,

and then the voyage!  The ocean was very calm so it was not an issue.  The boat was heated inside.  The

views were great.  Soon we were at the wharf!  A truck was there to take our luggage to Shining Sails.

    This first painting was completed on arrival.  I was fired up!  I was very irritated by rude comments

from the leader of the group.  I did not know him... but he was eager to insult me from the beginning.

I tried to let it roll off my back.

      All the artists set out to paint by themselves.  I would have preferred

to paint with at least one artist just for safety.  Stapleton Kearns at snow camp always suggested we

do this.  If something happens one person can go for help or at least assist. 

      I hiked down Main Street, set up by a shed where they tack all of the

 island happenings.  I loved all the wonderful lavender colors of the snow in shadow. 

 I worked very hard painting each cottage.  Painting in such cold temperatures,

 it was 20 degrees, is the most difficult thing to do. 

   I learned many new things.  Never set up to paint under a large tree

 after it has snowed.  Ice and snow falls from the tree and hits you on the

head and palette.  I had set up in a vicarious area by Shining Sails at first and relocated.  I was comfortable

by the shed.  My shoes kept slipping downhill.  Apparently shoes melt snow. I have seen many

painters place cardboard under their feet in the snow.  I imagine the cardboard prevents

 slipping. I learned not to put your paper towels in the snow.  The paper towels soak up

 the water from the snow.  I used Gamblin's Neoglip medium in my white paint to

 keep it from freezing up.  I didn't need to wear any gloves because of the fantastic

winter coat.  I have a Cabela's arctic jacket for men.  The coat is so warm heat pours out the sleeves keeping

your hands warm.  

    I also learned if another artist sets out to be rude to you in front of many people...just

ignore him.  Do not answer him.  Get away from this artist as soon as possible.  There will be few

'haters' in your life. How do you recognize a hater?  If person is belittling then they hate you. 

 If you do not know him then it is either jealousy, something someone told him, or just

plain nastiness.  Usually they do not respect themselves or anyone else.  Don't let it get the best of you!  I

should have gotten back on the ferry and came back to Port Clyde and gone home. 

"Monhegan Morning" 10x10 oil on copper.  My private collection.  Good to keep a few painting and

snow paintings are my favorite.

    The second day I was excited to get out there to paint.  I had great difficulty getting my wonderful

jacket zipped.  I tried for an hour.  Finally I decided to just hike around until I needed to return.  With

my jacket unzipped I could only stay outside for 15 minutes.  I returned after taking a picture of this

cape cod with wonderful golden morning light.  I loved the picket fence.  I also loved the hearts in the

snow in the foreground.  Yes there really were hearts made of snow!  Only on Monhegan!

I downloaded my photo and painted in my room.  I imagined myself standing on the street painting

remembering all of the morning colors. 

    When I finished painting the second painting I decided to study my jacket's zipper.

I was able to zip my jacket!  I went out and hiked for three hours taking photos returning

for refreshments.  I ate 2 pounds of blueberries.  This seemed like a healthy idea at the time.

I chased the blueberries down with a huge cupcake.  I climbed up to the lighthouse!

   Here is the view from on top of Monhegan Island.  Very few people get to visit Monhegan

during the winter.  Hiking here can be dangerous so I kept to the roads. 

    Monhegan's school looked beautiful in the snow.

   I saw so many great possible painting locations! 

    This is one of my favorite painting areas, fish beach!

    I was standing there admiring the view from fish beach when I noticed a heart on the

sand in front of me created by the sun.  It was too cold to paint along the ocean.

The ice cold air whipped at your face.  I could hardly breathe. 

    Our rooms were not very warm..about 40 degrees.  I slept in my down snow pants and

jacket with many layers underneath on a tiny couch!   I was only able to sleep 2 hours each night!

I do get very grouchy with only 2 hours of sleep.  I was happy to return home

 today so I could be warmer and sleep. 

    I enjoyed seeing everyone's paintings.   They were passionate about art

 with so many different ideas.  Painters are always curioius about painting on copper.

 I gave them postcards describing the copper process.   I do like the postcards

 because it prevents a half an hour lecture on how to paint

on copper.  Most likely the painters will not remember the necessary steps so

the postcard allows them to have a record of how to paint on copper. 

    Tomorrow I will show you more Monhegan Winter photos! 

    Monet is a very sweet boy.  He would not think of doing anything mischievious.  Luckily

Poppy has all kinds of ideas.  He just goes along with her plan!  This morning I was greeted

upstairs by these two enthusiastic puppies.  We climbed the stairs!  We are here!  Good Morning!

