Artist Renee Lammers

 My first attempt at painting Dundee, the orange Maine coon cat, who lives in Stonington,

did not go well.  I used a palette knife.  I scraped the oil paint right off the copper.

I started again.  

Dundee looks much better.  I just need to work on his eyes.  

   I have been working on this drawing on copper size 20x30 for a few days.

You can see Dundee sitting on a granite rock in the right lower foreground.

This is my favorite scene in Stonington on Church Street.

"Stonington Roof Tops" 6x8 oil on copper.  sold last year. 

I painted the same scene on location right before it rained one day.

I loved the composition.  I always wanted to paint the same scene at the golden hour.

   Here is the photo of the scene I would like to paint.

Dundee will be in the shadows hunting.  

   It was very nice to see Luke and his owner Ted today.

They weathered the storm well except they have no electricity.

Luke was feeling great.  My dogs were in rare form during their visit.

Luke received many kisses.  We had to pull Monet away from him.

Monet is particularly loving to his Dad.

   Robert was wearing orange since it is hunting season.  The sky was lavender.

The dogs were happy.

   The moon had wonderful reflections at Sandy Point Beach.

I tried to figure out the color of the moon's reflection.

I think it was a cool light green.  

Good night.

"Stonington Sunset At Sand Beach" 6x8.  Not finished yet.

   I started this painting a month ago.  I decided to work more on this painting.

I think I will let the painting dry again.  Then I will see if it needs more work.

I do not usually work like this but a sunset is tricky.

   There was a bad storm last night and today in Maine.

Lily chewed up sticks then tossed her cookies.  

Poor Lily!  It is nice she comes to me when she is not feeling well.

We took a few photos together.  She is so cute.

She was fine a few minutes later.

   There were 70-80mph winds.  Zinnias survived.  I cut them to put in a vase.

Monet, Poppy, and Lily ran to see what I had.  They sniffed the flowers, roughed them up,

and ran off to play.  Silly puppies.

   Most people in Maine have lost their electricity in their homes.

We were fortunate to have electric.  We have one down tree in our backyard.

Robert is home because his job has no electric.  Trees have closed down route 15 and

route 46.  The roads into Castine are all blocked by fallen trees.  I am sure more

roads are blocked.  These are a few Robert discovered.  

Have a good night.  

   I took my painter friend Brian out taking photos today.

He took me to some of his favorite places.  First we went to Owls Head.

   The sunlight was great on the water at the marina.

  He showed me Birch Point Beach.  It was a beautiful sand beach.

My friend can not drive because of a health issue.  I could see he was so happy to be

collecting images to paint.  I can not imagine not being able to drive.  

I think we went to all his favorite places.

   We went to Beach Hill somewhere near Camden or Rockland.

We did a lot of hiking today.  We both had blisters on our feet.  We started shooting 

photos at 10:00 and stopped taking photos at 7pm!  I am glad I brought an extra SD

card.  He needed one.  His camera ran out of battery power so we backtracked

to his apartment to get more batteries.  I will try to take him out more often to take

photos.  

    This was an interesting stone structure built by a husband for his wife at Beech Hill.

They call this place the Beechnut.

   We were near my favorite farm stand.  I picked up 6 pounds of beets.  I will pickle them.

We decided to find the Olson House in Cushing.

   I asked Brian what his favorite scene was today.  He was enamored with the Olsen's House.

It was nice to see him smiling and taking photos.  I hope this trip will inspire many paintings

from him.  It is difficult being a professional artist.  There are ups and downs with sales.

Health problems can affect painting. Brian is a great painter.   It was a good day.  

 We saw these cute birds in a field with cows.  They had a few chicks.

   Have a great night!

"Stonington Morning View" 20x30 oil on copper 1850$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping is included in the price.  

 Yeah!  It is finished!  I am dancing around with joy at 12:00am!  

   I am dancing around wearing my new cool boots!

Don't they look like artist's boots?  I have decided to wear more interesting clothes

and boots.  'My Look' has been flannel lined jeans, sweater, and tennis shoes.

I was feeling old.  I am only 53 years old.  I want to look more modern.

I have decided to wear leggings, tunics, and cool boots.

I toss on a hip length jacket if I go outside. 

I am a little self conscious of my new look.  

   Here are a few close up detail photos of this 20x30 oil on copper painting.

I have not decided on a title yet.  

I am very happy with the pipe on top of the roof.

I worked on this pipe for an hour or more this morning.

