Artist Renee Lammers

   I have been having a great time working on this painting!

It is a 20x26 oil on copper of a snow scene in Stonington, Maine from Church Street.

My plan is to finish the main house then take a ruler to straighten up a few lines!

I really like how it is coming along!

   I boiled dried black eyed peas with ham today.

There is a custom to eat black eyed peas on New Year's Day.

Poppy ate the most of all of us.

She had this serious yin for them!

Who would have know Poppy would love black eyed peas?

She ate eight cups of them and was still going strong!

Robert was second in the black eyed pea consumption.

I came in third place, Lily, then Monet last.

Monet is a strictly meat and potato type of dog.

   There is good news for Luke!  He has no tumors seen from an abdominal ultrasound!

His liver enzyme, ALT, came down from 259 to 209!  Normal is 150. 

The vet said salt and copper can cause the liver to produce liver enzymes.

Ted is feeding him canned liver diet dog food. 

Luke loves it!  I hope Luke continues to get better.

I did see him play today.

He looks healthy.

  Robert took this amazing photo at the end of Sandy Point Beach while walking the dogs.

I don't venture out very often in this cold weather.

It might be the ice I am afraid of the most! 

Happy New Year!  Good night.

   I walked by this 20x26 painting sitting on a shelf in my gallery.

I realized a change in the painting needed to be made. 

The photo above is the painting after changes were made.

"Stonington's Church Street View" 20x26 oil on copper.  Doesn't exist any longer!

Here is the painting before changes were made!

   I had made two design errors.

1.  I created a hedge or a barrier in the foreground preventing the viewer from entering or exiting.

2.  I had a very dark line at the base of the house on the right that drew attention.

John Singer Sargent would never paint a dark line at the base of a wall.  He would run the paint

from the ground up into the wall to conceal this dark line.  A dark line can be the center of interest

and steal the show from the real center of interest.

I resolved the barrier by getting rid of it.  I sanded down the hedge.  I painted over it.

I resolved the dark line at the base of the wall by painting over it!

The painting is better.  I will let it rest for a few days. 

   Here is a new start of a painting on copper 20x26. 

This painting will be a snow scene in Stonington. 

The view in Stonington is from Church Street. 

I do love mansard roofs.

  We did get a few inches of snow then it rained. 

 Here is the view from a window in my house at 5:00am. 

   This is how Monet and I spent time during the snow storm! 

Robert took this nice photo.  Good night!

   This is a self portrait painted by Henri Fantin-Latour.

I am reading a book called "Fantin-Latour by Druick Hoog.

The Chapter entitled Still-life 1861-1869 is of interest.

   This is one of Henri Fantin-Latour's flower paintings.

   Here is one of my favorite flower paintings by Henri Fantin-Latour.

Henri had been painting self portraits.  He visited a friend Haden in Surrey, England

where he painted many 'quick sketches' or another word 'pochades' of flowers. 

Haden decided to hang these flower paintings in his new house. 

    Henri returned from his trip to England and Paris where he abandoned self portraiture.

He decided to work with the still life in particular flowers. 

1.  Still life provided a subject he could develop his powers of observation.

2.  Flower paintings allowed him a source of income.

3.  The subject allowed for a greater degree of experimentation with color, texture, form, and composition.

Fantin called these flower paintings, "the great efforts"

He painted these paintings in rapid succession.

"What I am doing now seems to me to be better than anything I have ever done" October 1861.

Sales were brisk.

"Ever since I have been able to get rid of them it has seemed to me like a business, I have

felt like an art dealer...Never have I had more ideas about Art in my head, and yet I am forced

to do flowers.  While painting them - standing before the peonies and roses - I think of Michelangelo.

This cannot go on" May 1862. 

A few months later his depression lifted. He happily wrote to Whisler, " still life was a wonderful

thing". 

His response to the still life varied with critical response, fatigue, and the pressures of working for the market.

These paintings of flowers are so beautiful.

We are expecting a major storm!  I can see snowflakes beginning to fall.

We are getting a lot of snow to paint!  Yahoo!

Good night!

"Stonington's Spring Promise" 20x26 oil on copper 1750$ framed in your choice of

gold or black with gold frames.  Shipping is included in the price.

   What motivated me to paint larger?

I wanted to grow as an artist! 

     I once loved watching the series "Monk".   Monk was the same person during the entire series.

I lost interest in watching this series.   I wish Monk had been cured of his OCD.  I would have loved this.

I wanted to see Monk grow as a person. 

      I was thinking about this one day.  I don't want to be like "Monk".

  I don't want to be doing the same thing year after year.   So I did it!  I started to paint big!

     Painting large is fun but it is also nerve wracking.  I can be like "Monk" in a way.

I have an eye for detail.  I can over analyze and abandon every single image to paint.

I know after time painting larger will be easier.  I just need to keep working. 

I make changes in the large paintings as I encounter problems. 

     I am looking forward to painting more larger works this next year. 

I hope to start these paintings on location and then tweak them in my studio.

I would also love to paint larger ink with watercolors plein air. 

I will continue to paint smaller plein air paintings but less frequently.

I would love to travel to new Maine islands this year to paint.

"Sunday Afternoon at Owls Head Marina" 20x26 oil on copper 1750$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping is included in the price.

   Robert took the dogs to Lake Alamoosook a few days ago at 5:00am.  Here is another one

of his beautiful photos.  Good Night!

   I took a better photo of the painting I am currently working on.  I didn't take it outside yet!

I am going to finish the painting tonight!

   Robert has a game camera set up in the location where he is feeding dry dog food to a Mother Fox.

We hear a baby Fox or the Mother Fox crying at 3:30am or 5:00am.  This morning the animal

was shivering with it's call.  It is so sad to hear this animal suffering.

I like Robert's idea of the dry dog food and the game camera.

So far we have captured a lot of crows dining.

One squirrel was caught on the camera.  Robert has relocated the camera to a lower position!

