Artist Renee Lammers

  I have always loved this picture of Duke cuddled up in my bed in the Airstream.  He use to jump 4 ft up into the air and land on me while I was sleeping!  We were very cozy in the Airstream.  Duke's morning ritual was to leap up into my sleeping area.  He liked for me to pet him for a half an hour before we really got up.  Sometimes he would lay on his back with his feet up in the air.  He loved to put his head on my pillow like I did.  Daisy could not jump up that far.  Later we discovered at the vet, she had contracted Lymes disease from a tick.  She was given a month of antibiotics.  Her mood is better.  She still doesn't jump. 

     It was 94 degrees today in Bucksport, Maine where we now live.  I took Daisy and Duke to the lake early in the morning.  My plan was to paint all day.  When noon came around, temperatures inside the house were too hot to leave Daisy and Duke.  So we sat under the tree in the shade for parts of the day.  It was just too hot today to paint.  I took them again back to the lake for a second time!  They love chasing frogs.  The water at Craig's pond is crystal clear and cool.  It is beautiful there.  If Daisy and Duke were not such a handful, I would have painted!  Robert went with us the second trip.  He swam across the lake.  Loons were making their beautiful calls.  The colors were great.  I should have brought my camera. 

     I had a great time this August painting nearly each day.  I painted a total of 32 paintings.  I sold a lot of them!  I am ordering three cords of oak firewood!  That should keep us very warm.  Thank you very much for participating in the sales of August Painting Marathon!  Duke and Daisy have a lifetime supply of raw hide bones.  They have been enjoying "Frosty Paws" a dog ice cream treat each night!  Sales were great!  Thanks!

  "Cadillac Mountain View of Otter Cove" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  Sold.

     Today was a very hot day here in Maine.  I headed to Mount Desert Island up on Cadillac Mountain.  I expected the temperatures to be cooler there.  I was wrong.  It was still 90 degrees on top of Cadillac.  There was no breeze.  There were no clouds in the sky!  It was broiling hot.  I felt like a chicken in a frying pan! 

     I used only three colors plus white today.  It was very fun!  The Art Mentor suggested using Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Blue, and Cadmium Yellow.  I decided on Zinc White as it is very translucent.  I was really amazed at all of the colors I could mix with just these three colors.  White is not considered a color.  

     I decided to not describe the scene infront of me with bright blues.  I decided to go with a combination of Cobalt blue and a tiny touch of Quin Red with Zinc White.  What a beautiful lavender color this created!  I decided to use purples, greens, and a touch of oranges for my color scheme.  This is suppose to be an emotional palette.  It did make a atmospheric painting! 

     I couldn't paint another painting on top of Cadillac Mountain.  The air conditioning in my car felt great!  I drove around taking photos.  I was at Little Long Pond.  I met another professional painter, George Martin.  He was very nice.  He was painting a small canvas mounted on birch panel of the mountain.  Here is the scene he was painting.



     There was a beautiful golden retriever working hard at retrieving a tennis ball!  So beautiful!

  I went by Somes Sound.  I stopped and admired this painting spot!  If only it were a few degrees cooler, I might have painted another painting.  

     I checked Park Loop Road for waves.  No waves.  So I headed home! 

    

      This is my Mom's watercolor painting, Catherine Bottelman.  She lives in Winter Park, Florida.  She is a prolific painter.    I have given her dried seahorses, crabs, shells, and other natural items I find.  I asked her how she created this painting.  She told she drew the dried seahorses, crabs and seashells from life.   She kept drawing these seahorses in one area until she was satistified.  Then she drew the crab in a few places.  She drew some seaweed here and there. The painting just developed spontaneously.  

     Some of my happiest memories are painting next to my Mom.  We seem to laugh alot.  Sometimes one of us accidently splatters the other with paint.  I might take one of her brushes to use instead of my own.  

       I saw this painting in her livingroom while visiting in Florida this last Winter.  Luckily it fit into my car!  I absolutely love this painting.  Each morning I get up and admire her painting.  I am lucky to have a Mom who paints!  What a great gift she has given me.

      
  This is a watercolor by my Aunt Madeline.  She gave my Mom and I each a painting many years ago.  In return, my Mom and I each gave her two of our paintings. 

      My Grandmother also painted.    We don't know which medium or what she painted.  After she passed on, her paintings all disappeared.  She started to paint later in life.  I have always wondered what they might look like. 

     I went to many galleries in Camden and Rockland yesterday.  I just felt like taking a painting break!  I saw a lot of really brightly colored paintings in these galleries.  I found myself walking by these paintings very quickly!  It was as if these paintings were shouting at me!  They looked very artificial.  I went home thinking a lot about painting more subtle.  I saw skies straight bright blue!  I liked more red and greys in the skys.  I saw many drawing failures.  Horizons were crooked.  I shook my head wondering how such a successful painter might get into a gallery with a crooked horizon!  I decided to use a T Square to check any of my horizon lines, if I do paint one!  Suprising too, were the prices!  I didn't see very many smaller oil paintings.  They were many very large paintings.  I did see many great paintings.  I think it is a good idea to take a painting break and look at other people's paintings! 

      I saw two Fitz Hugh Lane paintings in the Farmsworth Museum.  I really liked his colors, very pastel.  They were easy on the eyes and mind!  I saw a great Thomas Moran painting.  I really liked the details! 
Of course my favorites were paintings by Stapleton Kearns.  There were the best!

     I am going to get out to paint tomorrow!  Thanks for reading this blog.  I love all of the comments! 

  "The Colors Of Thuya Gardens"  5x7 Oil on Copper.  Framed inlight gold wood, and shipped for free!  300$

     I drove to Mount Desert Island to paint in Thuya Gardens.  I found an obscure place by the pond under the White Cedar trees.  Once in a while a small child would discover me painting.  It was fun to hear the high pitch squeal!  Some people didn't see me.  I was almost finished painting for the day when I looked up to see yesterday's gallery customers walking through the garden.  They were suprised to see me! 

  Here they are in Thuya Gardens!

  These are the hand carved doors by Joe Savage at the entrance of Thuya Gardens.  These doors make you feel as if you are entering a very special garden. 

  I stopped to take photos at a pumpkin field in Trenton.  I painted these pumpkins last October.  I may paint them again.  I spent all year thinking I would love to paint the pumpkins with their green leaves in a field.  When I saw some pumpkins still on the vine, I didn't like them as much.  I guess I like the pumpkins after frost has killed the green leaves.  The charcoal color of the leaves and the orange of the pumpkin seem to go better together! 

     I am beat!  I hope you had a great day!  Get out and paint! 

  "Girl With A Plan" 5x7 Oil on Copper sold!

     I worked more on yesterday's painting.  I think it is great now!  I wanted this painting to look similar to "Thirsty Girl", the white chicken drinking water from the aluminum container.  They might look nice together in the museum show coming up Sept 19 in Yarmouth at the Skyline Farm.  

  These two ladies have a huge collection of art in two houses here in Maine and in Pennsylvania.  These just love to support artists and they love paintings!  They called to make an appointment at Lammers Gallery today, my own gallery.  I cleaned and bought some sparkling water for them to drink.  They arrived and had in their minds to purchase one painting. 