What do you have here that we might take downstairs?  Look Monet...Socks!  Quick.  Grab

as many as you can!  Sure.  Ok.  Look a hair thing.  I am going to eat it.  Yep.  Done. 

    It is amazing what these two cute little golden retrievers can do! 

   This is what it looks like from my chair.  Monet loves to climb into

my lap.  It was really cute when he was only 6 pounds.  Now Monet

is almost 60 pounds.  He doesn't know what happened. 

   I give him a lot of hugs.  He just loves to be hugged.

   Poppy loves to bring a toy or shoe outside.  Lately Monet and Poppy

bring the toy back inside together.  I can tell they are really proud they can do this.

We give them a lot of praise.  Monet still tries to bring in giant tree limbs. 

    Robert was shoveling snow outside.  He came in for a snack.  He had a lot of little dogs

trying to have a snack too.  Soon they will learn not to beg. 

    I am going to Monhegan Island tomorrow morning on the mail boat.  There are several

 artists going as well.  We are staying at the Shining Sails for a few days.  I am prepared

for very cold conditions.  I don't know if there will be internet.  I am returning home February

21.  I hope to have many new Monhegan snow paintings for you to see!  Good night!

"Opalescence" 5x7 oil on copper 350$ framed in gold wood.  Sold. Thanks.

"Yellow Rose" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Sold Thanks.

"Blooming" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Sold Thanks.

"Good Night White Roses" 5x7 oil on copper.  Private Collection.

"White Roses" 10x10 oil on copper.  Wedding gift to my Brother.

"As Evening Approaches" 5x7 oil on copper. sold thanks.

"Bouquet In Red" 10x10 oil on copper.  sold.  Thanks.

    Have a great night!

   I drove Robert to Stonington, Maine today to hike around and take photos.  Here is a

beautiful scene on Fifield Point Road. 

   Sand Beach was pretty with some snow!

   The famous yellow house was pretty with cool purple snow shadows!

   We parked at the post office and walked around.  It was very cold! 

    How cold was it?  I believe with the cold air coming off the water...in the teens!

    It was wonderful getting outside!  Have a great night!

    We ventured out today before a new snow storm tonight!  We paused to admire horses and sheep

in Stockton Springs, Maine.  Monet looked at his first horse!  He starred for a few moments. Then

Monet started to bark and howl!  So we drove on.

    We walked around on frozen Lake Alamosook!  Poppy was airborne!

   I loved Daisy's expression!  She loves being in snow!

    Here I am with my pups! 

    Poppy loves to grab my hair and pull it! 

    We are ready for more snow tonight!  Now I will do some painting before it gets dark!

Have a great night.

"Opalescence" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold or black and gold wood.  Shipped free.

    I worked very hard all day long on this purple rose painting!  Snow has been falling off and

on for two days.  Sometimes it also rains!  I am glad to be inside by the wood fire painting!

I discovered something interesting today while I was painting.  On grey days the colors of

objects are the most true.  I like to set my roses near the window to paint.  I use real sunlight

to illuminate them.  The sunlight on past days created very warm colors on the purple rose. 

 The purple roses in these paintings almost looked red or hot pink because of the sunlight! 

  Today the real colors of a purple rose were captured!

   Poppy, Monet, and Daisy have been keeping Robert company outside while he shovels

snow. 

   Here is Monet sleeping on his back last night!  He is so cute.  Have a great Valentine's Day!

   Lake Alamoosook in Orland, Maine is so beautiful.  Often I am the only person here. 

Last night my little puppies jumped up in my chair!  They went crazy biting and pawing

at me.  I used my hands to cover my face.  Poppy was pulling my pony tail.  Monet was trying

to nibble at my neck!  I cried for help.  Robert pulled the puppies off me.  Daisy was

watching shaking her head.  Those puppies!  I decided to take them out today!

   I was so busy painting roses these past few days I had not taken the pups out for a hike!

    Puppies need fresh air and exercise!  So do people!  I took the day off from painting.

   Poppy is a muscular little dog.  She is very athletic.  Monet is more awkward right now. 

    Monet is about 5 months old.  He looks almost full grown!  He does have a lot more growing

to do.  He almost has his adult teeth!

     We had a great time today.  We were expecting a snow storm.  We left as snow flakes started

to fall.

    Daisy showed the pups where they could swim, in Duke's creek. 

    She took them out to where the creek ends into the lake.  I decided they needed to go home.

I am always a party pooper.  Have a great night!

"Love of a Rose" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ framed in gold wood or black and gold wood.  Shipped.