Interesting photos. 

I hope the fox or foxes catch on to the food.

   I have been studying Birge Harrison's book written in 1909 entitled,  "Landscape Painting".

1.  "Don't repeat the main line of your picture with another important line parallel to it."

Example:  A mountain swings to the left.  Make sure the clouds swing to the right.

2.  The sky can sweep in any direction.  The sky can be used to balance any composition.  The

solid earth's lines are more difficult to modify. 

3.  The psychological effect of this living line is the most potent and mysterious thing in art.

4.  All rules can be broken.  The rule never have two subjects in one painting can not be disregarded.

5.  A house divided against itself falls to the ground. 

6.  Do not crowd your composition.  The center of interest needs breathing space.

    Keep them away from the edge.

7.  Do not put into the painting any single unnecessary feature.

    Chapter 8 Quality

1.  Alfred Stevens said a great painting must excel from two different points of view.

a.  The painting must be seen at a distance to have nice color, composition, and a trueness of nature.

b.  Up close the painting should reveal jewel-like surface from the pigments used.

2.  Jean Francois Millet said he disliked quality to a painting.  If one was concerned with quality

then they were no better than an artisan or a jeweler. 

3.  Birge Harrison thought both of these artists were wrong. 

a.  Millet was obsessed with the 'thing to be said' in the painting.

A course surface in Millet's painting helped to convey the message.

b.  Harrison thought the intrinsic beauty of work decided the value, not the size, mood, or character.

4.  "In the garden of art there are many mansions."

Good night!

    Luke and Ted came for Christmas Lunch. 

Luke decided this large black bear might be good to take home. 

He guarded the bear.  Monet was about ready to leap onto Luke to retrieve his Christmas toy!

The bear had to be put outside. 

Monet was starting to be upset about his bear being stolen by Luke!

   Chances are if you were to visit the Lammers house, our dog Monet, would sit on you.

He loves to be massaged and brushed by anyone.

    Robert took this photo. 

Lily was hilarious today.

I took a dozen hamburger buns out of the freezer.

Lily found the bread. 

She grabbed the bag, ran down to where Monet, Poppy, Luke, and Ted were.

She made her funny little growl howling noise as she approached them carrying her bag like Santa!

Ted said, "Look Lily has a big bag of something!"

I told him about the bread  We both laughed watching Lily make her rounds.

She loves to do this.

We always ask, "What does she have now?

Monet waited till Lily gave him bread.

Poppy came over and grabbed bread.

Luke had some bread.

I think Ted was even offered some bread!

All the hamburger  buns were eaten.

   I made a Hungarian dish called Chicken Peppericasha or something like that.

     I followed a recipe but tweaked the dumplings.  I love this stuff!

  Lily used self control during lunch but that was because she was sleeping next to Luke!

    We were eating pumpkin pie when Lily jumped into my lap at the dinner table.

We all thought Lily was hilarious!  What was she up to?

As I put the fork to my mouth loaded with pumpkin pie, my sweet Lily's head

moved right next to mine.  I took a bite off the fork and Lily did too!

I have never ever shared a forkful of pumpkin pie with a dog.

I told Lily she would need to learn better dining habits if she ever was visiting my

Mom and Dad in Florida.  My Mom would not let her sit on someone's lap and eat

off their fork!  My Dad would probably laugh.  My Mom would throw Lily outside in

the backyard.  Lily didn't listen to me and had another few bites of pumpkin pie.

Oh well it is Christmas!

Lily cleaned all the crumbs off the tablecloth, she cleaned off everyone's plate,

so no dishes had to be washed!  What a dog!

We are lucky to have a dog friendly guest such as Ted.

Robert had a great time watching Lily's theatrical pranks.

Monet and Poppy were sleeping off chicken, dumplings, and bread!

Luke had a little bit of everything as well.  He was super hungry.

  Lily even wore her Miss Santa hat. 

    All I need to do with this 20x26 oil on copper painting is to paint a few ropes!

I decided to use Quinacridone Red after all.  I missed all the beautiful lavenders.

   The entire interior of the white dory was made up.  I could not paint the dory

as it was with the blue tarp covering the dory.  I decided on the position of the oars

then added an old fashion life preserver and ropes.  

Like Robert said, "You are an artist, you can just make it up, you can do it."

The white dory looks good. 

I will finish the painting tomorrow!

       I tried out a new Rosemary Brush called Ivory Rigger number 2. 

This rigger brush does incredible tree limbs or other straight lines. 

 I am very grateful for everything.

Good night.  Merry Christmas!

   Robert and I wrapped all the doggy presents!

We put them in a big box.  Here is Monet with a red bear!

    We all thought this was great fun! 

   Lily put her head into the box, found a wrapped bone, unwrapped the bone, and promptly ate it!

She could have cared less about any other presents.  She just wanted her big raw hide bone!

We even set a few toys beside her but no reaction. That bone was the best!

  Poppy was too afraid.  Robert sat down and showed her a few presents.

He unwrapped a raw hide bone, ball, teddy bear. 

Poppy admired them but I think she was afraid of Monet's glare.

Poppy is a very delicate sensitive dog with extreme intelligence.

She waited till Monet brought a raw hide bone outside later in the evening and stole it!

   Monet grabbed as many toys as possible.  He put them in his bed to guard and fell asleep.

The excitement was just too much for Monet.  Lily chewed on her bone.  Poppy wanted

to play outside.

   It was so much fun. 

   Monet is the oldest but he needs the most toys..so he thinks. 

He will share the toys with the girls later because he needs someone to play with!

  Robert took this amazing photo of Lake Alamoosook at 5:30am.

   Here is the progress on my 20x26 oil on copper painting of Stonington.

I am only using three colors this time.  (Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Red Light, and Cadmium Yellow Light)

Titanium White is being used too but painters do not think of white as a color.

It is very interesting using just these three.  I miss all the beautiful purples I make with the

Quinacridone Red.   

