Artist Renee Lammers

"Lupine Cottage" 20x30 oil on copper 1850$ framed in your choice of gold or black with gold frame.

Shipping is included.

    I worked over the painting last night.

Instead of painting each petal on the lupines, I decided to paint them as if they were spears, and

added warm highlights where the sun shined.  I painted a darker side of the spear. 

I also softened edges and blended some lupines together.

I darkened a few windows to add mystery.

Now it is a painting I can be proud of!

Here are a few detail photos.

The little roof over the front door added so much personality.

The spruce trees behind the house had many sky holes. 

I painted a few limbs inside the sky holes.

   The sunlight and shadows on the roof looked good.

   Lupines look easy to paint but they are difficult to look natural.

They take a lot of different colors and soft edges to look like they are waving in the wind.

Otherwise the lupines can look like stripes.

  Monet really enjoyed being brushed by Robert.

Robert was singing songs to the dogs and brushing them.

Here is a cute video of Robert brushing Poppy.

https://youtu.be/TnL51QaBLvA

    We took all the dogs to the vet!   All are healthy, shots, and Lyme vaccine,

and Bravectra pill to kill ticks and fleas! 

Good night.

"Lupine Cottage" 20x30 oil on copper  (not finished yet)

   Late last night I decided to paint a cat into the painting.

The painting is all about the stately white house.

Now I think the cat is too large.

I think I will take a palette knife and scrape out the cat.

I will create more lupines in this area.

I think I will add more blue to the lupines.

UPDATE:  Here is the painting now!

   The cat ran off with his mouse. 

I painted all the lupines over with a deeper Cobalt Blue and Quinacridone Red.

I added more daisies.  I deepened the shadow on the right side of the house.

I darkened a few windows on the bottom. 

I added more warm light tones on the sunny boards.

This photo is more accurate with the values.  The spruce trees behind the house are

not that dark.  The windows now are the darkest darks.

I am much happier. 

I will put this painting in a drying box to rest.

I am leaving for Florida April, 3.  I will return to Maine on May 5.

Then I will take another look at this painting.

For now I really love it!

   I took the dogs to Sandy Point Beach.

   They had a great time.

Good night.

(cropped photo of a 20x30 painting).  Not finished yet.

   I have been painting a beautiful Stonington white house.

The little roof over the front door caught my eye.

The house looked so stately standing in a large lupine field surrounded by spruce

trees overlooking 180 degrees of Stonington harbor.

The house takes over a half of the painting in space.

   Tomorrow I will work more on this painting.  I think it will be finished!

Good night.

   Luke came to visit us today. 

The ground was covered in a nice mixture of snow and sleet.

We are having the coldest March in the history of Maine.

I see no signs of Spring.  Forsythia are not budded nor are the trees.

   I studied many images on the computer to paint.

I decided on a beautiful white house I saw in Stonington, Maine.

This will be a 20x30 oil on copper painting.

Many artists use a projector for drawing the image on a large painting.

A projector would not work on copper.  The luminous surface would be a glare.

I use my Mom's invention of thread and tape to grid a copper panel.

I transfer my drawing on the grid, then remove the thread, and paint!

I like to use a yard stick and ruler to create a few straight lines.

I just use the yard stick as a guide for a loaded brush of oil paint.

I can also make sure my windows are all the same level.

I have not used a ruler or a yard stick while painting plein air yet.

   I am pleased to have the house almost complete.

I will go back once the paint has dried to put more lights and

straighten out more edges.

I tend to work late on large paintings because it is so quiet.

Then I have a light dinner at 1am or 3am.

I sleep in until 10am.  I confess the late hours wipe me out.

It is difficult to write and post photos on the blog on a regular basis.

Once I get started painting, I just keep at it, until I am exhausted.

I am having so much fun that I don't want to stop.

I went to get a glass of water.  I came back to find Monet in my seat.

I thought he looked so handsome.

   The dogs all went to the beach tonight with Robert.

He is good to them.  Every night after work they all go to the beach.

Good night.

"Spring In The Forest" 11x14 oil on copper 675$ framed in gold or black with gold.  Shipped.

    I had such a fun time going wild painting in the forest today.

I found an area of a forest with diversity.

I liked all the different types of trees. 

I also liked the different thickness of the trunks. 

The cool shadow on the snow complemented all the warm leaves in the sun.

I may paint another forest tomorrow.  It is really a challenge.

I drove around admiring forests.

I discovered a nice creek.