    There are a few goals an artist has when painting flowers.  There must be one flower dominant.

There must be a likeness of a flower.  There must be sunlight and shadows on a flower.  The

viewer must be able to smell the rose!  I think the artist must use emotion to describe how they

feel too!  I decided to try a white background.  I really like it compared to a dark background.

The white background gives the painting a clean feeling.

"As Evening Approaches" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ framed in gold wood and shipped free.

    Last night as the sun was setting I painted quickly to capture the evening light on the purple

roses.  Purple roses are my favorite.  I believe they smell better than any other rose.  I also

love all the colors in a purple rose.  These are Sterling Silver roses. 

    I glanced in the kitchen to see how the puppies were doing with a new bone.  There were two

bones but they had chosen to share one to chew on.  What a loving moment I was able

to capture.  They sure do love each other!  Daisy was hard at work on her bone. 

   I escaped to Bangor to read art magazines!    Have a good night.

    Here is my little Poppy.  She is such a cute little golden retriever puppy.  I have never really

seen her sleep once.  She must sleep.  She is always moving so this is a rare photo! 

   Evidence A.  My chair has a oil paint on it done in a very creative manner.  Somehow I didn't

see this until I saw Poppy!  Then I realized what she had done!

   She has blue and pink oil paint on her foot, leg, stomach, over her

eye, and on her lips!   When I came home from getting my hair cut,

I arranged some purple roses, set down to paint.  I did notice my

oil painting palette had some strange marks on it.  Now I realize

these marks were paw prints!  Maybe a few dog mouth prints.

I painted all day long.  Then I decided to take the pups out.  This

is when I noticed Poppy!  I will give Poppy a bath! 

"Rosiness" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood or black with gold and shipped free.

    Here is my rose painting efforts today.  I had a great time again!  There is nothing like painting

roses inside compared to painting snow outside!  The background is a very dark blue.  Have

a great night! 

"Bouquet In Red" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ Framed in black with gold wood or gold.  Shipped!

    I had Valentine's Day in mind when I purchased a bouquet of flowers at a store today. 

I decided to try to loosen up and have fun painting this bouquet.   I think it is done.

Monet and Poppy were very good today while I was painting! 

   What a fine looking golden retriever Monet is!  He was caught chewing on my paint brushes!

    I always laugh when we try to drive somewhere to walk.  This time

Monet made it to Robert first.  Sitting on Robert is the prime seat in

the car! 

    Here is the scene in my backyard on Saturday morning.  Daisy, Monet, and Poppy

with Robert down by the ocean. 

   Saturday we took the pups for a short hike.  Daisy was taking a break.  She loves to come

along.

   Daisy is the prettiest 14 year old golden around!  Have a good night!

"Artist's Shadow" 10x10 oil on copper.  Private Collection of the Artist!

    I have developed a chest cold from my icy painting endeavors!  I was wondering why

I was too tired to paint.  I have decided to end the month long painting marathon.  I am

pleased with the paintings I did this last few days.  I do believe it is a great idea to push

one's self in regard to painting. 

    Monet received a vet bill grant from a blog reader.  She is a painter who's Mom set up

a fund for artist's dog's vet bills.  Monet will have his surgery soon when he is old enough.

I am very greatful of this grant.  Thank you.

    I also received a 1000$ check from a client who had paintings on hold.  This payment

will allow me to safely travel to South Carolina to attend an artist's workshop. 

    I found a gallery check for almost 500$ posted to me in September.  It is too late for me

to cash this check but I am sure the gallery will reissue me another check. 

    It is amazing that the 2000$ came through to allow me to travel, pay for vet bills, and

hopefully fix the ceiling for ice damages. 

   February is the end of winter when most artists are at their poorest.  I have looked at my

painting sales records and noted in 5 years I have only had one sale.  I guess February is

the slowest month for painting sales.  I wonder why?  Maybe everyone is too busy shoveling

snow and tending to their woodfires.  For Valentine's Day consider a painting for your

sweetheart.  There are so many artists out there who would love a painting sale. 

   I am having difficulty uploading any photos for the blog.  It says I have reached my maximum

limit.  The FASO support group says I have unlimited photo limits.  Will see if I can fix this. 

Good Night!

    Daisy is doing so great!  Here she is enjoying lots of raw broccolli.  All the dogs had their

veggies today. 

    I saved Daisy's bed from naughtly little Poppy! 

   I went out looking for subjects to paint today.  I was too tired to decided on any.  I have painted

a lot this last few weeks.  Tomorrow is another day.  I did read many art magazines at a book store in Bangor. 