   I decided to paint in a few seagulls.  

  House on the left side of the painting.

   I removed a few bushes so the viewer's eye could travel down the hill between the houses

to the water.  

   The house on the right in the painting took the longest time to finish.

   Left side upper detail. 

  I was sitting back munching on a turkey sandwich critically admiring the painting.

I felt a tug on my sandwich!  I looked down to see Monet's mouth pulling.

I had to pull back if I wanted to keep my snack!  Goodness Monet!

   Oh look at those two cute faces.  I did give them each a bite.  

I could not resist sharing my sandwich with them.

   It was raining again today.  The dogs were bored.  

It is suppose to be nice tomorrow.  I will take them out to the beach.

Robert took them to the beach in the rain tonight.  He wore all kinds of rain gear.

We are lucky to have Robert.  Life would be boring without him.

Stonington, Maine.  Good night!

  I decided to tackle the most difficult passage in this 20x30 oil on copper painting.

I am happy this part is finished!  

Painting lots of little buildings in the distance just requires patience.  

I use a size o round brush to draw these houses.

Then I use a size 8 Old Holland Flat Kolinsky brush with a sharp edge.

I use the round brush again for edges.  Then I go back to the 8 flat brush.

This goes on for a long time.  Then there is the wonderful palette knife

that can take the whole passage out if things are not going well.   Back to those 

tiny houses until miraculously they  look right!  

   I am really tired.  I tuckered myself out today!  Early night.  Good night.

   Here is the 20x30 oil on copper painting on my easel tonight!

I have enjoyed painting all day long and night!

It is looking good in my opinion.  I like how the sky turned out!

   I just completed the tiny area to the right upper corner.  

I need to rest my eyes.

   Here is the painting as of this morning.  There was more light in the room.

   I took all my puppies to the beach this morning.

Monet took passenger seat.  Poppy normally sits in the passenger seat.

Lily does not know where to sit!  Robert built a wooden platform with outdoor

carpet for them to sit on in the back.  They can look out the front van's window.

They seem to prefer to be right in the front of the van.

Monet put his foot on the emergency flashing light button.

He also had the high beam lights on while we drove.  I am glad he can not

operate the radio yet.

   This is Monet's reaction when he saw his Father Luke arrive on the beach!

He loves his Daddy.  He rushed to greet him as did Lily and Poppy.  Luke is here!

   Each dog gave Luke a few kisses.  They kiss him on his lips.  

Lily and Poppy also rolled around at his feet to show submissive behavior.

I think Monet lowered himself as well.

Poppy sniffed Luke then yipped really loud as if he bit her.

She was pretending he made advances when he didn't do anything at all.

We all laughed at this.  Silly girl Poppy.

  Luke strutted down the beach.  He is the king.

   Lily loves to get Monet's rock and put it in a hole she digs.

Poppy was helping.

  Monet on the right comes over barking.  "Give me my rock back!"

They all dig and bark.  Dirt flies everywhere.  People get out of their way.

I had to empty my shoes a few times.  

We all had a great time.  

   My instagram give away last night was a success.

My username on instagram is:  SusanReneeLammers    (no spaces)

Some tried to find me on instagram without success because they put

spaces between my name:  Susan Renee Lammers.  You can't find me there

like this.  No spaces.   I will give away another painting soon on instagram.

Follow me there.  I will share more photos of Maine unique not shown here.

Thank you!  Good night.

   I am giving this 7x5 ink with watercolor painting away free on Instagram tonight.

To win this painting, begin following me:  SusanReneeLammers is my username

on Instagram.  You will see this painting.  Type "Mine!" in the comment area.

The first person who does this wins the painting.  If you are the first to comment,

email me your address:  [email protected]   I will ship this painting original

to you tomorrow!  Thank you for following me on Instagram. I love it.

Goodnight.

"Autumn Light" 6x8 oil on copper.   I wiped off this painting.  

  I need to take a better photo tomorrow.  (Glare from the sky)

     I painted with my friend at Fort Point State Park in Stockton Springs.

I admired all the Autumn colors but by the time I managed to get any paint down,

the sun started to go down.  The great thing about this is my subject changed.  The light

coming through the trees created a more dramatic image.  It was a pretty scene.

I painted a fox into the painting.

  This was the first scene I wanted to paint.  

   I thought this would be lovely to paint.  

  View from Sandy Point Beach yesterday.

  I posted photos on Instagram today.  I thought I had been posting but I wasn't.