   I was looking for a wonderful little bird called a woodcock.

The woodcock is shaped like a football, has a very long beak, and eats worms.

The neat thing about a woodcock bird is their dance.

I didn't see any woodcocks.  I think they like meadows.

   Lily what do have there?  Ted's leather glove?  Oh boy!

   Let me have my glove back!

  Come on Lily!  My glove! 

   Give me my hat back Lily!  

Have a good night.

   You might think it is the King of Holland arriving when Ted and Luke come to visit.

The dogs bark several times in the morning thinking they have arrived!

They visit us twice a week to get their Monet, Lily, Poppy, and Renee fix.

The visits are great entertainment.

    Lily found a small bag of trash to carry around and howl.

She ran to each person with the trash.

She did this for a few minutes until the game was boring.

   Robert and I took all three golden retrievers to the vet yesterday.

We took Poppy in first to see the vet.

We thought Poppy needed to be carried inside the office.

At the last minute Poppy decided to walk with dignity into the vet's office.

We discovered the appointment was next week.

Poppy was mad at us the entire day. 

Poppy will get even for this.  I better be on my guard.

Lily has been naughty this week.

Four times I have caught her sneaking up to the neighbor's house to the road.

   After several calls to Lily, Poppy ran up there to give her the word, then she ran back.

Lily will be on a tight leash for a while.  She is a teenager. 

   The dogs always watch Ted lift Luke into their car. 

Ted gives each dog a treat afterwards. 

We all say goodbye to our friends. 

   I hope to be fired up to paint tomorrow.

  I need a few days off after finishing a larger painting.

Good night.

"Shadow Side of The Olsen House" 5x7 oil on copper not finished yet.

"Shadow Side of Olsen House" 5x7 oil on copper 350$ framed in gold or black with gold. Shipped.

I tweaked this plein air painting in my studio.  I added another set of windows.

   It was below zero today with high winds coming off Maine's ocean.  I know it was

this cold because it was difficult to breathe.  I stood in the snow capturing the

glowing shadow of the famous Olsen House.  Andrew Wyeth painted here.

The house is very large but somehow I preferred the smaller back area.

My oil paint was thick because of the lower temperatures.

I could imagine Andrew Wyeth there with the

Olsen family. 

I  drove away quickly to the portrait class with only 15 minutes to spare.

"Rodger" 7x5 oil on copper 350$ framed in gold or black with gold.

    Rodger was a good model today in portrait class.

We had a birthday party for a different painter tonight.

We had a beautiful german chocolate cake and pizza.

There was red wine and non alcoholic sparkling beverages.

It seemed like we are all somber this evening.

It was a cold night.  Sometimes cold temperatures can damper everything.

We all worked hard at our portraits.

    Here is an interior photo of the Olsen house.

   I climbed down a hill to photograph this frozen creek in Stockton Springs.

   I was told by a very great painter to never paint along a frozen creek by yourself.

It is dangerous.  He knew a painter who slipped through the ice, fell into a creek, and

was swept under the ice never to be seen until a thaw. 

I took a few photos and left.  I could see the danger there.

It was difficult to tell where the snow and ice met. 

Plus the thirty mph winds and temperatures made it miserable.

   I liked this composition.  Would it be a tree painting or a creek painting?

The largest space given is to the tree. 

The water seems to always steal the show.

  Monet was cleaning his Daughter Lily's ear.  They were all cuddled up together last night.

They are so sweet together.

Good night.

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

Shipping is included in the price.   Sold.  Thank you.  I think I will buy REALLY Big copper!  LOL.

    It took two slices of cheese cake to finish this painting.

I carefully painted the foreground lupines one by one.

I referred to two different plein air paintings I did a few years ago of the white house.

In both of these paintings the roof, tree foliage, and grass had more golden tones.

I made these changes painting more gold and orange into the painting.

Day Lilies were added giving the painting more orange tones.

Blue and orange are complements.

The lupines came alive once the oranges were painted.

I added more daisies.  This lightened the painting.

Anywhere I could I added more warm tones.

I kept the large oak tree in the distance light in value blending the tree into the lupines.

I sat back and admired the painting once it was finished.

I felt a great sense of pride. 

It is a big accomplishment for me to paint larger with oils on copper.

  Here is a detail photo of the white house.

This white house is nicknamed "Goosebump House".

Stapleton Kearns pointed out this house as we drove to Acadia National Park to paint in 2010.

He had much success painting this house with the lupines.