      I had over 200 paintings of mine to show them.  Luckily I had them separated by subject matter in scrap boxes with felt material in between each painting to protect them.  Most of my clients select paintings unframed from these scrap boxes and then select a frame at my gallery.  My husband Robert goes into the basement and frames them professionally for them!  

     While I was showing them paintings, I told them if they see any painting they liked, to let me know, and we would set it aside.  Soon we had several paintings set aside.  Then occasionally they decided to put back a painting into the box.  More paintings would be set aside.  We set all of their favorite paintings up on the floor against the white walls.  They admired them while I poured them sparkling water.  Sparkling water that is flavored everyone loves.  There is no caffine, no calories, and it is refreshing!  I let them take their time deciding.  Eventually one lady decided on one for her room.  Then the other lady really loved two of them.  So they ended up purchasing three!  We found nice frames that flattered each painting.  Robert came home, framed them!  They left so happy!  There is nothing like painting and handling my own sales.  I like being incharge of my own destiny! 

     I am going to paint late this evening!  Daisy and Duke are getting a "Paws" ice cream treat!  I am going to have an icecream sandwich as a treat for myself!  I deserve one!  Have a great night.  Hopefully we will have good weather tomorrow so we all can get out and paint!

"A Girl With A Plan" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  Sold!  I worked more on this one the next day!  Now it looks great! 


     It was raining all day!  So I painted in my studio.  I practiced some brush work and Puffopods.  I might touch it up some more tomorrow.  I lost my light!  She is looking great!

     I sold two more paintings today off my website!  I love this website!  Fineartstudioonline is a fantastic art website!  I have made more painting sales on this site!  Incredible.  Yesterday I made two other painting sales!  Daisy and Duke have enough raw hide bones now for their Winter!  Now they would like "Paws" doggy ice cream treats with each sale!  Thank you very much!

 

"Gliding Over Sand Beach"  SOLD! 

I thought you might like to see the finished results of the seagull.  I found a really good artist who will own this seagull.  I wanted it to look really good.  I think James will be pleased! Yesterdays birch trees sold to the sailboat owner!  Yeah!  "Three Goats on Manana Island" and "Amazing Grace" sold yesterday!   I think my painting ability has improved greatly because of The Art Mentor!  He decided to let you know who he is!

 

Here is The Art Mentor.  His name is Stapleton Kearns. 

      He is offering a three day workshop for all levels in Acadia National Park this September 25, 26, and 27.  He hopes to have participants stay at Bass Harbor Campground or hotels nearby.  The cost is only 300$ for the workshop.  The campground is giving a discount for all artists.  A tent campsite is usually 25$ a night.  I am sure the cost might be less if you are an artist!  This is a great opportunity to get one on one teaching from The Art Mentor.  He is only accepting the first ten students.  He will be planning campfire talks each night after a whole day of painting plein aire.  Participants will be dining together at a local restaurant for dinner.  I know you will learn so much during this three day period.  I hope you can get a workshop space!  Go to his blog to sign up.    Here is his website.  http://stapletonkearns.blogspot.com/

     Http://www.stapletonkearnsgallery.com/    You can see his paintings.  I love to read his blog each day.  He has great daily art information on his blog!  If nothing else, try to read his blog daily.  I know this will help you become more knowledgeable about art! 

      Stapleton Kearns will be dropping off many new paintings at Bayview Gallery in Camden!  Go check them out!  Buy a few! I think his paintings are great!  He is the best teacher also!  Thank You! 

 

"Another Summer Day" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  SOLD!  To a wonderful lady who owns this sailboat!  Amazing! 

  "The Robin's Nest"  This painting was accidently destroyed.  I worked on it the next day.  It just turned into a pycho nest.  I sanded it down!  Such is life!  Nests are hard to paint!

     Today was another amazing Summer Day!  I went to Fort Point State Park with The Art Mentor.  We painted birches again as you can see.  The Art Mentor was on fire today!  He was giving me such great information I had to start writing it all down!  Here are some of the things he told me!

     Norman Rockwell was asked what materials he used to create his paintings.  He replied because of the deadlines, as an illustrator, he used many types of dryers not known for their durability.  He then stated he hoped his paintings wouldn't blow up. 

     The Art Mentor was painting on canvas.  I was painting on copper.  A tourist came up to me and asked me about the copper.  I told her I painted on copper because it was the most archival substrate to paint on.  The Medieval artists painted on copper and their paintings, 500 years later look perfect in museums.  The Art Mentor replied, "My paintings are going to blow up!"  We all laughed as he explained he was painting on canvas and it would disintegrate the minute they purchased the painting!  So funny!

      Yesterday The Art Mentor told me about Sandlers Sales System.  He took this sales class each morning a long time ago.  Sandler would make a customer sick and then cure them to make the sale.  He would ask them why they came out to the car lot that day?  He would listen to their answer knowing then what happened to their car.  Then after listening to their story, he would find a cure for them by finding a car on the lot.  The Art Mentor told me much of Sandlers is dated.  Some of the information would be useless.  He did learn about how to help a customer to make a sale.  

      The Art Mentor was working on a painting he had started a few days ago.  He asked me to come take a look at what he was doing.  He had lightened the painting on purpose.  The shadow the birch trees casted was lightened.  He then put lavender in the grass shadow up against the sunspot that was a light greyed orange.  The lavender made the grass look flat on the ground as well as brightening the sunspot by being the complement of the sunspot.  It also introduced a nice new color. 

     He then told me about a PUFFOPOD.  He learned this from another landscape artist Anthony Sirrino.  A puffopod are accents scattered through painting or spots.  They break up areas that are too flat.  They add vibration to a painting.  An example of a puffopod:  He places a color he invented called Porn Star Pink into grass shadow areas.  This Porn Star Pink looks to me like hot pink salt water taffy. He throws this Porn Star Pink in the shadow areas of the cool green grass colors to make a dull area look lively.  Puffopods add sparkle into dull areas and enhance liven the painting.  He also added dark accents that would be leaves fallen on the grass.  These few dark accents on top of the shadow grass areas lightened the shadow area. 

   He called me over to his easel again to show me how he makes the sky a positive shape instead of negative.  He paints in the tree leaves in the sky.  Then he paints the birch trunks.  Then he paints the sky to make the sky positive shapes.  He paints the sky holes darker than the actual sky.  

    He then told me about a very important principal.  Painting is a dance between observation and invention.  The strickly observation artist will have his lunch eaten by the inventor artist.  The observation plein aire artist is the artist who paints only what he sees.  He copies exactly the landscape infront of him in terms of composition nature provides and colors.  The Inventor artist creates a better composition, changes values, changes colors to create atmosphere and emotion.  He may change or introduce anything he feels will make the best painting possible.  Because after all, a painting should not exist unless it is painted well! 

    I asked The Art Mentor about the color he invented called Porn Star Pink.  "How do you make this color?"  He answered giving this some thought.  For a moment I didn't think he would tell me his secret.  Then he answered, "You can buy this color made from Williamsburg oil paint called Persian Rose.  You could also create this color yourself by mixing the right combination of Quin Red, White, and a Dioperolyperol Red."  I am not really sure about the name of the last red there. 

     He did say this Porn Star Pink can be a hot or cold color.  It can have an orange glow which is the perfect complement to green! 