   I hope you have a Merry Christmas! 

I will resume the study of Birge Harrison's book, "Landscape Painting".  1909 tomorrow!

Good Night.

Painting By Birge Harrison

I continued my study of Birge Harrison's book written in 1909 called, "Landscape Painting".

Here are a few interesting thoughts concerning Values, Drawing, and Composition:

Chapter 5 Values

1.   Concerning values, the most important thing for an artist to do is the choose the right key of the painting.

Will the values look best brilliant or high key?  This painting will use light values only.

Will the values be in the middle key? 

Will the values be low key to create mystery?

2.   If the artist uses all the values in the painting it will not have atmosphere or mood.

"It would indeed be a crudity and a horror, from which we would flee with hands on high."

3.  The upper middle range best suits the majority of the paintings.

4.  Concerning mural decoration, restriction of scale of values, mandatory.

The plane of the flat wall must not be destroyed, architectural unity will suffer, and

the strength of the wall is gone.

5.  Easel picture, the scale of values used is the opposite of the mural.  Artists desire

to annihilate the flat surface, create illusion, atmosphere, and convey and impression.

6.  "Nature never exhausts her value-scale.  Even in most violent effects, she will always

hold plenty in reserve.  And so far as is possible with our limited scale, we should do the same."

7.  After deciding on a value scale and register for the painting, visualize the subject, and group the

values into large simple masses.

"See big!  Grab the essentials, and leave the little thing for any foolish person who chooses to gather

them up.  Detail is so blatant, so insistent, that it takes years of hard training to see beyond it, to

appreciate essential bigness of things."

8.  To train an artist's eye to simplify, study the moonlight, for in the moonlight effects, the broad

masses alone are visible, shadows lie all over the picture in one big soft value.  The lights are distributed

in 2 or 3 values at the most, and nowhere are there details.

9.  Values could be compared to a human's skeleton.  Without the values or the skeleton, the whole fabric

of beauty would fall to the earth in a shapeless mass.

Chaper 6 Drawing

1.  Holbein and Leonardo are the most important examples of drawing. 

2. " Drawing is the grammar of art."

3.  Most great artists devote 4-5 years exclusively to drawing before painting.

4.  Learn to draw by drawing nude models in the classroom.  This is the best way to learn.

An artist could take too much liberty drawing trees because the character would still be

preserved if the branch were a foot off.  The model's knee needs to be within an inch perfectly drawn.

5.  When the student appears with a bad landscape drawing, send him into town to draw the figure.

6.  Have an outdoor figure painting class at every art school. 

Chapter 7  Composition

1.  Do not say two things on a canvas.  Choose one central point of interest.

Example.  In a landscape with a pool or stream.

  The stream's reflections will be more beautiful than the landscape.

The reflection should be painted as the central point of interest. 

Example is Fritz Thaulow's painting of the swirling water.

Suppress the landscape and make the water the central point.

The human mind can only concentrate on one focal point.

2.  Don't divide the painting into equal sizes and proportions.

There is a psychological reason, no explanation, the human mind

hates equal division of space in any painting.

Do not put a horizontal line or subject in the center of the painting.

Decide whether the horizontal line should be high or low.

3.  A low horizon line is best because the vast sky lends to nobility.

Eliminating the sky or limiting the sky tends to convert the painting into a still life.

4.  Don't paint anything into a painting that doesn't explain itself.

If you need a pamphlet by your frame to explain the subject then do not paint it.

   Have a good night!  Hope you enjoyed the information written by Birge Harrison.

  Painting by Birge Harrison

    I found an out of book print available to read online at the University of Toronto.

The book is written by Birge Harrison called, "Landscape Painting" 1909.

I have only read the first four chapters.  Here are a few interesting bits from his book.

1.  Humans can only see 1/4 of the colors in nature.  We can not see above the ultr-violet band or below

the infa-red.  Humans in the future might be able to see a greater amount of colors as their eyes evolve.

2.  He states there are four methods of oil painting.

a.  Method used by the old masters.  A solid underpainting in black, white, slight red was done.  The underpainting

was allowed to dry thoroughly.  Thin glazes of color were painted over the solid dry surface to form the landscape.

There was no vibration or true feeling of light in these paintings.

There was a problem with the underpainting coming through over time and canceling out all the opalescent top colors.

b.  Second method.  Mixtures of tones were applied evenly, smoothly, flat like masses similar as a person

painting their house.  No vibration was in these painting.  No light.

c.  Impressionist method called spot and dash method.  Pure pigments were placed next to each other

in dashes or spots.  There was no reproduction of surfaces. 

d.  He thought the fourth method was best.  Cool overtones were painted freshly into a warm undertone, care

being taken not to mix or blend the two coats and not to cover up completely the undertone.  Let the undertone

show through broken all over the canvas.  Vibration is created by warm and cool under and over tones. 

3.  He warns against broken values.  He writes broken values must be avoided because it destroys the atmosphere

of the painting.  He demonstrates this by urging painters to do this:  one side of the sky, paint a warm grey pink underlay.

Then paint a blue green overlay in the same value.  Mix the overlay value to match the underlay.   Make sure the horizon

is a different color than the zenith. 

    Then the other side of the sky, mix green blue darker or lighter than the grey pink

underlay.  Make sure the underlay and overlay are a different value. 

 The artist will notice the same value underlay overlay

looks amazing and natural but the darker value underlay and overlay will not look good at all.

 (Disturbing feeling to the difference in value area.)

4.  "Color dances but the value stays put!"   Another way of noting not to have difference in value in an area...

5.  Never use brown in an undertone.  Use a warm tone but not brown.

6.  Refraction is important in painting.  Our eyes were not designed like the lens of a camera.

  The human eye focuses on one area at a time.  The human eye radius exact vision is limited to 6 feet away and only 12 inches

from this center.  Beyond 12 inches from the central focus our vision blurs.  This is refraction.