I am grateful for his teaching efforts. 

Good night.

   Here is the 20x26 oil on copper I am currently working on.

Today I decided I must be rid of dark spruce trees behind the house on the right.

Here is a photo of the painting before.

The mood was wrong with the painting.

I decided to paint yellow/red grass in the background. 

I lightened my distant trees on the left.

I will work more of the craftsmanship of the lupines in the foreground.

I will paint a large oak tree in the distant right upper corner. 

I am thinking of incorporating a reddish brown paint in the grass area up to the house

to hold it all together and to add more of a compliment to the greens. 

I may need to wait for the painting to dry before I continue. 

    I thought I would show this photo to explain a common design problem.

See all the grass in the foreground?  It is better to not choose this photo or to eliminate this grass.

The grass forms a barrier for the viewer's eye to get into the painting.

The grass fences out the viewer.

It makes the viewer of the painting feel uncomfortable.

A good comparison would be:  How comfortable do you feel speaking to a person who has their arms folded in front of them?

They are guarding themselves.  You would feel more comfortable speaking to a person who has their arms open.

   I prefer this design.

I love the ice leading the eye into the distance to the subject, the pink house.

Here is another photo with a design problem. 

Watch where your eye travels.

I believe you eye will travel down the ice's edge to the right corner and pause there.

Any perpendicular line will create a center of interest.

I would crop the bottom of the photo so the ice is 2/3 never 1/2.

What about this photo to paint?  I don't think so.

1.  I feel like I am treading water viewing the scene.  This makes me feel uncomfortable.

2.  I can not see any of the houses clearly because they are too far away.

The larger issue with any of these photos for me is lack of light.

I would turn any of these into a night scene painting.

Or maybe I would just paint them grey or lavender. 

   Here is Monet with a new Bark Box toy. 

   Poppy, on the left, was tearing up a new toy. 

Monet was giving her the stink eye.

When Monet saw me come into the room, he whimpered, and made sure I knew what she

was up to.   I told Poppy she is making Monet upset. 

I went to sleep.  All night until 3:00am I heard squeaking.

I went downstairs to find Monet in his bed playing with the pink toy.

I made an appointment for Friday to have their dog shots and tick prevention

pill.  They said it would be 505$.  I am glad to have the funds. 

Thanks for the painting sales. 

   I will have a gift of a cat nip filled tiny fish plush toy for Dundee.

Good night! 

"Spring Snow" 11x14 oil on copper  475$ frame in either gold or black with gold.  Shipped.

When I was painting in Stonington a few days ago, I found myself starring into the

forest at sunset.  The colors were amazing.  I walked into the forest searching for a nice

composition. 

Each morning I study paintings up for auction on Mutual Art. 

I drew this painting by Emile Gruppe.

I studied his beautiful blue or dark thin lines drawing on top of the oil paint

to delineate the tree's structure. 

What stood out about this painting was the careful attention to the tree's feet.

Emile Gruppe's tree paintings might be the best painted in my opinion.

He is the one to study for trees.

"Sea Urchin Breathe" 5x7 oil on copper. 

This is another Lily and Maisey series painting.

They both snacked on a sea urchin they found on the beach.

Then it was back to playing war. 

  Pretty scene from Stonington.

Thank you for purchasing paintings yesterday.

Looks like all the shots for my dogs will be taken care of.

   Luke visited yesterday.  We all have fun.

   Monet on the left always gives his Dad Luke a few kisses.

   Here is Lady Rose, from the first litter. 

She is a happy Mom now with two week old puppies.

Good night.

"Stonington Glow" 5x4 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thanks!

I decided to have a painting sale to afford my dogs annual vet visit.

I would like to have their shots done before I leave for Florida.

Weather temperatures will be warmer and the ticks will be out.

The Lyme vaccination helps incase they do get bitten by a tick.

They will also draw blood to check for heartworms and lyme disease.

All their regular vaccinations will be done.

Here are a few to entice you:

"Happy Zinnias" 11x14 oil on copper   Sold.  Thank you.  Now Poppy will have all her shots.

"New Symrna Beach Life Guard" 11x14 oil on copper  Thank you.  Now I can get a shingles shot!  LOL

"Wave Watchers" 11x14 oil on copper  Sold.  Thank you!  This should take care of Lily's shots!

"Schoodic's Raven's Nest" 20x14 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thank you.

Now Monet will have his shots! 

Thank you!  Mission accomplished but any other painting

purchases will be appreciated.   Have a great night.