It was so relaxing!  Have a good night.

"Fresh Snow" 5x7 oil on copper.  Sold!  Thank you!

    Here is my plein air efforts today on Hatchery Road in Orland, Maine.  It was only 18 degrees.

When it is this cold the oil paint does get thicker.  I softened the entire painting four times by

dragging a clean brush over the whole painting.  This gets rid of too much paint and hard lines.

Then I started to paint again.  My car was stuck in snow for a while.  Luckily I was near the

National Park salmon farm.  They came out with a snow plow and then with a truck to

spray dirt.  I eased up the hill and out of there! 

  Daisy still barks occassionally for a Frosty Paws doggy ice cream!  Monet and Poppy are

kept away so she can enjoy this in private. 

   I heard a strange grating noise to find Monet had taken off the wood on the piano's leg.

Poppy had eaten more shoestrings and the end of the window shade string.  They tore up

a few bills so badly I could not determine which ones they were.  I just put the pieces in

a pile for Robert.  We still love them. 

"Stonington Night' 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood and shipped.  I worked more on this

painting this morning.  I desaturated the yellow house and darkened the house's trim.  I wonder

if brown would be better on the ground instead of purple.  Have a good night!

"Stonington Night" 5x7 oil on copper 350$ Framed in gold wood and shipped.

"Lights Over Stonington" 5x7 oil on copper 350$ Framed in gold wood and shipped.

      I decided to turn a few daytime photos of Stonington, Maine into night scenes.  I have never

been to Stonington at night.  I hope to paint in Stonington for a few days and nights this

next year.  I can only imagine what the scene may look like! 

    It snowed very hard all day long today and the snow is continuing to fall!  Daisy stayed

outside for many hours.  Robert came home early from work.  All the pups played in the snow.

   I unpacked 100 frames and organized them!  I like to frame

sold paintings immediately and ship it to my client the next day!

Who wants to wait a long time for a painting purchased?  I can

have any painting shipped prioriy within a few days this way.

Nothing like being prepared for large orders! 

     This is how I keep warm in Maine!

    This is how the pups handle being snowed in! 

    Have a wonderful night! 

"Artist's Shadow" 10x10 oil on copper.  Private collection of the artist.

    I painted with a few great Maine painters today in Blue Hill!  We met at a food store early.

Then drove to this location.  It was 18 degrees.  I had on all kinds of severe winter clothing!

I wore a black face mask under a rabbit mad bomer hat, alaskan coat, two layers of polartec

gloves, thick sheep skin lined boots, wool sweater, silk layers under all, two layers of pants! 

I was warm considering how cold it was!  Finally I dressed appropriately for the weather.

I noticed my cool shadow and decided to try to paint this in the foreground.  My favorite

paintings are a bit whimsical or creative.  So I decided to try this!  John Singer Sargent painted

his shadow in a few of his plein air works but he chose not to make his shadow the center of

interest.  Sometimes I do not know if I can do a painting.  Infact most of the time I have

no idea if a painting will turn out. I just hope for the best!  I do like this one.  It is fun!

    I changed my position to have my painting hand higher so the viewer could see

I was painting.  I might have slimmed down my shadow.  The alaskan coat was quite

large.  I also straightened out my posture.

    Funny how dark that shadow looks in the photo!  They say the camera darkens the

shadows by 40%.  I think this is true. 

"Chilly Day in Blue Hill" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood.  shipped.

I admired how dramatic these backlit trees were

and how the water glowed! 

    After a few hours of talking and eating and drinking warm beverages at one of the painter's

house we headed back out to paint!  It was so nice to paint with other painters again.

    Monet stayed home with Daisy while Poppy went to work with Robert.  I had

a hero's welcome when I came home.  I hoped Poppy behaved herself today. 

Have a great night!

    After Poppy recovered from being afraid of the crow in our yard we went to Sears Island!

Monet who is over 50 pounds sat on my lap.  Poppy sat in Robert's lap.  Daisy had the whole

backseat to herself!

    This was Monet and Poppy's first time to Sears Island.  There were so many ice floes

or cakes for them to jump on!

    It was so much fun watching all the activity!  Daisy was happy to see the pups enjoying

themselves too.

    The tops of the ice cakes were snowy so the dogs could really play without slipping.

    It is Poppy who often leaps and knocks Monet down!  Sometimes we have to save Monet!

    We laughed as both puppies watched Daisy go into the icy Maine waters. 

    Daisy was inspired to run and play some too! 

    I was busy with the puppies today.  I was tired.  Finally drove to paint at Sears Island as

the sun was setting.  Here is my inspiration.  The colors in the sky intensified as the sun set.