The focused artist eye rests the visual limitation is blurred to soften edges or lost edges. 

7.  An example of refraction is sky holes in trees.  Artists lower the value of these sky holes in trees so the

sky holes are not the same color as the sky.  The foliage around the sky hole robs the sky of as much light

as the rest of the sky and softens the light coming through. 

8.  Refraction also changes the intensity of color.   The most intense color is where the artist is starring.

Beyond 12 inches the values are darker and the colors are less intense. 

8.   Corners of paintings will not have the same vigor of technique or strength of color or value as the center of interest.

9.   Refraction also creates a complementary color near a powerful color.  He uses an example of a very powerful

scarlet under compelling stress of intense sunlight, conjured up its complementary color in an exceptionally

bright and dramatic demonstration. 

If what Birge Harrison says is true, then if you see red, you will find green.  If you see blue you will also see orange.

If you see purple you will see yellow.

  Here is the days effort on my 20x26 oil on copper painting of Stonington, Maine.

I am always reading about painting.  I learn so much from books.

I will read more of Birge Harrison's book tomorrow! 

This is the most exciting book I have read in a long time. 

I hope you didn't find the book too boring.

   Robert took this photo of Lily and Poppy.  They look so similar!

I heard from Ted that Luke is eating well and doing better with the steroids and antibiotics.

We bought Luke a Serta dog bed for Christmas.  Luke loved his new bed.  He kept getting in the

bed and out of the bed.  The bed will be on the porch so he can sleep outside comfortably in good weather.

Luke is scheduled for an ultrasound of his abdomen.  Ted wants to know if there are any cancerous

growths on Luke's spleen,  a common ailment for Golden Retrievers, and can be corrected if

caught early. 

   Robert is feeding a Mother Fox dried dog food. 

We heard a baby fox crying for two hours at 5am.  Then I saw the Mother Fox walking

along the channel in search of food.  She or some other animal ate all the dry dog food.

He is going to buy a game animal camera to see if he is feeding a Mother Fox and not

channel rats.  Good night.

   This last year the owner of the famous historic sea captain's house in Searsport

took down the left side of the house. 

The interior of the house was cypress wood from schooners brought up from the South.

   When I drove to Thorndike yesterday I saw this old blue colored Airstream or Avion.

   I slowed down to view the blue Airstream or Avion to also see the roof of a barn had collapsed.

Inside were two bikes and an old car!

   Turns out this old farm house/garage barn is owned by the same owner of the Searsport

captains home.   Someone told me this man bought these items at auctions, bought houses

and filled them all up!  What an interesting hobby.

Looks like this car was once a convertible. 

Things have fallen down through the roof of the convertible.  What a shame.

   Thank you for saying a prayer for Luke's health. 

Ted and Luke visited our dogs today.

They love to visit each other. 

Luke cries if Ted doesn't stop by our house.

Ted says it tears his heart out to see Luke cry.

Luke just likes to visit his Son Monet and Grand Daughter Lily and pseudo girlfriend Poppy.

Luke is eating like a horse because of the steroids. 

   I spent many hours studying the design of this painting.

I decided to remove the boat on the bottom.

I added a new dory at the end of the line and took out the two distant dories.

Here is the old drawing on the copper.

I took out the boat at the bottom because I thought it was going to be an awkward problem.

This boat was at the viewer's feet. 

Too many details too close to the edge.

I thought it was a good lead into the painting.

This boat completed the Z design or zig zag composition.

The larger dory in the foreground will be the center of interest.

The dory needed space.  It was too crowded. 

   I admired this Gold Top Farm cow enjoying the sun. 

Good night.

   Luke was excited to see me at his house!

Luke has one particular liver enzyme that is extremely high.

I hope it is just Luke's fancy diet of too much rich meats and treats.

He is on steroids, antibiotics, and a special canned dog for liver ailments.

Luke barked loud in my ear, gave me a wet willy, cleaned my face, and sat in my lap!

Ted said Luke doesn't always give his guest the deluxe welcome. 

Luke seemed fine to me. 

He had lost his appetite.  He had lost weight.

He will go to the vet for an ultrasound of his abdomen.

Ultrasound of Luke's abdominal cavity will show if the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas is enlarged.

It will also show if there are any tumors.

Liver disease is the fifth leading cause for accidental death in dogs.

Look for loss of appetite, loss of weight, jaundice (yellowing) of the eyes or inner ear,

tiredness, bloated stomach, excessive drinking of water, pacing.  Seizures are seen

when the liver is failing.

Liver enzymes reading high on blood tests can be a symptom of another

disease, virus, or bacterial infection. 

I am saying a prayer for Luke.

He is almost ten years old in May.

Luke is Monet's Father.

   I wanted to see the antique wood stove store in Thorndike. 

Luke gave me a tour of the grounds.  He was very healthy looking!

   I started a new 20x26 oil on copper painting last night.

I saw this scene in Stonington, Maine when we lived in the airstream.

We visited Stonington one day in Spring of 2007.

Dories lined the cove.  There are only two plastic dories in the cove now.

   Saw this beautiful orange sunset from Searsport tonight.

Reminded me of a tonalist painting.  Good night.

    It is fun changing mediums from oil paints to watercolor!

I am busy making Christmas cards! 

 Feel free to print, email, or send this to your friends!

   Here is the view from the front of my house last night.

Today it was 47 degrees.  Everything was melting.

The ground was covered with ice. 

I slid down the driveway with Robert verbally navigating!

"Get down lower!  Bend your knees!  Go right!  No not left right!  Good!  That is it!"

I sure do appreciate Robert.

He carried the groceries to the front of the house while I slid down to the back door.

Mission accomplished!

   My neighbor's house to the left looks like a George Sotter painting!

   I sat in the rain today while the dogs played.

Later Ted and Luke arrived to bring us candy.

I made the mistake of letting Poppy who is in season out of the house!

I completely forgot about protecting Poppy from Luke!