   Dundee the orange Maine Coon cat is doing well.

He enjoyed his Winter.  His tail looked a bit rough. 

Other than the tail Dundee looked fine.

He allowed me to take several photos of him in different positions.

   When I first saw Dundee he was hunkered down behind snow in front of his home.

I came over to Dundee.  I said hello.  He stood up.  He marched right over to me meowing.

He recognized me.

He was very chatty today.

I said goodbye to my favorite Dundee the orange Maine coon cat.

He showed me a path in the snow someone shoveled for him. 

   "Stonington Spring Snow" 5x7 oil on copper. 

I decided to paint quickly in front of the famous yellow house. 

The colors were so dynamic today.

For some reason I painted the chimney off to the side.  I like it.

"Stonington Ark" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ framed in gold.  Shipped.

   This interesting looking ark like boat is popular among artists to paint.

It is so unusual most people recognize it as Stonington immediately.

I hope to paint a larger painting with this ark. 

I wanted to do a small study of it in person. 

I could see so many beautiful colors on location.

It was fun trying to paint seagulls. 

   The harbor is a little to complicated to paint on location.

   The colors were great because it was below 32 degrees!  With the wind coming off the

ocean it felt like 0 degrees!

  I was invited to take photos from this property. 

   I will make amends with Lily.  I stepped on her foot while I was bringing in groceries.

Then I ate a donut hole in front of her.  I had forgotten Dunkin Donuts had given her a few

glazed donut holes in the past.   Lily recognized them.  She was drooling.

  I was not aware of this until the donut hole was finished.

  Lily had the longest face.  I must make it up to her!

Her foot is fine but her feelings have been hurt. 

I will take her to Dunkin Donuts for a free donut hole. 

Good night.

 Here is my favorite portrait painting finished today.  Oil on copper 11x14.

Even the model liked her portrait.  This was quite surprising!

Today's portrait class gave me some confidence with portraits.

I found clarinet Mozart music for the painters.

Every painter enjoyed the music. 

This may be a first.  

We were eating Italian chocolates.

We laughed a lot tonight while we were painting.

I believe the model found us all very entertaining.

The models selected for this class are all people who have made a significant

impact helping the community with the arts, dance, and other things.

   I was driving around today before the class in Thomaston taking photos.

I was delighted to find these antique maple syrup containers in use!

Now days they use plastic milk containers or plastic bags to collect maple syrup.

   This may have been an old maple syrup boiling shack or sugar shack.

   I don't know what type of vegetation creates so much color.  It was bright!

Good night. 

"Starring Contest" 5x7 oil on copper.  On hold for a Summer or Autumn show at Coco Vivo Gallery

in Boothbay, Maine.

    Here is another painting of Lily and Maisey when they were both six months old.

Maisey had never been into the water.  She was encouraged by Lily.

It took a few minutes before Maisey was shoulder deep.

I asked her owner if she could swim.  She said no.

We both walked close to the water.

After the starring contest Maisey stepped out deeper, grabbed a hold

of Lily's back with her teeth, and floated while Lily walked.

Then Maisey climbed on Lily's back, Lily was dunked, and so Maisey

swam.  She didn't swim for long.  Lily was soaking wet.

Maisy's head was dry. 

   I made good progress on this 20x26 oil on copper painting.

I put the painting in a box to dry.  I will paint lupines in a few days.

    Monet was playing with his red teddy bear.

   All Monet needs to do it wave or shake the toy in front of Liy.

The game is on!  They play sweetly together.

   Have a great night.

    The tricky part of the painting, the white house, may be finished. 

This is a very old house built in the 1800's. 

The porch was added later.

I have always admired the decorative woodwork on the porch.

I am not sure how many times I have painted this house.

The house's name is called the Goosebump House.

  Here is another one of my plein air paintings of this house painted and sold long ago.

Lily stole my paper towels.  She ran around the house growling.

Robert caught her and handed back one very hairy paper towel roll!

Lily's new thing has been to carry around her brush.

She runs from me to Robert and back growling.

What personality!  Good night.

   Lily has been sitting in my chair with me every morning.

She likes to sit next to me instead of in my lap like her Dad Monet.

It is a comfortable arrangement.  This morning she held her brush in her mouth

for an hour.   Our friends Ted and Luke thought she was cute. 

I was teaching Lily about art history.

She admired William Chase's work in particular.

  She seemed to close her eyes when I showed her a Winslow Homer painting.

