Artist Renee Lammers

  "The Night is Young"  6X8 Oil on Copper Framed in Gold Wood!  Shipped for free!

     This Skiff is located at Rich's Wharf in Bass Harbor on Mount Desert Island.  I like the interesting shape of the skiff and the red paint inside.  The wharf is always fun to do.  Endless numbers of paintings possible.  I know the owner of this boat.  His family has been lobstering for generations.  Someone told me most lobstermen now are not using skiffs anymore.  They pull their lobsterboat up to the Wharf instead.  It is fun to watch the lobstermen arrive in the harbor after being out to sea fishing all day.  They put their lobsters in a plastic crate and lower them in the skiff or drop them off at the wharf.  Then the stern man rows his captain to shore in a skiff, punt, or row boat.  Dories were used for Cod fishing with a Mother vessel near by.  The shape of the dory enabled them to stack the boats when the fishing was finished for the day.  Dories also handled large waves better than the skiff, punt or row boat.  There are hardly any dories left in Maine.  I see them once in a while still being used.  Have a Great Day!

  "Peaceful Day"  3X4 Oil on Copper 

     Still feeling a little under the weather!  Somehow managed to paint a painting!  I love these little skiffs  just floating around.  They look so peaceful.  The water was painted very transparently so copper can be seen under the paint.  I didn't really use very many brush strokes for this painting. 
      I saw snow yesterday for the first time.  It melted before it landed on the ground.  It is going to be all white out soon!  Have a great day!

  "View from Bernard"  3X4 Oil on Copper  

     I stood on Thurston's Wharf painting this plein aire!  The sun was setting.  The colors were amazing.  The wharf seen in the painting is Rich's Wharf.  The paintings from the last two days were done from Rich's Wharf.  I thought you might like to see the what Rich's Wharf looks like. 
     I have inspired a few people to start painting "en plein aire" by doing this blog!  By the way, "plein aire" is a French term, to paint the atmosphere of light.  I like GuerrillaPainter.com products for my plein aire easel.  I use the Cigar Box model.  It is light and fits size 8X10 inside.  I use guerrilla tape available at Home Depot to secure a smaller size copper panel to the lid of the Cigar Box easel.  I like to use a watercolor pallete with the lid to contain wax disposible canvas pallete paper for my pallete.  There are advantages to having a lid for your oil paints.  When I am finished painting, I put the lid on the palette so no dust or hair flies into my oil paints as I drive home!  I also save paint because the lid limits air to dry the oil paint.  When it starts to rain outside while I am painting, the lid goes on fast, and then I save my paint from getting wet!  I can carry my wet oil paints inside of my backpack without worry of paint being all over my other painting gear.  I use Gamblin Artist's Oils.  There are the colors I use:  Cadium red light, Permanent Alizaren, Cadium Lemon Yellow, Indian Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Phalo Turquoise, and Zinc White.  Rarely I do use Titanium White also.  That is it!  I use a very limited palette of colors.  I can make a beautiful Sepia from Indian Yellow, Permanent Alizaren, and a touch of Phalo Turquoise.  Almost any color can be created with these colors.  Also the colors I create are more transparent!  I hope you have a great day!  It was snowing a little!

  "Together Again"  11X14 Oil on Copper  Framed in Pale Gold Wood! Shipped for free!

     I am exhausted from painting yesterday!  My husband Robert told me "Someone is going to buy that one fast!".  I like his positive comments!  I think I will submit this painting to the National Oil Painters of America show.  I was juried into Oil Painters of America recently.  Now I need to be juried into a few National shows they have each year to become a Signature Member.  There are many great artists who belong to this organization.  I think it is important to become involved in the professional art community.  It seems to motivate me to become a better artist. 
     This painting is a very warm toned painting.  At the Bar Harbor art festival I met a few people who commented they preferred a warm landscape painting for their house. We were talking about the rarity of a warm landscape.  It is true the blue skys and water of Maine can dominate a painting to be cool.  I am always looking for warm landscapes now.  I think I prefer them as well.  Have a great day!  Thank you for your comments!  They keep me motivated to work hard painting!

  "Low Tide at Rich's Wharf"  6X8 Oil on Copper  SOLD  Framed in pale gold wood!  Shipped for free!

     It was a very nice day yesterday!  I sat in my car and comfortably painted at Rich's Wharf in Bass Harbor.  I added seagulls and lobstermen in the background.  This was a fun painting!  I really learned painting those lobstertraps on location.  I had always painted the trap wires darker in value.  Really there are some areas the trap wire lighter in value.  I had fun painting the ground under the boats.  I left a lot of copper shining through.  Emile Gruppe wrote in his book on painting to try to have red's complement, green, around the area to please the eye.  Luckily the red boat was painted green inside.  I also painted the ground with a bit of greens too.  Cute little painting with lots to look at and discover.

Have a great day!

  "Acadia Trees"  6X8 Oil on Copper  

     Acadia National Park was very crowded on Sunday!  I was hoping to paint up on Cadillac Mountain.  There were so many noisy tour buses and people scrambling around!  No way!  So I found an obsure spot at Jordon's Ponds boat ramp parking lot.  Most tourist don't know of this parking area!  The Autumn leaves were a bright orange as the sun sparkled on the ground.  I was inspired to sit in my car and paint this!  I used my pallete knife on the highlight of the trees just like Richard Schmid does!  It was fun!  Have a great Day!
     

  "David's Skiff"  5X7 Watercolor  
     I often paint this skiff located in Bass Harbor at Rich's Wharf.  I love the skiff's shape and color.  It is really tricky to paint boats on location.  They swing around and are hard to even draw let alone paint. 
     It has been raining and very windy here for the last few days.  I mean really windy.  Gale force winds!  There are still autumn leaves on some trees.  Fall is not over yet!  Have a great day!  I am headed out to paint in Acadia National Park!