I am learning!  Today I wrote messages and discovered what a hashtag was!

I may give away a painting tomorrow on Instagram.  Sign up and follow me there.

My username is SusanReneeLammers.   Thanks.  

   We went to Sandy Point Beach this morning.

The pups are going to the beach twice a day!

It is too nice to stay at home.

 Luke was acting like a puppy.  He searched for fish, romped around, and was so happy.

    We both looked at this image taken with Robert's game camera.

I knew it was a skunk.  

   Yes there he is...a skunk!  

   Nice stripe!

  Then we saw a different critter!

  A raccoon!

  A squirrel!  This game camera worked pretty well!

   Here is "Monhegan Laundry Day" 20x30 in a King of Frames black and gold San Marino Frame.

The painting is heading to Missouri soon.

"Monhegan Meadow" 20x26 oil on copper framed in King of Frames San Marino Gold.

Painting is heading to Texas!  

   I just finished the drawing for a new 20x30 Stonington, Maine view from Church Street.

I didn't think I could do the drawing.  Somehow I just kept drawing, erasing, and it is done.

I think I will start on the painting tomorrow. 

I have been posting on Instagram under SusanReneeLammers

Good night.

"Stonington Autumn Light" 6x8 oil on copper 450$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping is included in the price.

   I drove to Stonington to paint.  I took photos for many hours.  It was so difficult to decide

on a painting subject because everything was beautiful.  I loved the light on the water

at the wharf.  I held the copper panel in my hand because I forgot my gorilla tape.

This made me loosen up painting.  The colors were so wild.  

A lobster boat pulled up to the docks to unload.  I painted the boat into the painting.

I was kept company by an interesting fellow.  I drove home chuckling to myself.

I enjoyed his company but had to say, "No."  

I am getting too old for this.  Ha.

   It is interesting painting extreme light.  

   I saw Dundee on Main Street.  He was hunting.  (Located on the right)

   He was very busy.  

   This large light colored cloud created interesting light.

   The sky cleared up creating wonderful light.  

  I went to the beach last night with Robert and the dogs.

   I was bitten by another tick a few days ago on my back.  

The backyard is full of ticks.  I will be taking the dogs to the beach every morning.

The beach has no ticks because the tide washes the sand. 

I am hoping the doxycycline I took over a week ago for 21 days will kill any

tick borne illness that could have come from this second tick bite.

   Luke had so many ticks on him from his visit in our backyard a few days ago.

Ted declared our yard an ecosystem disaster for visiting.

The dogs and I were stung by yellow jackets a few days ago.

Yellow jackets and ticks were everywhere!  

I think the beach is safer for us all.

Good night!

"Monhegan Bell" 20x26 oil on copper 1750$ framed in your choice of gold or black with gold.

Shipping is included in the price.

    I worked late last night until the painting was finished.  Chocolate played a role.

I sure do love painting large paintings!   

   Here are a few details of the painting.

The bell's feet are so interesting and beautiful.

   The shadows created by the mechanism holding the bell were interesting.

   There were a lot of red tones.  

I painted a few little rocks.  I made sure to paint a few springs of grass hitting the sunlight.

   I think I ate a piece of chocolate for each little house painted.

   I painted a herd of goats to the left of Manana Island's house.  

Monhegan's Island Inn has a tiny blue flag.

The sky has yellow at the horizon, peach, then a mint green sky.  

There are a few islands in the distance.

It is finished!  I am happy.  Now I will frame up a few larger works, package, and ship them!

Good night.

   I have been working on Monhegan's bell located by the lighthouse.  

It is interesting painting metal versus a pine tree.  

I decided to paint the tree with more energy because it is alive.

This might be a nice contrast with the non moving bell.

It was fun painting the mechanically part of the bell's stand.

  I am trying to keep ticks off of me.  I have taken to wearing the modern leggings sprayed

repellent.  

   Have a great night!

"Monhegan Bell" 20x26 oil on copper.  I am starting a new larger works!

I decided to paint the Monhegan bell from the lighthouse.  I love the shape of the

legs of the bell.  This was the most difficult thing to draw.  I used white paper to tonk

the drawing.  I didn't want any raised oil paint to conflict with any future strokes.

Tonking is when you place a piece of paper or cloth over wet oil paint.  You rub the

back of the paper.  Then you lift the paper off the painting.  The paper removes

some of the oil paint leaving a smooth surface on the painting.  I painted Cadmium

Red Light around some of the bell's shadows.  I noticed in the photo a bright aura

around some sunlit areas  on the ground.