She said she was afraid of being in the boat because of sharks. 

Robert and I were watching a movie the night before where two people scuba diving

were left behind.  They were both eaten by sharks. 

I can see why she would be afraid of the Homer painting.

Maybe we should watch more dog appropriate movies.

   Robert has a bad cold.  I asked Lily to choose the subject for the next painting.

She selected a large field of lupines with a pretty white house on the hill.

She said it would be nice to run around the field in the lupines and chase the cat.

Lupine field with black cat painting is on the easel!

What a smart dog.  Monet and Poppy didn't want to help with the selection.

Good thing I have three dogs.  One out of three likes art.

    It took me a few hours to properly draw the house on the hill.

I liked the diagonal lines of the house.  I am not sure where I will place the cat yet.

The lupines will be blowing in the wind.

   Here is a little 4x5 oil on copper painting finished and sold many years ago.

This larger painting will have a similar feel but more developed.

It has been difficult to select an image for the next painting.

I hope Robert gets better soon.

I will get back to painting.  Good night.

We took the day off from painting today. 

My lap dog Monet decided to try out Robert's chair.  We didn't end up on the ground.

  I often find Monet, Poppy, and Lily sitting in a circle together.

They are a tight knit group.

I made homemade chicken soup with homemade noodles for Robert.

I am trying to decide on the next big painting.  I think it will boats!

Good night.

"Roger" 2x4 inches oil on copper. 

    Tonight in the portrait class I decided to paint miniature portraits.

I held the copper panels in my hand while I painted.

This portrait of Roger was a thirty minute painting.

I was using a size 0 round brush.

I was thinking of John Singer Sargent's dark backgrounds.

I used Ivory Black oil paint. 

Then I used my normal four limited palette colors:  Cadmium Yellow Light,

Cadmium Red Light, Cobalt Blue, and Quinacridone Red.

"Amy 1"   2x4 oil on copper.

This was a fifteen minute pose painting.

I discovered tonight if I use Neo Meglip by Gamblin, I can

thin down my oil paint to create a transparent background for the

portraits.  The copper shimmer through this transparent background.

I like it.

"Amy 2" 2x4 oil on copper. 

Once these paintings are dried, I will give them all a very thin coat

of Gamblin's Galkyd with a small amount of Gamsol to thin the Galkyd.

There will be a small amount of shine on the painting's surface.

The Galkyd will seal the painting.  Oxygen will not penetrate the

surface to oxidize with the copper.  The copper will remain the same color.

"Painters" 2x4 oil on copper.

Next I painted three painters working. 

They were looking up at the model and then they would look down.

I chose the moment when they were looking up.

I worked on one painter at a time.

Have a good night.

"Port Clyde Evening" 20x30 oil on copper.  1850$ your choice of gold or black with gold frame.

Shipping is included. Photo taken with my Canon EOS 7D.  Accurate colors and values!

I love this time of the day after sunset before night falls.

The light is low.  There is a predominance of cool colors.

The water has a shimmery effect from the tones in the sky.

The colors are restful in this painting.

Low light situations require minimal value changes in the grass area.

This painting was a lot of fun.  These larger works are getting easier!

I can not wait for warmer weather this Spring to paint outside again.

Good night!

    Smoke is a blast to paint.  I load my flat brush with three or four colors (not out of the tube)

and roll and drag my brush to create smoke.

I think about where the sun is, what shape I want the smoke, and go for it.

The sun creates light on smoke.  There is a shadow on smoke.

Then there is the internal heat of the smoke as it comes out of the chimney.

There is a lot to think about before painting the smoke.

If I don't like how it came out, I wipe off the area with a palette knife, and try again.

I guess I could practice my smoke on my palette as well.

I made great progress today with this 20x30 oil on copper.

I might finish this painting tomorrow! 

I decided the sky needed many delicate colors to create a sunset.

   There is more color in the sky than seen in this photo. 

When the painting is finished, on a non windy grey day, I will take a outdoor picture

with my Canon EOS 7D.  This camera takes accurate color images to share.

At night after painting I used my cell phone under a LED light to photograph the image.

I want to share the progress.

   There will be yellow dandelions in the foreground. 

Maybe I might paint a few wild rose bushes. 

I am very worried about painting the name of the lobster boat. 

I might allow the painting to dry before I attempt any letting with a brush!

Then if I don't like the lettering, I can just wipe it off, and try again.

I have had so much fun painting larger and painting people this Winter.