     Several days while out painting with The Art Mentor and his famous painting friends, I heard several say, "The light is failing."  I didn't think the light was gone at all.  They would look at each other.  I didn't get it.  Finally he told me.  Ives Gamble his teacher would tell him, "We will paint till the light fails."  This meant until the golden hour was over before sunset.  There would still be sunlight, but the light for their subject was gone.  The light they were looking for was over.  Complicated!  A secret saying!  Ahhh!

     He told me to come look at what he did next.  He took a rigger brush, loaded with a mixture of Ultramarine blue and Permanent Alizarin.  To create rhythm he made convexes and concaves in the branch areas within the trees.  He added these dark similar shapes that interchanged across horizontally gracefully and subtle. " They related to one another." he explained.

     He then showed me how he used this massive two inch flat brush and lightly very lightly dragged this brush over some areas of the painting to "fuse" the painting together.  He showed me how he took a small flat brush and tapped along the island in distance to soften the line.  

    He told me of another secret.  Professional painters (people who only do painting for a living) and NOT a persona called  Artists too ( people who come up to Professional painting while they are painting and claim they are artists too)
Artists too do not show their work in galleries.  They do not work to support themselves as an painter.  They work another outside job and try to learn how to paint.  They may sell an occassional painting.  After I understood this principal, then he shared another insider secret.  A "Pagoda" is a location a plein aire painter goes to that only has one thing to paint.  This location does not have many paintings all around, but one subject.  Painters will gather near this one "Pagoda" and paint the same thing of course, in a different manner.  A "Monet Garden" is a location a plein aire painter goes to that has many painting possiblities.  

       The baby seal presented himself on the beach while we were painting.  A man and his son told us the seal might be injured.  The seal's flipper seemed not to be working.   I went down to see the alleged injured seal for myself.  The Art Mentor was ready to carry the seal down to the water.  Instead the seal decided to scurry over the rocks back into the water.  He swam away.  He must have been resting from swimming.  He was very little!  He seemed fine!   I think this was a great photo.  I may paint this seal.  So tiny!  Sweet!

     I sold two paintings today while I was painting!  This is just great news! Not 100$ paintings either!  I had given Daisy and Duke a raw hide bone earlier this morning.  When I came home Daisy had stolen Dukes bone.  He looked so sad!  I gave him back his bone!

 

     Tomorrow Daisy and Duke will receive ice cream made for dogs called "Paws" as the painting sales was exceptional this week!  Thank you!  

     When I came home I also received more great news!  I was invited to a beautiful hotel on Nantucket called The Century House.  They have excepted me into a Fall Artist In Residency.  I will travel to Nantucket.  They will allow me to stay in their hotel for almost a week!  They will select one of my paintings completed during this stay for their permanent collection.  They are also hosting a "Art on their Veranda" on Thursday night.  They invite dealers, galleries, neighbors, and hotel guests to see what I have painted during my stay.  They sometimes sell paintings during this event.  I can keep these painting sales.  I am so excited about this! 

     I hope you had a great day.  I am going to paint really hard tomorrow!  It may rain outside, by I will be painting inside!  Paint outside when you can!  The Art Mentor says, "Painting a landscape from photos is like learning to swim inside on the couch!

  "Gliding Over Sand Beach" 5x7 Oil on Copper. SOLD to my wonderful friend James!  What a seagull collection he has now!  Thank you so much James.  Daisy and Duke thank you too!  

     Today was just so much fun!  I had a call from The Art Mentor.  He wanted to use my art studio as it has such great skylights.  He is staying with relatives nearby without an art studio.  The weather was too overcast and rainy to paint outside.  I learned a lot while we were painting in my art studio.  The Art Mentor learned how to sell paintings by listening to sales audio tapes a long time ago.  These tapes called Sandlers Sales Systems were expensive but worth.   They cost 65$ on Ebay.  I seem to do fine with sales, but maybe I could do better?  Ya never know!  If I am going to be a pro, I need to be great at more than just painting!  

     Daisy and Duke, my two golden retrievers decided to sleep under The Art Mentor's easel. It was cute until Daisy came up to me with Viridian on her tail and above her eye.  She had gobs of white paint on her hip!  I couldn't believe this!  I laughed so hard! The dog was painted today!

  Here is Daisy's hip with some paint globbed on!  I had to take her outside and give her an emergency shower with dishwashing soap!  So funny!  She still has a stained green tail.  

     The Art Mentor showed me how he scrapes his dried oil painting with a palette knife really hard to remove any oil paint that is thickened.  I put my hand on the surface and it was pretty smooth!  Amazing.  I wonder how this might work with a dried oil painting on a copper panel?  I usually paint only wet into wet.  The reason for this is I don't like to paint over a textured surface.  If I could get rid of the dried texture I may like to rework a painting.  John Caggiano showed me how he sprays an old dried oil painting with retouch varnish.  This makes the surface wet again.  

     I worked on a second painting for an upcoming show at a Museum in Yarmouth, Maine.  I completed a nest full of five robin eggs.  They were a beautiful blue green!  I will show them tomorrow.  It was too dark outside to take a photo.  

     I sold a painting today to a famous Rock Star!  He is the leader of Savoy Brown Band!  Pretty amazing to have a painting in his collection.  I have many successful people as collectors, but not yet a real live Rock Star! 

    Are you bored of watching soap operas, sitting in your chair all day, or shopping at the mall?  Why don't you order some oil paints on line?  Http://www.ASWexpress.com  Gamblin oil paints are great:  Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Alizarin, Ultramarine Blue.  Brushes: Flat 4, 8  Gesso Board for something to paint on.  Turpenoid for something to wash brushes. Plein Aire Easel!  If you need any other information, you can call me! 

Get out and paint!  You will feel great!

"Monhegan Nest" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  wiped off. Terrible painting.

                              If you like this painting, call me at (207) 479-9553. Thank you!

     Today was a rainy gloomy day.  I decided to work in my new studio!  I turned on some 1970's music.  I decided to work on more eggs.  The smooth surface of a brown eggs looks great on copper.  I left some copper shimmering through the oil paint.  I took my brush and pulled out some paint in the dark areas.  I then started to layer the straw from darker values to higher ones.  I used my brush to soften some straw.  I liked how this painting came out.  Seagull eggs have an interesting pattern.  There are gray spots and dark brown spots overlapping each other.  There is a pearl like iridescence to these seagull eggs.  I had a good opportunity to paint one of these eggs on Monhegan at Whitehead in June.  I was working on the second egg when the mother seagull sat down on this nest.  I didn't want to abandon the painting and so I painted the seagull on her egg.  At least I could paint one of these eggs!  I might like to go back to Monhegan next June to study more nests with eggs.  

  Here is a Frederick Waugh seascape painting.  Frederick Waugh was one of the best seascape artists.  I was reading more of "Frederick Waugh, American Marine Painter" by George Havens today.  This book is usually very expensive and out of print.  I was fortunate enough to find a paper back copy of this book on Ebay.

     I opened up the book to see what the page might read.  It was Frederick Waugh speaking to someone about how to paint the sparkles of the sea.  "Sparkle in painting, Waugh said, is obtained by keying pictures way down in tone (darken the values).  "There is more sparkle in a strong contrast of highlight against a dark background than if the whole were high in tone.  You can make sunlight perfectly dead and chalky by a overdose of white.  Pure color is more sparkling than white."