"Monet, what do you have there?  Is that a new bear toy?  You love it don't you?"

Monet loved his new bear.  When I sell a larger works each dog is given their choice

of a toy.  Monet was so pleased.  He paraded around the house with his new bear for a long

time.

"Oh yes I love your new bear. You look very cute with that bear."

"Poppy, what is that on your back?  Did your new bear jump on your back?"

   Lily loves her new monkey.  She marched around growling with her new monkey.

Poppy tore up Lily's monkey in the morning.  Lily helped her.  They had fun.

   The colors of Autumn are so beautiful!

Good night!

"Stonington's Captain Gross House with Dundee" 20x26 oil on copper sold.  Thanks.

   This is a photo taken with a Canon EOS 7D camera.  This is a professional camera

and it takes crisp accurate color photos of paintings.  I leave the camera inside my house.  I only

use this camera for taking photos of paintings.  It was a great investment. 

This photo was taken with a Canon Rebel 6Ti.  The difference is amazing.

The painting was placed in the exact same location.

   This photo was taken with a fuji XP camera.  

Cameras are very important.  I could not print the bottom two photos because they

are not crisp.  The photo taken with the professional Canon EOS 7D can be printed.

There are newer DSLR Canons available but the 7D does the work.  

   Here is a detail of the roof.

   Detail of the village.

   This morning I painted Dundee into the painting.  I also painted two pumpkins by

the Captain's front door.  I worked on the painting until 2am last night.

I was so excited about finishing the painting.  I ate light all day.  I love eating

pickled beets.  Great food for painting.  

  Detail of the dormer window.  

   I worked a long time on the front door.  I wanted the lace curtains to be visible.

I made sure the pumpkins values were close to the wall of the house.

   The painting was practically sold on location in Stonington the first day

I painted on the painting. When the painting was finished I was asked to call them.

They viewed the painting on my website.  This was enough for them to commit to the

purchase.  I am very grateful for another great painter to have

purchased this painting.  It is truly an honor to have my work in another's collection.

Wouldn't it be great if every person purchase one painting before winter?  

This would help artists.

Good night.

  This is what is on my easel today in Stonington, Maine.

Clouds moved in.  The light changed.  I put the painting in the

box.  

  I will work more on the painting tonight!  I am pleased to have completed the roof

and dormer window on the right.  

I need to paint trees and a few bushes.  I will finished the garage on the left.

I would like to paint light pink clouds into the sky from yesterday's photo.

I might need to wait till the sky's oil paint dries before I paint clouds.

   I decided to visit Dundee.  I found him relaxing behind his house.

   Dundee came running when he saw me.  He wags his tail when he walks.

I gave him a few scratches under the chin.  I greeted his owner.

I asked the owner where he found Dundee.  

He told me the story of a friend finding a cat who was pregnant.

He was in the market for a kitten.  He was invited to select one of the kittens.

  There were a few grey kittens and one orange.  He said

Dundee was the cutest.  Dundee had a brother who was grey without

the white mark on his nose.  His brother looks a lot like him.

He said Dundee is a lot of work.  I suggested Dundee is like a dozen cats.

He laughed.  

  Dundee and I went on a little walk today along Main Street.

I kept to the other side of the road to give him his 'space'.  

I wanted to spy on Dundee.

   He had a mission.  

   There nice smelling lobster traps were too good to pass up.  

Dundee, the orange Maine coon cat, also marked my van!  I could not believe this.

He looked right at me when he did it too.

What a stinker.  I guess I deserved this for spying on the cat.

   He paused and hunted for a few minutes in front of this house.  He looked up at the 

house.  I think he was looking for an open door.  He loves to visit people who they

have special food for him.

He moved on.

I noticed he was watchful of cars.  He is one street wise cat!

   He posed for many photos.  He took off down a road to the water.

Dundee likes to hunt.  He is fed well.  There is nothing like fresh raw red meat.  

   Wonderful light at Sand Beach.

Good night!

  Here is the painting on my easel tonight.

I took the painting to Stonington to paint on location.

There is a large granite hill where the church once sat.  

This is the church's view.  The church has been turned into a home.

I am glad I went to Stonington.   The sky was so luminous.

Right away I decided to paint the sky.  I took many photos of different clouds.