Oh my there was a lot of frolicking and barking.

I ran down the hill to retriever Poppy while Luke was 'getting busy'.

Ted yelled out, "Poppy you are a LOOSE woman!" 

I suppose that is the worst thing Ted could come up with at the moment!

I had to laugh at this.  So funny in the moment trying to get Poppy.

There was a lot of groping going on in my backyard!

Monet barked in Luke's face!  "No No Stop!  She is my woman!"

Still with all of us yelling insults at Poppy some activity went on!

I managed to get Poppy away from Luke as Luke was sequestered!

Close call. 

Ted said Luke has not been hungry these last few days.

He had to take a deer tenderloin out of the freezer for Luke's dinner to get him to eat!

Luke is all excited over the love of his life, Poppy!

I will be more careful and try to remember to keep Poppy inside for a few more days.

   Robert was giving Monet a few hugs.

  Everyone should hug their dogs.  They love it.

Good night.

    I thought I would share a few Happy Holiday cards I made

 using George Sotter's Paintings for inspiration.  Feel free to print them, send them, and

share them! 

   I did this one many years ago!

  George Sotter was an amazing oil painter who often when outside on a snowy cold night

in PA to paint homes in the snow.  I thought it was interesting studying his work using watercolors

and ink.

    It has been snowing all day long here in Maine!

The wood fire is roaring!  Robert is outside shoveling snow!

   Here is my oil paint stash!  I reinvest in oil paint whenever I sell paintings.

My main four colors of oil paint are Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light,

and Quinacridone Red.  I use Winsor Newton's Titanium White. 

 I think of taking the Quinacridone Red off my palette as I rarely use this color!

It does make a nice cool pink.  

I decided to try Gamblin's solvent free medium.  I normally use Gamblin's Neo Meglip.

   It was below zero yesterday creating sea smoke in our backyard on the East Penobscot Channel.

  Robert reported Monet, Poppy, and Lily didn't want to go outside yesterday morning.

They were afraid because it was difficult to breathe in below zero weather!

When I woke up they did the same thing.  They ran out and ran back inside!

Then they decided to follow me outside.  I couldn't get them back inside!

Today it is warmer, 10 or 15 degrees!

Good Night!

"Sunday Afternoon At Owls Head Marina" 20x26 oil on copper.  1750$ framed

in your choice of a gold wood or black and gold wood frame.  Shipping included.

    I made a terrible decision to take my painting outside to photograph!

I set the painting down on the deck.

I had my Canon EOS 7D in my hands.

There was a 40-50mph wind gust!

The painting fell upside down on to the dirty dog hairy deck!

I said, "Oh crap!"  

I picked up the painting to see it covered with leaves, dirt, sand, dog hair, human hair,

twigs, and various other unidentifiable things.

At first I thought it was completely ruined.

My heart sank.

I worked on this painting for the pass five days very hard.

I took the painting inside.

It was -20 degrees outside.

I took my palette knife, scraped off all of yesterday's and previous day oil paint areas.

I could not fix those areas because there was so many things stuck into the wet oil paint.

I ran the palette knife carefully over all the other areas picking up hair and dirt.

The twigs I lifted with a small brush.

I wiped off any wet paint.

Only 30% of the oil painting was saved because it had dried before the incident occurred.

I had just come inside from taking the dogs out.

They didn't want to come inside.  I had to lure them in with treats!

Monet was running around in circles trying to keep warm because Poppy wanted to stay out.

I knew this was going to happen.  The point is I had no breakfast and sat down to paint.

I worked all morning, afternoon, and finished after Robert came home.

I am so happy I painted!  I could have given up.

Now I am dreadfully hungry because I didn't eat all day.

But I am very happy because the painting is so much better!

I am happy the accident happened.

I have a better sky, better building, and better lobster boat on the left!

  Close up of the lobster boat on the left and sky. 

  Close up of the building on the left.

I had to repaint every single log and reflection as well. 

I like it all much better.

   Here is the painting yesterday before it crashed upside down on the deck.

   Now I am going to have dinner!  Good night!  Lesson learned. 

"Sunday Afternoon at Owls Head Marina" 20x26 oil on copper.  1750$ framed in your

choice of gold or black with gold frame, shipping included.

   Oh my goodness I am so happy this painting is finished!

It feels just like the day I first saw this scene.

I can feel and smell the cold salty air.

The only sounds were seagulls and the wind.

I loved how all the boats were in different directions. 

The light was incredible right before the sun was setting.

I will clean my house before I decide what to paint next!

   Here is a close up.  I will take a photo with my Canon EOS 7D tomorrow if weather permits.

The wind is howling.  We are expecting Siberian cold air migrating to Maine tomorrow morning.

The temperatures will be -35 degrees.  This is the coldest temperatures for 40 years in Maine.

I think the dogs will have to take themselves out tomorrow on a 100 foot cable one at a time.

I will need to pull Poppy back inside!  She loves that cold air.

Might have to encourage Monet to go outside.  I don't think he will like that cold air!

He will ask me to take him to Florida!

  I made yellow lentil stew, the wood fire is roaring, and the wind is loud!

Poppy, Lily, and Monet were chasing each other all over the house!

They seem very happy with all this crazy weather.

Robert put on an arctic coat to venture outside to bring in more firewood.

I stayed home from portrait class in Thomaston. 

 I was just too preoccupied with my painting!

My feet love to be 100 degrees.

I have not taken off my new LLBeans sheepskin lined boot.

I wear flannel lined jeans everyday.

I wear a long sleeve wool shirt.  Then I put on a thick wool sweater.

This is my indoor attire!

If I were to go outside tomorrow I would put on a wool face mask.

No skin can be exposed in -35 degree temperatures! 

I would wear gloves, arctic coat, and a wool hat!

I sure hope my 100 foot cable works for the dogs tomorrow. 

I am not planning to go outside until it becomes warmer!