     Waugh spoke of painting sunlight breaking through clouds by mixing his white with a yellowish or reddish tint according to the color scheme of the painting.  He uses Cadium Yellow Light with Raw Sienna or white with Venetian or Mars Red.  If the colors are cooler as in later in the day, he uses a little Madder Lake or Alizarin.

     Waugh says it is best to paint the seascape as result of direct painting.  "I say, if you can do so, grab the whole thing in one continuous period of time, unaffected by breakfast, lunch, dinner, or the evening's amusements or other preoccupations. Take hold of the motif, of the technique, of the enthusiasm of the whole unbroken day if possible.  Your work wil have the vitality and snap it needs in order to convey its full significance.  Do everything in one whack.  Even if it remains incomplete in places, no matter.  The frame will often take care of this.  Put a roughly executed picture into a highly finished frame for best results. The very fact that there is an edge binder all around your canvas will, if the roughness is not too pronounced, finish up what you have done."

    I have discovered from The Art Mentor waves become larger during the Fall and Winter.  The rest of the year unless during a storm I suppose, there just aren't very big waves here in Maine.  Something to look forwards to!

     I hope the weather clears so that we all can get outside and paint!

"Ratcliff Island's View"  5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  Sold to a real Rock Star!

I reworked this painting and now the blues are very cool.  The Art Mentor was right.  When I got home, I saw the water looked too tropical!

     Today I drove to Rackliff Island to paint with The Art Mentor and two of his painter friends. (One painter was a real rock star from the band Savoy Brown!) I learned a lot today as usual!  This was a beautiful place.  On the Rackliff Island itself, there is no access for an painter unless a wealthy home owner would allow a painter access!  Too bad!  There are a lot of great views there!  There is a causeway over to Rackliff Island with a dirt parking area.  This is where we decided to paint.  The owner of this land came over to me angry.   We were on his property.  We all didn't think it was private land.  The owner allowed us to stay and turned out to be a nice fellow.  He gave me a copy of an old map so that I may see the island's names I was painting.  He even offered the use of his restroom and water!  How nice.  We worked all day!

  

One of the smaller island's in the distance I was painting was called Eagle 1.  This is the smaller island on the left in the painting. 

     The Art Mentor looked at my finished painting and suggested a few things.  He said to put more reddish blues in my water.  Maine is known for it's cool blue water.  So I did put in more cobalt blue and ultramarine blue in the water.  He suggested leaving the warmer blues under these cooler blues.  Then he suggested I still needed to put a cool color in the shadows of the rocks and a warm color for the rock's highlights.  I had used a diox purple for the shadows thinking this was a cool purple.  Wrong I was!  Diox purple is a warmer purple.  Ah ha!  I asked him if I used a mixture of Permanent Alizarin and Ultramarine Blue for the rock's shadows, would that work?  He said yes.  The problem with that mixture is I dislike the color it produces.  It is very opaque.  It looks like a mud.  I have to figure out a cool purple that looks realisic and translucent.  I asked The Art Mentor why I don't see this cool purple in the rocks shadows?  He suggested if I don't see it then I shouldn't paint it.  Hmmm.  Now what.  I guess I will think about this.  I like realistic paintings.  I think painters push colors in order to make the painting look sunny.  There needs to be a dramatic color difference to look like the sun is shining.  I know he is right!  I just need to work on this.  

 

"Sea Horses"  5x7 Oil on copper panel.  SOLD!  To a famous Rock Star!  Amazing!

     Next I painted this scene.  It was so beautiful here today.  Perfect temperatures of 70s.  The sun was shining with no clouds to make the light go in and out.  We were very happy working away!  Beautiful paintings were being created here today!  Amazing to watch!  I really enjoyed myself.  I was happy to be invited.  I liked how this painting turned out.  The actual white house is only an inch by an inch.  Really small.  It is difficult to paint this small!  I like to do this.  There are two horses in the backyard overlooking the sea!  What a life!  What a life I have too.  

     I showed The Art Mentor this painting when I was finished.  He told me the same thing, cool the water, cool the rock's shadows.  I need to work on this.  I did cool off the water in this painting.  He was right again!  His painting was turning out terrific.  

 

Here is the view from the causeway going to Ratcliff Island.  Beautiful!  See how much green there is in the water?  But in order to make it look like Maine, I need to paint it cool! 

Get out and paint!  Be brave!  If the painting doesn't turn out well, you can wipe it off!

  "The Fog Bell Tower" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  350$ Framed and Shipped!

     I drove to Fort Point State Park in Stockton Springs to paint with The Art Mentor and two of his painter friends.  They had been painting since 8:00am.  I arrived at 1:00 pm.  I slept in this morning giving myself extra sleep!  I was still trying to get rid of a migrane headache.  I drank a quart of sparkling water and started to feel better!  I like how this painting turned out!  I removed the chain link fence in the painting. I also trimmed some trees!  Exhausting!  I wanted the ocean to be more pronounced.  The Art Mentor says it is always a good idea to have ocean in lighthouse or bell tower paintings.  Another good idea!  If you love these paintings, just give me a call and it will be yours!  (207) 479-9553.  

  "Three Seagull Eggs"  5x7 Oil on Copper panel. destroyed.
    I did another egg in the nest painting.  I decided to have three eggs in the nest this time.  I love how these nest paintings turn out on the copper panel.  The copper shows through in the darks and really illuminates the straw!

 

  

      I hope you had a great day!  Get out and paint!
 

       "Monhegan Sunrise"  5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  Sold!

             If you love this painting, just give me a call and it will yours!  (207) 479-9553!

     It was a rainy day today!  I had the gallery open for a while.  Then I decided to drive to Walmart to get a few photos developed.  I talked to a reporter from Ellsworth newspaper and decided to turn around to clean my house!  The reporter wanted to interview with me at my gallery.  When you have two golden retrievers hair can be all over the place!  I used my Oreck vacuum cleaner!  Every golden retriever owner should have one of these Orecks!  Any other vacuum cleaner will break as the golden's hair just kills any vacuum motor.  So Oreck came to the rescue again! 

      Not long after I cleaned my house Deborah, a new art collector from Florida just visiting Maine came to the gallery!  How amazing!  I was so delighted and suprised at the same time.  It took a few moments to realize what an amazing visit this was!  I was so glad to have turned around and cleaned my house!  She was so nice!  I knew she would be special from her comments to me. 

    A few moments later The Art Mentor came by to see the gallery with a friend!  I showed them yesterday's painting "Monhegan Seagull Nest" and they both loved it.  The Art Mentor told me to make sure I had good photos of this painting and put it in my portfolio.  Then they were off!  

    One minute later, the reporter for the Ellsworth Herald entered the gallery.  I answered all of her questions.  She took a few photos inside of the gallery.  Then I asked her if she could take a photo of me infront of the gallery outside.  I think the interview went well.  I wasn't nervous at all. 