"Colors of Winter Sunset" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood and shipped.

   Have a great night!

"Ice Floes at Wadsworth Cove" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold and shipped.

    Today I woke up very early.  I decided to paint in Castine, Maine.  I almost turned

around because of how icy the roads were.  I slowed down and made it to Wadsworth Cove.

I often paint here.  This is a popular summer time beach but not so much during the winter.

I admired the ice floes in the foreground.  As I painted the ice floes the tide was taking them

out to sea.  I also painted in a few ice floes in the water.   I learned these floating

ice floes provide places for the eye to get into the background. Your eye hopefully skips

along the ice floes into the distance.   

    Here I am painting in my car.  This really is the way to go! 

    Here is the scene I was painting.  My goal is never to replicate the scene infront of me.

Some artists want to make their painting exactly as the scene infront of them. 

I prefer to enhance, change, and add to make the best painting possible.  Not to say their painting

won't be as good.  We just choose to paint differently.  There are so many different

painting styles.  I believe we need to be respectful of our differences and celebrate these

differences.  After all...what would it be like if all the artists painted the same?  Boring!

Painting is all about creating...I just prefer to use a lot of creativity.  I may have created

a few of my own special ice floes. 

   I admired this scene next.  I didn't need to repark my car.   Talking about painting

laziness.  I made many changes.  As you might see!

"Cottages at Wadsworth Cove" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood and shipped.

    I prefer soft edges in my paintings.  Often I take my clean kolinsky sable flat brush and

sweep downward over my entire painting.  Then I will paint again.

 I am always cautious with regards to painting houses concerning their windows and doors...I want

 them to blend in and not stand out.   I try to keep the values close to minimize the 'eye' affect. 

    I admired these pigs.  I wish I knew the pig farm's owner!   I would have sat in my car

and painted pigs all day!

    I loved the white pine in the distance.  I would create a path in the foreground

through those dark bushes.  The bushes are a barrier for the viewer blocking the viewer's eye into

the painting.  Easy task to do with my brush!

    I often admire these cedar tree in the distance.  I never paint this scene because it lacks

a real foreground or middleground.  I would have to get creative!  Of course I could

paint a clump of snow in the foreground and accentuate a clum of golden grass in the middleground.

   This is a nice photograph but I think it would be a nightmare to paint.  Too many

points. 

    Poppy was terrified of a crow today.  Robert had the dogs all leashed up ready to go

for a ride.   Poppy saw the crow in the front yard she fought to get back into the house.

Now we are going for a ride again.  I hope the crow is gone!  Have a good night.

"Stonington Fish Shack" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood and shipped.

    Today I drove to Stonington, Maine to paint.  Stonington is only an hour from my house.

The roads were more bumpy than usual from frost heaves.  I arrived in Stonington with a mild

case of whip lash!  I quickly decided to paint this green fish shack.  On the left hand side

there was water being pumped to keep the oxygen levels high.  Lobsters and fish like a lot

of oxygen in the water.  I admired a puddle infront of the shack.  I tried very hard to get

the puddle's reflection correct.  The February light in Maine is very dramatic, neutral, and

dark. 

 "Stonington's Ames Pond In February" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood

and shipped free.

    I drove to Ames Pond.  This pond is very famous for it's beautiful yellow, white, and pink

water lilies growing except winter.  The water lilies sink under the water around September 11

and stay submerged until it is time to thaw out.  I guess they are frozen right now with the

frogs.   I admired the sunsetting over the Spruce. 

"View of Bucksport" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ Framed in gold wood and shipped.

    Each time I drive over Verona Island's bridge I turn to the right to view Bucksport.  I live

in Bucksport on the channel to the right on this painting.  The Fort is on the peninsula to the

left.  Most of the buildings in Bucksport are white.  I have always wondered why this is. 

   We took Poppy, Monet, and Daisy to Lake Alamoosook for a hike.

The puppies were amazed and slightly afraid of the ice fisherman.

    I always try to post a picture of Robert for his relatives in Holland.  Thought this was a

great one!

    Daisy made her way into the Creek where Duke spent so much of his time fishing.  The

pups were curious.  This was Poppy's first visit to Lake Alamoosook.  She loved it.

   Here is the famous yellow house in Stonington.  I think they recently painted the house

a brighter yellow.  Hmmm..

    What a challenging scene to paint!

    There were very few people or cars in Stonington.  I noticed there is only one gallery left.

The rest of the galleries had been cleared out and their storefront had for rent or for sale.

    Have a great night!