  The backyard!  I loved the light on the water.  I saw a seal.  Seal popped up his head to

see what Poppy was barking about.   I saw an eagle being chased by three seagulls.

Good night.

  I have been working on the latest 20x26 oil on copper painting.

The water is the big challenge with this painting along with the boats!

I think the sky and distant trees will be easier!

The water has the shimmer I was after! 

I like how the foreground dory looks. 

   It feels so good to get fresh air while the dogs play! 

It will be getting very cold these next few days.

   I love this house on the way to Stonington. 

In the garage is an old dory.

The interior of the house is like a 1940's time capsule.

I was walking by the garage one day to photograph the back of the house

when I saw the dory through the window.

No one stays in this house.

I always wonder who stayed here and why don't they visit?

I am driving to Thomaston to paint portraits tomorrow!

Have a good night!

    I drove to Stonington, Maine to photograph houses in snow!

Guess what?  No snow!  Stonington is an island farther out in the sea.

The ocean keeps the island warmer during the winter!

  This is the Captain Gross home, the first home built, so I have heard.

   The highlight of my road trip was this snowman in Orland.

What a splendid snowman!  I would love to paint it.

I decided the lobster boats would be a good place to start!

The wood stove warmed up the entire house when Robert came home.

I like to paint in a warm house.

  Close up of the boats! 

The water in this painting is different from water I have painted in the past.

The downward reflections of the boats are evident. 

I decided to paint these reflections. 

 Later I will paint the water shimmering waves over them.

   Monet loves to eat snow.

   We played outside for an hour in 30 degree temperatures!

My coat is working well and so are my new boots!

I wish I had them both when I was living in the airstream in the campground in 2007,2008!

Instead I had fleece, dress coat, with tennis shoes. 

It takes a Floridian a while to learn to dress properly for Winter in Maine!

Good night.

    It snow last night and today!

Monet is like a giant teddy bear in the snow.

   This is our house/gallery.

I spend most of my time in the sunroom on the right.

The art gallery is the larger area in the front of the house.

   This is the only evergreen tree in our backyard. 

It has really grown since we have moved into this house.

   I drew a new 20x26 oil on copper painting today.

I wiped all the oil paint off so just a ghost of the oil was left.

   I drew it again in a darker mixture of oils. 

It is a complicated painting.  I wanted to make sure I had the boats and wharf right.

  This is going to be a lot of fun!

I am not sure where I will start to paint first.

   This is a photo of Poppy's Mom nursing Poppy and her siblings.

She was a young Mom.

She seemed very attentive to her pups.

There was another litter of goldens by her Sister.

They kept both Moms and pups in different cages to keep them straight.

   So cute.

   This is Poppy's Dad.

He lives with a Mother and her children now.

He was a little naughty about a year after Poppy came to live with us.

  He was kept in the barn while all three Sisters were in season.

While the owner was at the grocery store, he broke out of the barn,

busted open the back door of the house, and mated with all three Sisters.

The results were three litters of 12 golden retrievers, a total of 36 pups!

He was neutered and moved to a better home for him.

He is happier now.  He loves the kids.

The owner reported all 36 puppies found a good home. 

I think Poppy has her Father's eyebrows.

Good night.

    I found myself creating these Christmas Cards!

You are welcome to print and send them out if you like.

   I was delighted to have many groups of company today!  Doggy visitors and humans!

I looked at old photos to see if they might make a great larger painting.

I still think the one Robert and I chose will be best. 

We are having a snow storm tomorrow! 

Have a good night!

  I thought this house was so pretty decorated with lights in the windows!

   I love the entrance to the town of Port Clyde at sunset.

I thought you might like to see more photos from a few days ago.

   This is the view from Coop Road in Port Clyde.

   I was hoping for snow on the ground.  We still have patches of snow in Bucksport.

    I took my artist friend to Bangor to Christmas shop and have lunch.

We bought matching LLBean sheep skin boots!

We purchased toys for our pups.

Lots of laughs!

Safe at home now. 

I needed a day off! 

 Tomorrow I will be inspired to paint the next large painting!

   Monet and Lily were sticking their heads into the bags! 

They wanted to have their gifts early.

I held the bags up high into the air!

I showed Robert their toys secretly without the pups watching.

Then I hid the toys in a closet!

I will wrap each puppy toy in Christmas paper and place them under the tree.

We decided to have a golden retriever Christmas tree this year.

Another words anything on the tree will be dog edible or dog friendly!

I can imagine liver treats, beef jerky, popcorn, and cranberries hung from spaghetti noodles.

Stuffed animals, like a hedge hog, squirrels, ducks, placed into the tree!

They will love it!

So will we.  Good night.

Snow angel Lily!

   Lily limbed into Monet's new bed.  Monet growled until she stepped off!

"My new bed!  No way!  It is my Birthday!"

    It was cute watching Monet enjoy his new bed.

I thought he would lay down to test the bed out and leave.

A few hours later I walked by to find him still in his new bed!

    Monet is a good boy.

   What an interesting looking ship in Rockport under repair. 

    Someone is staying inside the Port Clyde Lighthouse!  They even had a Christmas tree!

   I thought the decorated pine tree in Lincolnville was beautiful last night.

I would have liked to have painted it! 

   I drew six images trying to decide among them.

I chose one.  Then I handed the drawings to Robert.

He selected the same drawing I did! 

I hope to begin this painting tomorrow.

It is a scene in Owls Head Marina.  Beautiful.  I hope I can pull it off!

Good night!

"Monhegan Memories" 20x26 oil on copper.  1750$ framed at the choice of the buyer and shipped.  Sold.

    Wow I am so surprised and happy right now!  

I came home from painting with wonderful Maine artists in Thomaston, Maine.

We painted portraits of a lady tonight.

Everyone did very well with their painting.

I need to practice drawing faces before the next class!

Portrait painting is the ultimate challenge!

Then I arrive home to receive a email, "How much is the Lobster?

I let her know and she said "I will take it!" 