   This photo shows the true colors of the sky.  I don't think the painting needs

clouds.  The sky is so luminous and peaceful.  It is a place for the viewer's eyes to rest.

   I liked these clouds the best.  

   When I came home, I cooked boiled beets, baked a butternut squash, and sauted

cubed steak.  Then I removed flies that had descended on the painting before sunset

in Stonington.  Millions of tiny flies were having a party above the painting.

The light had changed anyway.  I softened all the brushstrokes created on location.

I painted the sunlit side of the Captain's house.

   The light was gorgeous in Stonington, Maine.

I sat on a granite rock at the wharf for an hour.

   There was a hunting dog at the front of the boat with men.

He was so excited about getting off the lobster boat for the day.

He was going home!  The man on the front of the boat had a good hold of the dog.

The dog barked the entire way to land.  I watched all the boat action.

 Amazing light!  

"Port Clyde Fog" 6x8 oil on copper.  Sold off my FASO website!  Thank you!

"Stonington's Sunflowers and Dahlias" 6x8 oil on copper.  Sold.  THank you!

"Stonington's Dog Days Of Summer" 6x8 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thanks!

"Sparkle" 5x7 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thank you!

All these paintings are in my gallery.  I will ship them out tomorrow because they are all

ready dried and framed in gold ready to go!  So exciting.  Boy oh Boy!

Good night.

   I painted twenty lobster boats into the 20x26 painting tonight.

I wanted each boat to look different.  I alternated between a 8 flat Old Holland Kolinsky

Flat and a size 2 round.  I painted the boat then the background and back to the boat

over and over again until I achieved the look.  These lobster boats are all moving.

I wanted the edges to be soft.  I wanted to paint the shadows and the sunlight on the

boats to create form without a lot of detail.  The boats are too far away for detail.

I like how the lobster boats turned out!

   I painted the water around each boat.  First I painted the light under the front hull.

For some reason the water is much lighter in this area.  Refraction.

All lobster boats are shaped differently.  They are different sizes and shapes!

I enhanced the mountains in the distance.  

Our eyes see things differently than photos.  Photos flatten things out.

All of my plein air efforts from Church Street showed enhancement of the mountains.

I think this painting will look really nice when it is finished.

   Autumn is peaking here in Maine!

   Pumpkins are everywhere!  I think I should paint a few pumpkins by the front door

of the Captain Gross house.  I am headed to Stonington tomorrow along with this large painting.

Weather conditions should be perfect!  There is nothing like painting on location.

I love painting skies from life.   Who knows..maybe this painting will

be finished tomorrow night.  Good night.

  Monet with a rock at Sandy Point Beach.

   This is the oil on copper on my easel at the moment.

This painting is a 20x26.  

It took me many days to decide on the image to paint large.

It took a full day to draw the image 6x8.

 I redrew the image on to the copper large.

I used rulers and yardsticks to measure and paint straight lines.

 I thought it was perfect.  I discovered more areas to fix.

I was happy enough with the drawing to begin to paint.

    I decided to paint the distant houses first.  This will be the most difficult area to paint.

I always say this to myself but then find another area more difficult!

I didn't draw the fifty lobster boats in the water.  I debated on painting the ocean around

each lobster boat but the thought exhausted me.  I will deal with all the lobster boats later.

The lobster boats will be facing towards the center of interest, Captain Gross's house.

   Here is a close up of the painting in progress.

I decided to paint the trees and bushes later.  I may not paint all of the foliage to allow more

of the houses to be seen.  

   Here is the image I am painting.  I may create more of an autumn feeling.

I won't be painting the street in the foreground.

I will extend the grass into the foreground.

Perhaps Dundee, the orange Maine coon cat might be strolling in the painting towards

the house.  Captain Gross's house is the large blue house on the left.

I wish I knew about the people who lived here.  

  Have a good night.

"Lake Alamosook Night" 8x6 oil on copper 450$ framed in gold or black with gold.  Shipping included.

   I painted this last night at the Lake Alamoosook Inn, Bucksport.

I asked permission first.  The owner was gracious.  I was glad I remembered

an LED light.  After the sunset it was pitch black.  Temperatures were not too cold.

It was fun mixing fall colors from the limited palette I always use.

"Autumn Reflections" 6x8 oil on copper.  Not finished yet.

Here it is now.  I guess the problem is over with the water.  Is it exciting enough?

It is calmer.  I signed my name on the right.  Will take a better photo tomorrow.