    After all of the excitement, it did take awhile for me to settle down to paint!  I need to retake the photo of today's painting.  It was after dark and so sometimes the colors are a little off.  It is a pretty painting.  There is some copper showing all over if you look closely.  I think it is elegant!  The Art Mentor told me Redfield painted this very spot on Monhegan Island.  It is near Swim Beach.  

  

     I thought I would tell you more about painting on copper.  I use 16 ounce copper panels.  There are several sources to purchase copper.  Sheet metal shops are the least expensive.  I sand down the copper panels in circular motions.  Any sand paper will do.  I like smooth or a little rougher.  You don't have to use any sand paper.  It just roughs up the surface a little so it is not like painting on glass.  Some medival artists used raw garlic with their fingers to smear all over the panel before they started to paint.  Some medival artists painted the panel before painting with a lead white ground.  I imagine some did this so they could better see a drawing. I use a fine felt tip pen to draw a preliminary drawing.

      I use Gamblin oil paints with Le Franc Titanium white.  I don't use any mediums or turpenoid to thin the paint normally except during the Winter.  Then my choice is Liquin.  Liquin seems to work best in temperatures lower than 35 degrees.  I do use turpenoid to clean my brush.  I have tried turpentine but I couldn't concentrate with the strong odor present. 

     I find using kolinsky brushes works best on the copper.  I like Old Holland flat kolinsky brushes.  I also do like kolinsky filberts by Dick Blick.  I love kolinsky watercolor riggers.  I have not been able to find any of these lately.  I have tried a Winsor Newton synthetic university rigger recently.  I always buy the smallest rigger possible.  A number 1 works great.  I think 2 and higher is too large.  Especially for a 5x7 panel!

    I like a covered plastic palette by Masterfield.  I like Richeson gray palette wax paper.  I can roll up the palette paper on location and put it in a bag.  I don't have to get oil paint all over my hands wiping a glass or wood palette clean.  I have run into problems with the wind and wax palette paper.  I have ended up with an entire palette paper full of oil paint flying into my face!  Yes, the paint and paper stuck to my face.  No, no one was around luckily to see this!

     I use a guerrillapainter.com 8x10 cigar box easel with a tripod.  I find a piece of guerrilla tape rolled and stuck to the inner lid of the cigar box secures any copper panel even up to a 30 mph wind gust!  I used two of these tape rolls.  I can reuse them for months.  I have not lost a painting since then!

     After I paint the painting, I use a guerrillapainter.com wet panel carrier.  If you call then and ask them for "seconds" you might save a lot of cash!  I have many of these wet panel carriers.  There is also a light weight very inexpensive carrier called a Handy Porter.  These are great too but need to be replaced once in a while. 

     I love my Schwin Baby Jogger that has 16 inch all terrain tires for any kind of trail!  I can carry all of my painting equipment and maybe someone elses!  This was an important find recently.  I went to Monhegan and was able to paint anywhere!  

     Oil paint on a copper panel dries at the same rate as an oil painting on wood or canvas.  When it finally dries, I take a finger nail and see if I can make an impression.  If not, I give the painting a final coating of a product by Gamblin, "Galkyd".  I called Gamblin Art Products and asked to speak to an art conservator.  She advised me to use this "Galkyd".  Galkyd is a non yellowing polymerized oil.  It seals the oil painting on copper and prevents oxygen from oxidizing the copper.  The copper under the galkyd will never turn green or brown.  This galkyd is a permanent finish.  They said I could also give the painting a coat of cold wax or watersoluble varnish. 

     Oil paintings on copper are framed just as any other painting.  Paintings on copper are very archival.  Copper has a few qualities unique such as thermal cohesive expansion being similar to the oil paint.  When the temperatures fluctuate, the copper and oil paint expand and contract at the same rate.  Painting on copper have very little cracks over time. 

     I hope you enjoyed this!  Get out and paint!  No excuses now!

  "Monhegan Seagull Eggs"  5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  SOLD to an amazing artist and gallery owner!  So pleased to have one of my paintings in her collection!  Duke and Daisy also thank you!

     I saw these eggs up on top of Monhegan Island at Whitehead.  I sat down to paint them.  I was a third of the way done when the seagull mom or dad sat down on the eggs!  I decided to just paint the seagull over these eggs.  I liked how this painting turned out and sold this one recently.  Here is a painting from a photograph of the scene before the seagull came around.  I had never seen seagull eggs before.  They are quite beautiful. 

    The nest in this painting was very fun to do on the copper panel.  I used a combination of translucent diox purple and Indian yellow to create a wonderful dark brown.  I painted the whole panel with a thin layer of this color.  When I painted the nest, I worked my darkest colors to lights.  Before I painted my lightest lights on the nest, I used a clean rigger dipped and dried off in turpenoid to lift up some dark brown paint.  This revealed some of the copper.  The copper still had enough of the dark brown paint but it looked like another dimension of grass within the darks.  The effect is very subtle.  This is just an amazing thing about painting on copper.  I haven't ever seen this quality with canvas or board.  The light sparkling from the copper under the paint looks like a type of reflective light in the darks. 

      I am thinking of paintings for the 5th Annual Invitational Fine Arts in Yarmouth at Skyline Farm.  Their theme of the exhibit in their carriage museum is "Homegrown".  I think seagull eggs would be in that category.   If you would like to own this nest painting, give me a call, (207) 479-9553!

  Today we headed to an art exhibit of Bjorn Runquist on Route 131 near Port Clyde.  We arrived almost at 2:00pm.  When we walked into the Grange Hall where the exhibit was taking place, Bjorn Runquist was there preparing for a talk.  He announced he never ever gives these talks.  I was thinking what luck it was to arrive right at the moment he was starting his talk.  Quite a coincidence.  Especially because I had not thought of attending his show until 12:00pm when I read my email from Sylvia, a friend and art collector, who advised me to go to the show today!  She was right!  Thanks Sylvia! 

    He painted four seagulls paintings.  They were all backlit with mostly lavender clouds in the sky. The colors were very pastel!  Infact all of his paintings were very pastel in color. There were two seagulls in each painting.  The titles contained a question one of the gulls was asking the other gull.  Their eyes were just a charocoal dash of paint.  Their legs were thinner and longer than normal.  Their legs contained more detail than their eyes.  One of their beaks had more detail.  The anatomy of the gull was very noticeable.  There was not very much of a highlight on the gulls.  The sky surrounding the gulls was very large in comparison to the gull.  It was fun seeing another artists take on a seagull.  His seagulls were graceful and peaceful. 

     He painted several series all shown in this show.   One series was the gulls.  Then he painted a local street scene series.  He painted a Monhegan Island scene series.  He also painted a sunset over the ocean series.  I noticed he sold half of these paintings which is very impressive.  He sold large and smaller works.  I couldn't help but notice the red dots on the Monhegan Island series. People do love Monhegan Island.  The sunset harbor scenes seemed to sell as well.  I was very curious whether the house street scenes sold as much.  I actually went back in a second time to look at this.  It seemed the top sellers were Monhegan Island, sunset over ocean with clouds and islands, and one gull.  I was happy to see him sell!  