It is so exciting to sell any painting but a large painting sale is very exciting.

I am incredibly grateful.  I can purchase more oil paint!

I am going through massive amounts of tubes of oil paint every week painting bigger.

This means my large paintings will continue!

   I decided to drive to Owls Head marina, Port Clyde, and Tenants Harbor for photos.

Here is a scene on Coop Road in Port Clyde.

Lincolnville had a wonderful dory filled with trees and lights!

Good night and thanks again for the sale.  Wow.  Sigh!

    I ate many green beans last night with ham. 

Green beans have good vitamins.  I was feeling really strong today.

Good quality food does make a difference in everything we do including painting!

I worked on the bowl last night.

I had to redraw the bowl before it was painted.

I used a string to measure each side of the bowl. 

I painted the lobster next this afternoon.

  The lobster looks so good!  Makes me hungry.

   I might paint USA wild caught later on the lobster's rubber bands.

 I have a ghost of the writing now on the rubber bands.

The writing doesn't draw too much attention right now. 

 This might be best as writing always draws attention in a painting.

   I made postcards today on vistaprint.  They look nice.

I also made a bumper sticker for the back of my Open M box easel. 

I am looking forward to driving to Thomaston, Maine to drawing class tomorrow night.

Robert told me a funny story about Monet.

Monet had to go outside at 3:00am.  He was downstairs crying.

Robert was sound asleep.  It was Poppy who woke Robert up to care for Monet.

She made a funny grunting sound until Robert heard Monet downstairs!

It is sweet Poppy was looking out for Monet.  What a good friend.

I wonder if Poppy was being kept awake by Monet. 

She might have been grunting, "Oh get up and get Monet out so we can sleep!"

Good night.

    I painted mussels last night for the 20x26 oil on copper Monhegan Island painting.

I also worked on the sand, rocks, picnic table.

Close up.

Mussels really close!

The mussels were great fun to paint. 

   I was framing, packaging framed paintings, writing Thank you notes.

Then I carried each box down to the van.

I tried to drive the van out of the driveway.

The snow prevented this from happening.

Robert came home, dug my van out, and drove the van up to the main street!

Thanks to Robert all paintings should be shipped out tomorrow!

Now I am back to painting!  Good night!

Here it is!  Day two painting on a 20x26 oil on copper of a lobster/mussel dinner at Fish Beach!

I stayed up till 1 am painting.

Then I sat there staring at the painting for an hour.

I almost went to work again but Lily gave me a look.."Oh come on, let's sleep!"

Thank heavens for Lily!

Here is the whole painting. 

There will be corn on the cob, a giant lobster, and a bowl of mussels on the bottom of the painting.

   Monet was so cute tucked into his bed last night.

  Luke and Ted came over seemingly very early this morning but in reality it was 11am!

I was sound asleep. 

Ted let my dogs outside so they could visit with Luke.

I did finally get outside. 

Artists can have strange work hours.

   A few hours later after I took a nap, yes, I was sleeping again, it snowed!

I am modeling my new Duluth Trading Company arctic jacket! 

I love it!  I hope to paint in the snow soon.  I bet it will have melted by morning.

Funny how a brand new Winter coat can feel so good! 

   Monet's favorite ball was covered with snow.

He rolled it with his nose to remove the snow but instead the snow accumulated!

He looked to me for ball snow removal.

What a pampered little doggy.

   I will cover up my dory tomorrow to protect it from Winter.

I just wanted to see a light dusting on the dory. 

  I love snow.  My tiny house is doing well! 

 I hope to ask a propane gas company to bring me a tank!

There is gas heating unit inside the tiny house!

   Have a good night! 

   It is difficult to choose the subject for a large painting.

I spend days searching through photos.

Until snow arrives here in Maine, I am restricted to painting inside, and must choose images!

I chose a memory of a lobster and mussel dinner at Fish Beach on Monhegan Island.

I have painted several paintings 6x6 of this scene.

"Monhegan Dream Dinner" 6x6 oil on copper sold many years ago. 

"Monhegan Dinner" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold years ago.

"Monhegan Lobsters" 5x7 oil on copper 375$ framed in gold or black with gold. 

Here is a painting of my lobsters and oysters from this Summer.

I painted this one on location. 

 I should be able to use all my acquired knowledge for painting

this next lobster painting!

I have always wanted to create a more developed larger painting.

   I carefully painted a drawing onto the sanded copper panel.

I have discovered a wonderful source for high frequency copper clad.

This 3 ounce high frequency copper clad has fiberglass in the center.

Both sides have 3 ounce copper metal.

The benefits of this panel:  1.  Very light!

                                                  2.  Very thick!  It will not warp.  It doesn't need backing!

                                                   3.  About the same price as a 16 ounce copper panel this size but without the weight!

                                                   4.  Approximately 50$ for a panel this size. 20x26

                                                   5.  The copper panel is already sanded and ready to paint on!

                                                   6.  The heat constant of the copper and the oil paint are almost identical.

                                                         This means there will be no cracking.

                                                   7.  Mildew or mold will not grow on copper. 

                                                    8.   I use a non yellowing alkyd to seal the painting once dry.

                                                    9.  The copper stays pink under the oil paint or the non yellowing alkyd

                                                         because oxygen can not get to the copper's surface.

                                                  10.   I love all the history involved with oil paintings on copper.

                                                          Dutch masters starting from the 1500's painted on copper with oils.

                                                   11.  This copper panel is unaffected by high heat or very cold temperatures.

                                                   12.  Humidity can not affect copper as it does canvas, linen, or wood.

   I wanted to see what was happening under my chair! 

Funny faces of Monet with his ball and Poppy!

   I wonder what Lily thinks of her parents on their backs? 

Monet had Poppy's foot in his mouth.  Poppy was showing all her teeth.

Lily had her eyes closed just incase!  Poppy's front legs were all over the place!

   I have been staying close to home. 