   I admired this cabin along Lake Alamoosook after the sunset.  

   I love this rechargeable piano LED light that clips on top of my

open M box easel.  It is the perfect amount of light and color of light.

I may work on this painting a little more.  I don't like how the water

is parting in the foreground.  It makes the viewer's eye go to the right and

to the left.  

   Robert took me for a walk in Fort Point State Park.

I really loved this tall tree with yellow leaves.

Good night.

   Here we are!  We made it to the beach.

It is a beautiful Autumn Day in Maine.

Water temperatures are somewhere between 42-50 degrees.

Shocking.

   Dog's tails must be sensitive to cold water temperatures.  They keep their tails up high.

Refreshing.

   Monet and Lily share a Father Daughter moment walking in the water together.

   We cross a small creek flowing into the sea.  

   We pass by a beach fort on the left.  Poppy is carrying a piece of their firewood.

 Monet waits for me to catch up.

   There are a few apple trees growing along the beach.  Lily finds an apple.

She sets the apple into the water to clean it off before she eats it.

   This is as far as we can walk along the beach.  

There is another creek behind the remains of a mill structure.

This creek is too large to cross.  The dogs love to play here.

 I sit down in the gravel to relax.

   The views are amazing from this spot.

I hope you enjoyed the beach walk!  Have a good night.

"Stonington Harvest Moon" 6x8 oil on copper.  I will take a better photo tomorrow morning.

   I drove to Stonington to paint after I played with the pups.  

I drove around taking photos.  Stonington is a wonderful place to be.

   It was a cold windy night.  I sat inside my van at the wharf to paint.

I used a LED light to illuminate my palette.  Worked perfect.

I was painting when I looked to my left.  At my window in the van was a man

standing there.  Normally in Florida I would have screamed really loud!

In Maine I have relaxed.  I opened the van door.  I said, "Hello!"

He asked if I was an artist with the group.  "No but I am an artist!"

He was very talkative and nice.  He told me he sold his work for 5 figures.

I guess that means 10,000$ or more.  He doesn't live to far away from me.

It would be fun to paint with him someday.  

   I met an artist named Kelly from Boston.  She was just getting started with the moon.

I asked her if she needed anything?  I think it is good to ask a fellow painter.

You never know if they may have forgotten paper towels or a brush!  

I met another painter who parked next to my van.  I was familiar with his work.

We chatted for a while in the dark.  He liked my magnetic signs on my van showing

my website and work.  He was from Boston as well.

I really enjoy meeting other artists.  

   Look who I saw today in Stonington, Maine!  Dundee, the orange Maine Coon Cat was

heading to the Opera house.

   Dundee was hunting.  It was obvious.  

Today I heard a wonderful story from a lady who has lived in Stonington most of her life.

She said the owner of Dundee, the orange Maine Coon Cat, was called down to the dry goods store

in town.  Dundee was caught stealing cat nip.  He had wandered into the store.  He walked

up and down the aisles until he discovered cat nip inside little cloth pouches.  He grabbed one

and was rolling around on it.  He grabbed more and had a bit of a party.  He caused a scene on

aisle two!  He tried to leave with one of the pouches when he was apprehended.

   Everyone has many stories to share about this cat.

   This morning I was feeling particularly brave in Stonington.  I asked

permission to paint at the yellow house!  It was cold and windy.  I may need to work on the

craftsmanship of this painting.  It is a 6x8 oil on copper.  I need to come up with a title.

"Stonington's Yellow Cottage" 6x8 oil on copper 450$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping included.

   I tweaked the painting in the morning and took a better photo!  

   The sunset was a pumpkin color.

Good night.

"Monhegan Meadow" 20x26 oil on copper.  1750$ Sold.  Thank you!

   I finished the painting today.  It was so much fun to paint.  The colors of Autumn

make a beautiful painting.  The sky is full of yellow, pinks, and oranges.

   I had this much of the painting finished when Robert came home from work.

He took the dogs to the beach while I cooked dinner.

   I worked on the left lower side of the painting this morning.

I added the peach colored sheet on the left.  

  I thought I would share the nalgene bottles I use to hold my turpenoid.

The lids do not leak.

I was tired of spending money on metal turpentine containers.

The seal of the metal containers failed after a few months or years.

Turpenoid spilled so many times in my car from leaky turp metal containers.

I discovered these nalgene bottles on ebay.  

I bought 6 for 20$ of the smaller bottles.  I like the wide mouth bottles.