     I heard him speak for a while before Daisy and Duke started to bark out in the car.  A few people were glancing around and Robert headed out the door to take care of them.  Runquist told how he had to repeat the second grade twice as he had difficulty reading.  He did later get a PHD.  He had private art lessons when he was seven from an excentric elderly man named Neil.  Neil had no time to cut wood and so he just dragged in a tree limb and stuck one end into the fire.  Runquist and his teacher would sometimes sit on this tree limb, draw or look at art books.   He did talk about his interest in simplifying subjects.  He also talked about wanting to do abstracts again.  

     We head to Port Clyde next!  Daisy and Duke wanted to swim.  Here are photos of Port Clyde.





     I hope you had an exciting day!  I know I was going to tell you all about painting on copper!  Tomorrow maybe!

     I am getting outside to paint tomorrow!  I hope you do too!
 

  "Red Holly Hocks in Thuya Garden"  5x7 Oil on Copper Panel.  250$ framed and shipped.

                                  

     Today I went to Thuya Gardens on Mount Desert Island.  Thuya is latin for White Cedar.  There are White Cedar trees all over Thuya gardens.  There are amazing hand carved wood doors at you enter Thuya Gardens.  These gardens are in it's height of beauty in August according to the head gardener Priscilla.  I always ask permission to paint where ever I go first!  Mainers really appreciate this respect and courtesy.  I asked Priscilla many years ago for permission to paint in her beautiful gardens.  She told me as long as I pick an obscure location to paint, turn off my cell phone, and do not do any commercial activity, I can paint in Thuya Gardens! 

     The last time I painted in Thuya, I had a nice 8x10 painting I was finishing up.  Priscilla came over and loved it.  She told two other gardeners to come see the painting.  A really nice, soft spoken male gardener was admiring the painting when a huge gust of wind blew my painting off the easel down into the palette!  I picked up the painting, but it was covered with all colors of paint!  Ruined completely.  The gardener said sensitively, "I am going to cry! It was so beautiful!  I have to walk away!"  Today he recognized me and we talked again about that painting.  He was so suprised I wasn't upset when the painting was ruined.  In fact I didn't really react at all!  I told him it happened to me a lot.  But now I use guerrilla tape from home depot!  I roll up a bit of guerrilla tape and stick this to my easel.  Then I put my panel up there to stick on this tape.  Never had any problems with a painting flying off into my palette since!  Works great! 

     I noticed the visitors of Thuya Gardens spelled like fresh soap today!  I am used to tourists smelling a little ripe on Park Loop Road as they have been hiking!  The gardener noticed this too.  We laughed about this!  Sometimes the soap aroma was stronger than the flowers!  She thought it was because it was a cooler day!  Here are some photos of Thuya!







     I would have liked to paint a close up of one of these lilys!  Maybe tomorrow!  I am enjoying painting outside!  I hope you give it a try!   Have a great day!

  "Early Autumn At Somesville Bridge"  5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  Sold.

                                Call (207)479-9553 if you love it and must have it!

  Here I am painting this painting at the Somesville Bridge!  Weather is great right now!  68 degrees!  Listening to classical music to block out the traffic noise!  Wonderful day!




     Today I headed to Mount Desert Island.  I was on my way to Bass Harbor to paint boats.  I saw the Somesville Bridge lit up by the sun and stopped!   There were a few maple leaves turned red already!   I have painted this bridge many times.  This is the most photographed bridge in Maine.  It is not an old bridge.  It was built by Somesville residents in the 1960's.  It is a pretty bridge.  The white building on the left is really old.  The Somesville selectmen meet in this building.  There use to be a mill located on this brook. 

     I have learned from experience to paint my bridge first before putting the dark water and foliage around it.  The light greys and whites from the bridge get mixed with the dark blue greens or dark violets otherwise.  It is more difficult to get lights on the bridge.  So now I just paint the bridge first.  Then I paint around the whites.  I still do have to restate my highlights on the bridge many times.  It is just so much easier this way.  I paint my seagulls and my chickens the same way.  I paint my lightest white with Le franc titanium white.  This white is so bright!  My Gamblin Titanium white is grey in comparison!  I know you are suppose to paint your darks first with oils.  But this works for me.  I get really white whites this way! 

     After painting all day at Somesville Bridge I headed for Bass Harbor.  On the way there I spotted a beaver swimming in the pond near Seawall Campground.  I hiked over to where I saw the beaver.  I was suprised to find a family of beavers.  They didn't seem to mind me taking photos of them at all!  They were busy chewing on rose hips.  Local Mainers boil rose hips.  Rose hips are high in vitamin C.  I ate a bite of one when I first moved to Maine.  I know what you are thinking, "Of course she did!"  I do like to eat things in the wild.  I am getting a little wiser at what NOT to eat!  Here are beaver photos!

  Here was an adult beaver curiously watching me!

  The adult beaver was cutting down rose hips or wild rose bushes.

  His tail was flat and had an beautiful design!

  After cutting down a piece of rose hips, he marched right on by me.  I was not three feet away!  Busy beaver!

  He swam off with his limb.  He went over to his little fort.

  Here is a baby beaver.  He swam in circles watching me. He was muching on rose hips while his 5 other beaver family members worked hard!   He was not even 5 pounds.  Very cute.  Beautiful hair!

  Here is the baby beaver.  It was amazing to watch the activities!

Be like a beaver!  Get out and paint!

  "Zipodeedodah!"  5x7 Oil on copper panel. SOLD To a really great artist and friend!  Thanks James!

     Today I drove to Morrill, Maine to paint on a chicken and cow farm!  It was a hot day here, at 88 degrees!  I set up to paint by this beautiful red chicken coop.  There were a lot of beautiful chickens to keep me company.  There were also two cats.  The owner of the farm, Denise, had warned me there is one nice cat and one mean cat who bites!  I met the nice cat who rolled around by my feet and purred.  Then I was already to paint.  My easel was set up and umbrella up.  A big white cat jumped in my lap.  He wouldn't move!  I think this was the mean cat although he seemed friendly.

  He was facinated with the shiny copper panel.  He wanted me to pet him but I decided not to.  I didn't want to get bitten.  Finally he jumped off me and walked over to the watering area. 

  Even the black hen looked a little alarmed as he walked up to him!

  Here is the chicken coop I was going to paint.  It is a beautiful scene.  There are four different types of ducks who walk all over in a straight line.  They have this ritual of drinking in the baby pool then walking over to the chicken coop and then through the fence into the field.  Really cute ducks.





  Interesting the face of a chicken.  When I first arrived at the farm a few of the chickens were laying on fallen green apples.  I think they were trying to hatch these apples.  I went home without painting.  I did take a lot of photos and I had fun.  I went home to paint "Zipadeedodah!".  


     I was also invited to show my paintings at Skyline Farm.  They have a 5,500 square foot museum of carriages.  The paintings will be displayed on the walls for 11 weekends.  The Portland newspaper covers this event.  Many people turn out and purchase paintings.  40% of the proceeds goes to the Skyline Farm.  This will be a great event to participate in!

     I hope you had a great day!  Get out and paint!

    "Three Goats on Manana Island"  5x7 Oil on copper panel.  sold

     There are goats now on Manana island!  I was suprised to see many goats following tourists around over on Manana Island!  I took this photo from Monhegan Island with my zoon lens.  I liked how the grass was turning gold.  I used The Art Mentor's technique of square brush strokes of many colors in the sky.  Before The Art Mentor, I did paint all skies blue.  The Art Mentor paints his sky the last so he can design the sky around the rest of the painting.  He uses a lot of tans and red in the sky.  He always says it is easy to have blue in a sky, but not easy to get other tans and reds in.  I really am starting also to love my large flat brushes.  I ordered a size 14 kolinsky Old Holland flat!  I am using a size 12 with ease now.  Finally.  