   We have had three days of sunlight for the month of November!

"Sleepy Girls" 14x20 oil on copper.  Sold. 

"Dahlia Party" 14x20 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thank you.

"Stonington Morning Walk" 14x20 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thank you!

"Forever Bouquet" 14x20 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thanks.

"Shimmering Schooner Reflections" 6x8 oil on copper.  Sold.  Very thankful!

Good night.

"Linda" 14x20 oil on copper.  Done-In!

   I am laughing at my "Linda" portrait. 

I have painted "Linda" as best as possible at this point!

As it is.  Day 3.

Day 2 working in the studio from a computer image of the model.

Day 1 after two hours painting the model from life.

Photo of Linda.  What did I learn?  Leave the painting alone after the original sitting.

It will not improve with any photo work in the studio!

   My Dream:

(I ate 8 chocolate sugar cookies last night before bed.)

     I am driving home from a night club in a corvette. 

I have having difficulty navigating my new car I designed.

The new corvette doesn't have a steering wheel.

I has a remote control drone like contraption for the driver.

I am standing outside my parent's house trying to navigate the

car around a pool. 

The corvette falls into the pool.

Somehow I push the right buttons and the corvette rises out of the pool.

I look around to see if anyone saw this.  I was embarrassed.

    This car can see a satellite map of all surrounding areas including parking lots.

It can use the self-park feature.   I find myself in front of a movie theater. 

I step out of the corvette in front of the valet. 

The valet asks for my keys. 

I explain to the valet I will have the car park itself.

I close the door and tell the car, "Park it!" 

The car drives around the corner and finds a parking spot. 

The valet people all run after the car to see if it parks.

Later the corvette comes back up to the entrance to pick

me up.  In my dream the car came up two times without me

asking.  I had to tell the car, "No, park it!"

   The corvette can rise into the air to prevent collisions. 

A car in front stopped too fast and the car behind didn't stop.

The corvette rose up into the air magically! 

     I dreamed I was in an elevator going up to my corporate office in  a sky rise building.

The corvette was sitting next to me on the floor in the elevator.

 The corvette had shrunk itself!

I asked it to shrink more, picked it up, and put it in my purse.

It protested about shrinking further.  It was not happy but did shrink more.

Then once I was in my office, I set the corvette on my desk, in a showcase!

Then I woke up!

  View of Sandy Point!  Good night!

"Linda" 14x20 oil on copper. 

   I worked on my life drawing class painting until 2am. 

I wondered if I should have left the painting as it was.

   There are parts of the painting improved from working in the studio last night.

Then there are areas that may have been lost. 

I wonder if I can look at the photo of the painting from the class to change

these areas back to where they were!

The neck and background were improved.

I should have left the nose alone!  I loved the nose.  I just was lucky.

I have more life drawing experience than portrait work.

I know they will get better.  I just need more experience.

What a fun challenge!

"Dancing By The Light of the Moon" 14x20 oil on copper.  sold today.  Thank you.

I have always had difficulty photographing this painting.  There is not as much blue as there is green.

They were thrilled with their painting.  I am grateful.

Have a great night.  Thank you!

 Here is a close up of the portrait I did in Thomaston, Maine's Life Drawing Class.

I decided to experiment with the background by using a mixture of Gamblin's galkyd and gamsol with

oil paint washes.  I allowed the paint to be very thin and drip.

It was very interesting.   A few artists wondered what I was up to at first.

The painting looked like a mess.  One man in particular said, "Oh My!"

I told him to be patient.  It will turn out.  It just looks awkward at first!

Later he said, "Wow, it really looks great!"  Funny. 

It didn't look great but I was 40 feet away from the model.

It was as good as it was going to get at that distance!

We all agreed we would sit closer to the model later.

   You can see the interesting texture the oil paint, gamsol, and Gamblin's galkyd did on the right.

   "Linda" 14x20 oil on copper. I think I will work on this painting tonight while the paint is still wet.

   Linda the model really liked my copper oil portrait. 

She thought the copper was so interesting.  It is unique. 

I will work on the background and her eye.  I like the rest of the painting.

Maybe I will work on the neck. 

       One thing I noticed about this Thomaston Life Drawing Class, all the painters in this class

work full time at their craft.  They are all in top galleries.  They are excellent artists.

I am grateful to be included in this class. 

   The other Bangor Life  Drawing Class is taking a break for the holiday but should resume soon.

   The old Searsport house is being slowly dismantled.

   The left side of the house was the dining room on the bottom floor and the top floor

might have been a bathroom with a copper bathtub.  It has been taken down.

I really wanted to paint this house.  I was given permission as long as the owner was on the property.

I just have not found the owner on the property.  He must be there early in the morning.

   Poppy was flirting with Luke yesterday.  He loves it.  His eyes brighten right up!

    Another dream I had this last week while dining on cheesecake before bed!

My Dream:

   I drove to a music warehouse.

I think I was there for a piano lesson. 

No one was in the warehouse.  There was a beautiful giant black grand piano.

I sat down to admire the piano.  Then I started to play one of the most difficult classical

pieces.  I was using all ten fingers.  I was really enjoying myself.  I used the foot pedals to

make the piano louder.  This piano had a water feature.  The water was coming out of

the bottom of the piano near the pedals.  There was a small cement lip around this area to

contain the water so it could go back into the piano when the pedal was released.

There is no such thing in real life.  This was some kind of weird invention I dreamed up.

I continued to play without making any mistakes for a long time.

Then I came to a part of the song where I was suppose to sing. 

I started to sing the opera music that accompanied the classical song.

I sang as loud as I could.  It was heavenly.   In my dream I was feeling so good playing

and singing.  Finally I finished playing.  I stood up and walked around to look at the sheet

music.  A man did come out of another room.  I guess I was ready for my piano lesson to begin.

I woke up.

I do play classical music on my piano but I am rusty because of all the time I paint!

I can sing but never opera. 

Good night.