I prefer the smaller 4 oz wide mouth bottles for everyday plein air and studio use.

   I paint 10 hours or more most days.  Every few hours I use a new container of fresh turpenoid.

I like to use fresh turpenoid because it keeps my oil paint colors clean.  

Using dirty turpenoid or turpentine while you paint can cause grey or dirty colors.

 I set the used bottles aside to settle.  Once a week I shake each bottle, pour the old

turp into a bigger bottle.  Then I add fresh turp into this bottle, close the lid, set it aside.

I do this with all the bottles.  The fresh turp comes from the old bottles.  The oil paint

settles.  The top of the turp is fresh.  In the photo above I am pouring clean turp into

a clean bottle.  

When I first started to paint with oils I did not know to recycle the old turpenoid.

I poured it into the trash.  I am glad I discovered how to recycle turp.

   Each morning I play with the dogs outside.  They like to sit under my chair

and play games.  

   They bark at each other while they play.

It can be noisy.  I stick my head under the chair to see what they are up to.

They usually have a toy.

They really enjoy each other.  I am glad.  Have a great night.

Here is the painting on my easel tonight.

The painting is a 20x26 oil on copper.

I saw the scene while walking up to the Monhegan Lighthouse.

I paused to catch my breath but to admire this view of the meadow.

It seemed like the perfect composition.  I knew it would look great large!

   This morning I painted the luminous sky with light reds and yellows.

Last night worked on the drawing of the painting.

I ended up drawing it three times before I liked it.

I find myself still making corrections as I paint.

   Here is the drawing on the copper.  I knew it would be difficult to draw because it was complex.

  I had to stop painting for the night.  My head hurts really bad.  Tinnitus is very loud.

I think I will call a doctor tomorrow.  Or maybe I will find a urgent care.

I may need more tests or more antibiotics for tick born illnesses.

The Boothbay doctor told me if I was not better after 21 days of doxycycline to be

tested for Hematic anemia for Babeosis, a different tick born illness.  He said I had

all the symptoms for this one too.  I really think they need special 24 hour tick born illness treatment

facilities in high tick concentrated areas such as New England.  It is difficult finding a doctor to

treat tick born illnesses in Maine.  Most of the tick born illnesses cause fatalities or cripple people.

   I drove the pups to the beach this morning.  They had a ball.

   Monet loves to sit on the bench with a rock in his mouth.

  Poppy rolled in the dirt trying to remove more skunk odor.  

She has a slight odor but I am sure to Poppy it is unbearable.

   Lily was digging a huge hole.  I took her to the vet today.  She blew her coat.

I was worried about some swelling in the anal gland area.  The vet said the hair was 

probably hormone related.  Lily's glands were fine.  She may be going into heat early.

She did have a little ear infection.  We have medicines for her ear.

She sat in my lap at the vet.  

   The dogs had a great day playing with Maggie the 13 year old golden, a young black

golden doodle, and a older golden doodle.  The puppy ran in circles.  They loved to chase her.

Zoom.

Good night!

"Zinnias 1" 7x5 ink with watercolor.  30$ comes with an envelope to use a special card or

can be framed.  Shipping is included.

"Zinnias 2" 7x5 ink with watercolor 30$ unframed, comes with envelope

but can be framed.  Shipping is included.  

    Anne Marie came to my house today to paint.  We decided to sit inside

my tiny house with a giant vase of Robert's zinnias.  It was so nice painting

and talking about art, dogs, and everything else!   The dogs came into the

tiny house one by one.  Monet sat on my lap on the tiny couch.  He

looked like a 100 pound puppy.  He didn't want to leave.  One of the

zinnias stems was broken.  I used gorilla tape to fix it.  We continued

with our painting.  It was a fun day.

"Port Clyde Sparkles" 6x8 oil on copper.  450$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping is included.

   I found this painting in my van today.  I painted at Port Clyde before I caught the ferry.

It was a nice surprise to find in a box!  I admired a few spruce trees lining the coast by 

the lighthouse.  Lavender asters are blooming.  

I am feeling more energetic now that the doxycyline has been finished.

My jaw joint is still not operating at 100%.  I am a little stiff around the joints.

I feel pretty fine!  I am enthusiastic about painting.  I can not decide what Monhegan

photo to paint large.  I drew out 15 ideas of large paintings using photos as a reference.

It is too difficult to decide.  I guess I will keep thinking about it while I paint zinnias.

Good night.