     When I was painting on Monhegan at Fish beach, a lady said she was amazed at how large of a brush I was using to paint the whole 5x7 painting!  I told her I was using brush control!  She asked what this meant.  I told her I was using different techniques to get different strokes with this large brush.  I used the tip of the flat brush for lines.  I used the corner of the flat brush for a dab. I used the entire side of the brush for a large block in.  She was mystified by this!  Ha ha.  That was fun!  I also told her that I was using the end of the handle to hold my brush.  She had not thought of that!  What a good trick!  She was not sure about all of the tans and peaches in the sky until I went in with some light blues ontop of this!  Then she liked this.  I do too.

     Many years ago there were sheep living on Manana.  There was a hermit from New York who lived in a house with his sheep.  The sheep were allowed to come inside his house.  During the Winter, he used their dung to fuel the wood stove.  The sheep also heated up his house.  Each night the hermit would light a lantern to signal someone of Monhegan Island he was ok.  But one night there was no signal.  The man on Monhegan Island rowed out to see the hermit.  The hermit had pneumonia.  He didn't want any kind of help and so he died.  I have been over to Manana to paint once.  It is very peaceful there.  The light is amazing.  It is hard to imagine someone living for years with a bunch of sheep on Manana.  

       I worked on "Monhegan Siamese" more today.   sold

      I just put a highlight on the siamese's tail.  I sold this painting to a couple who lives on Monhegan who owns this siamese cat and the skiff to the left.  My last night on Monhegan Island at sunset I was sitting on a picnic table watching the sun go down.  I wasn't painting.  I was just watching which is unusual for me!  Especially on Monhegan!  I saw a man rowing up from Manana Island.  I took a few photos of him.  When he got out of his skiff on Fishbeach I asked him a few questions.  He had paint on his pants.  He said he was an abstract painter.  I asked him if he did abstracts of Monhegan Island.  He said he did.  I wondered how he did this.  I really wondered how they would look!  But he said the images just come out with in!  I asked his name.  He then asked me who I might be.  I told him and he laughed because he had been reading my blog for a while.  He knew my art professor at Stetson University.  He had been bartenders with him in New York. I remembered back when Professor Gary Bolding would talk about his friend, a fellow bartender during our painting class.  He would reminisce about his single bartending days in New York while he attended the New York Artist Students  League. 

      It is such a small world.  I am beginning to think I am suppose to be exactly where I am so I can meet specific people.   The next day I met his wife and showed them a few of my finished works. They loved them.  So now he will own this painting.  He is an accomplish art professor and writer.  I am very delighted to have a work in his collection. 

        Here is another Frederick Waugh seascape.  

     I was reading my out of print book called, "Frederick Waugh, American Marine Painter" by George Havens.

     I really liked Waugh's advice to art students:  "Acquire the habit of constant observation, whether of the sea or of anything else you see.  You will never regret it.  Give all the time you can ungrudgingly to this constant observation.  You do not have to be always drawing of things, get down into them like children among the daisies.  If you really love nature, she will love you and teach you far more than any human creature can do.  But it is good also to have human instruction.  It saves a lot of time sometimes.

"It is a good plan to begin by looking at the general tone of the sea as compared with the sky, and striving, without painting the details, to paint the single mass of plain sea water against the sky in its right relation, both in value and color.  Then try to paint a plain wave rising out of the mass of water.  Then try a white cap.  Don't try too many things at once.  Later your mind will become more elastic and, like the juggler, you will presently be able to do several things at once.

"To paint the sea, you must love it, and to love it, you must know the sea!"  

     So I guess you know what that means!  You have to get outside to observe and paint!  
 

    

  "Monhegan Siamese" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  Sold to the owner of the cat and skiff!  Amazing!

     While I was visiting Monhegan last week I was painting a fishhouse on fishbeach.  I saw this beautiful siamese come out near the Oar House.  He sat on the deck watching me for a few moments.  I started to take his picture.  He danced over these skiffs and kayaks.  I was completely mesmerized by this cat!  I had some photos developed when I came home.  It wasn't until I was almost finished with this painting when I realized why this image was so important to paint.  I had two siamese cats growing up.  Pierre and Fee-Fee.  We had them for years.  They were my best friends.  They had kittens.  I would walk in the woods with them in North Carolina.  Fee-Fee would wait for me to catch up.  I took them in a brown bag in my bicycle basket for a bike ride!  I even dressed them in doll clothes!

     One morning I woke up to find them both gone.  My Mom had found them a home by putting an ad in the newspaper.  I never was able to say good bye to my cat friends.  I had forgotten about my Pierre and Fee-Fee.   My memories of them are such happy memories! 

 

Frederick Waugh's "Sea-Ward"  I discovered this painting of Waugh's on a Museum site.  I forgot which one! 

     I was reading my book " Frederick Waugh , American Marine Painter" by George Haven last night!  I found a few interesting details about Waugh painting on Monhegan Island.  Waugh rented a cottage which belonged to a former sea captain, Dan Stevens, who for many years had been the lighthouse keeper.  The cottage Waugh rented was right on the rocky shore near Lobster Cove.  There was an art exhibit on Monhegan held in the studio of Bert Poole.  Eighteen artists were allowed to show two paintings.  George Bellows who was 32, Frederick Waugh, Coulton who was 18, S.P. Rolt Triscott then 68, were a few of these artists.  George Bellows played the snare drums vigorously in the local 18-piece cornet band, all members of which were decked out in a special uniform consisting of a bandsman's cap! 

    I found it interesting Waugh kept some canvases, an easel, and a paintbox in an abandoned shack which then stood on the Monhegan rocks of the eastern shore below the bold promontory of White Head.  I have hiked to White Head.  I recently was able to take all of my painting equipment in the Scwinn Baby Jogger up to these cliffs!  Next time I go to Monhegan I will try to climb down to inspect the area below White Head.  I know there is no longer any fish shack there.  It will be fun just to stand near there to see the view where Waugh painted!

     Waugh became very interested in painting fog scenes during the Summer of 1914 on Monhegan.  He painted several fog scenes from Dan Stevens cottage.  Waugh painted the surf near "The Washerwoman" a set of rocks known by this name.  He also hiked to Black head, and Squeaker Cove where the ocean becomes a boiling cauldron in the time of a storm. 

     During the Summer of 1914, Waugh became facinated with twisted tree root sticks.  He started to collect them and draw them.  He putblished a book called, "The Clan of Munes"  This book I saw on a used book site for sale at 700$!  The sales person wrote he did not know what was stranger, the drawings or the writings.  

      I hope you have a great night!  Get out and paint!

  "3:00 P.M."  Oil on Copper panel.  sold

     I was invited to paint with John Caggiano, and two of his friends.  We met in Bar Habor in the center of town.  It was very hot outside for Maine, 86 degrees.  I was pleased to have my Schwin Baby Jogger to load up my equipment.  Parking was difficult to find.  Every tourist seemed to be shopping and eating ice cream!  I had to walk a few blocks but with the baby jogger carrying my equipment, I was so pleased! 

     John and one of his friends set up in the park.  I wanted to paint this town clock.  It is very old!  The date on the clock says it is from the late 1800's.  It is really beautiful.  I drew a few sketches of the clock.  I knew it was going to be difficult.  There were so many cars, people, shops, trees!  I was going to have to abbreviate and eliminate for a 5x7 painting. 

  Here is John painting in the park.  He works on one painting for a few days at the same location and the same time of the day.  It was coming along nicely.  His friend was nearby painting away. 

     I painted in a truck with a bicycle on the left of my painting.  A man came up and looked with his wife.  She looked irritated.  She told her husband, "I can't believe she painted in our truck!"  He said to her, "I know!"  He looked irritated too.  I couldn't understand this.  I thought this was weird.  Who cares?  It is just a truck and a bicycle!  It was a hot day.  I just smiled and said, "Nice truck!"  What else was I going to say?  Did they want me to erase their truck and bike out of my painting?  Forget it.  Not going to happen!  Luckily they just walked off.  It was a little weird down in Bar Harbor where the shops were.  I think I prefer to be near the water anyway! 

     I am going to stay home tomorrow and open Lammers Gallery on US Route 1 in Bucksport!  Near by?  Come and say hello!
Have a great night!  Hope you get out and paint!  Ask permission before you paint in someones vehicle!  Hee Hee

  "Acadia Wave" 5x7 Oil on Copper panel. sold

     Today I decided to open my art gallery, Lammers Gallery, and paint inside of my studio!  It was overcast here in Maine today.   I enjoyed myself listening to Josh Groban's music while I painted waves from photos!  I have been studying Frederick Waugh's seascapes.  An out of print book entitled, "Frederick J. Waugh, American Marine Painter" by George R. Havens came in the other day.  This is the only book about the life and works of Waugh around. I believe Frederick J. Waugh is the best seascape artist!   I have also been reading several other seascape painting books.  The Art Mentor did a demo in my driveway a week ago.  So I have seen how to paint waves by a great artist!  For those of you who have just started to read my blog, The Art Mentor is one of America's top landscape painters.  He likes to remain anonymous.  He has been painting with me for several weeks. During these weeks, he teaches me all he knows about painting.    He has been on vacation recently!  So today I decided to work on waves from a few photographs!  I wonder what he will think of these!  

    "Pounding Surf at Acadia"  5x7 Oil on Copper panel.  SOLD! 

     Painting waves are really fun!  I was happy with how these came out.  I have only painted four waves paintings now.  I can see myself painting more waves!  Painting waves is relaxing compared to painting houses.  Waves are almost abstract.  I am concentrating on painting the wave's form. 

     I was reading about Waugh today before I started to paint waves.  George Haven's writes that a Stephen Jerome Ferris, a student of Waugh's and a devoted admirer of his father's, wrote to Waugh.  "Have you finished your "Marine" yet?  Fred, I thought you were going in for figures lately..when I hear that you have commenced another "Marine".  My only comment is Carracho!".  This letter was written to Waugh when he was twenty. 

   Haven's writes, "During the course of his several trips across the Atlantic, Waugh had of course been studying the subject of moving water.  It was natural for him to observe keenly everything connected with the outdoors.  He had made tentative drawing of waves.  But it was one thing to paint a quiet landscape which obligningly keeps all its varied elements still, or very nearly so, and something quite different to draw those slippery and gleaming surfaces, continually in motion, which present a fascinating picture for a single second, only to turn into another manifestation a moment later.  Quite possible, Waugh must have thought, that was why no one yet had really mastered the structure of waves, at least to his knowledge and in the way he saw them.  All his attempts to make pictures of moving water, in those days, dissolved like the foam itself.  The thing appeared too provokingly difficult.  If a man only had more time for direct observation!"

   Haven's continues, "Yet the idea remained.  One day Waugh ran across a friend who had just spent a vacation on the island of Sark in the Channel Islands not far from the French coast.  His friend described the bold cliffs and the turbulence of the sea below.  As Waugh listened, it suddenly occurred to him that such an island ought to be an ideal spot to work quietly on this mystery of water, to discover its secret patiently, little by little.  A holiday in Sark!  A bit too expensive, he thought, and so the matter rested.

     But them came a quite unexpected reward for the picture the young artist had presented to the little Episcopal Chapel of St. Luke's.  The rector, Mr. Newell, had taken a keen personal interest in the young Waugh and his new wife.  Sensing with sympathetic understanding that Waugh, who had been working har, was getting tired of city life, the minister offered to help him finance a needed vacation in return for the painting installed in the chancel.  Here at last was his longed for trip to Sark, a beginning perhaps of his dream of painting the sea!"

     Interesting how Frederic Waugh was able to study the sea.  I thought you may like to read a little of this hard to come by book!  Exciting.  Tomorrow I will write a few paragraphs of his experiences on the island Sark learning how to paint the sea.

  "Down at Swim Beach"  5x7 Sold.  I was down at Swim Beach my last day on Monhegan, August 2.  Normally I just paint.  This trip I had a baby jogger which enabled me to bring more equipment and finished paintings inside of a scrapebox.  I use craft store white felt in between each finished copper painting to protect them.  The black scrape box I placed on a tripod stool with a few business cards with a rock holding them down.  I placed one painting on a white piece of felt.  People walked up and were drawn to this display.  They looked at the finished painting and said appreciative remarks.  I then stopped painting, walked over to them, and asked them if they might like to see more finished paintings.  They always said, "Why sure!"  Then I showed them ten more paintings, gave them a business card, and told them why I painted on copper.  They were all very facinated about the copper.  I answered their questions about the copper painting process.  I finally sold a painting.  Later that buyer really liked "Down at Swim Beach".  He said he would buy this painting if I decided how much I wanted for it.  So I was very pleased!  I really liked this painting.  Here I am painting this painting!  You can see the baby jogger I am using! 





     While I was doing this painting, I learned something valueable.  It is very difficult to draw a large scene on a 5x7 panel outdoors.  I would draw the red house but had no room for the ocean!  After five attempts, I stood there analyzing my problem with placement.  I found a solution for this problem.  I drew a circle the same size I wanted the red house to be.  Inside this circle I them drew the red house!  It worked.  I had enough water room.  The circle helped me shrink down the scene infront of me!  I think I will do this all of the time now! 

     Here are a few photos of Monhegan.  It is a beautiful place.  I hope you will get to go there! 





     John Caggiano is here visiting us!  He is so much fun.  We all love John.  He has been painting on Mount Desert Island almost everyday.  He has really good work ethics.  He also has great skin.  He finally told us his skin secret!  He uses Lubriderm after talking a shower two times a day.  Literally John has not a wrinkle on his neck.  I purchased Lubriderm, and Robert and I are both doing John's ritual.  Soon I hope, I too will have radiant skin!  We shall see.  Lubriderm!  

     I love to hear your comments!  If you want any of these paintings, give me a call, (207) 479-9553. 

    I think I will stay in my studio tomorrow and have my Lammers Gallery open all day!  Come by and say hello!  Get outside and paint!