   Can you believe this is in my backyard on the East Penobscot Channel with Verona Island?

This channel turned into ice farther up the river.

A boat breaks the ice.  Then the ice floes float down the channel.

   Lily and Poppy enjoyed watching the ice floes this morning. 

They look so similar. 

I love how Lily mimics everything her Mom does.

I see Lily watching her Mom and then she will give it a try.

    Have a great night!

   I decided to paint a large 20x30 oil on copper painting of Port Clyde.

I will paint a moon in this painting.  There should be lavenders and pinks on the water.

I will paint the moon's reflection tomorrow.

Lobster traps will be in this painting scattered all over the yard.

This should be fun.  I have no plein air experience with this scene!

   I was so thrilled to hear Lady Rose, from Monet and Poppy's first litter, had puppies.

They are all healthy.  She had seven pups, 2 girls, and 5 boys.

There are a few pups with red hair. 

There is one red head under her far arm. 

Lady Rose had her first puppy outside in the snow.

The puppy was carried into the house!

Then Lady Rose had the rest of the puppies in her master's bed.

She didn't care for the whelping box. 

She has been a devoted proud Mother. 

I am so happy!  Puppies!  It is a miracle every time a puppy is born.

I hope they live long happy healthy lives.

"Alligator Game"  5x7 oil on copper.  on hold.

Here is the Lily/Maisey painting completed last night for the series.

Good night.

"Swimming Lesson" 5x7 oil on copper. On Hold. 

     I decided to paint Lily encouraging Maisey to swim.

I don't think Corgi's swim.  Their body style does not make them a natural swimmer.

If you play with a golden retriever you will eventually need to swim!

I remember Maisey's owner watching with anxiety as Maisey walked into the water.

We stood close to the water's edge in case Maisey needed saving.

   I trimmed Lily's ears for the first time.

Monet put his nose in Lily's ear.  He was concerned about this haircut.

Luke took a nap while Ted told me the story of Luke's first hair cut.

He asked the lady not to put Luke in a cage with a heat lamp. 

Ted said this can be traumatic for a young dog.

He came back early to get Luke.  Luke was in a cage with a heat lamp.

He yelled and screamed at the lady, took Luke, and left. 

Yet another Luke hairdresser fired. 

Ted has fired many dog groomers.  No one does a perfect job like Luke deserves.

Even the one time I was allowed to trim Luke's hair there was a complaint.

"Can you at least trim his hair on his planks so they match in length?"

 I was never asked to trim Luke's hair again.

  It was a very windy cold day in Maine.

My dogs huddled around the heater.

   Lily cleaned her Mom's face. 

  She cleaned her face for a few minutes.

   Lily sat and admired her Mom Poppy. 

Have a good night.

"Love Nip" 5x7 oil on copper On Hold. 

   I am beginning a series of 20 paintings size 5x7 of Lily and Maisy when they were

6 months old.   They entertained us all by rolling around, nipping, chasing, and hopping

over each other.  People gathered around to watch them.

Everyone was laughing or smiling. 

I can see these paintings hung together, creating a small book showing the paintings,

and have Lily and Maisey make a grand appearance.  They might play for us?

This will give me an opportunity to create a book.

Any age person might enjoy the paintings. 

I have been thinking about this idea for a long time.

Have a good night.

"Monhegan Moon" 5x7 oil on copper.  350$ framed in gold or black with gold.

  I had fun creating a night scene with moon on Monhegan Island at Fish Beach.

The house with lights on is called the Eider Duck.

Robert, Daisy, Duke, and I once stayed a week in this house.

The views from the top floor are incredible. 

There was a piano on the first floor.

There are ten twin beds on the top floor with no walls.

The bed frames are old.  A person can not lay flat in any of these beds.

What a funny experience.

   Lily brought firewood inside the house to chew on.

I tried to take the firewood away.

She pulled a 'Luke' on me!

She rolled her front lip and growled at me!

She continued to growl until I backed away.

I put my foot on the firewood and she growled louder.

Luke does this all of the time.  Lily watches him.  Bad trick to learn from Luke!

Later Lily went into my bedroom to steal one of my new sheep skin slippers.

She put the slipper in Robert's room.  Then she ran downstairs.

She didn't see me watching her.

Later Lily stole my other slipper. 

 She put both slippers together in Robert's room.

I love all her funny pranks and spirit.

Good night.

"Garden Walk" 5x7 oil on copper  350$ framed in gold or black with gold.  Shipped.

   It is challenging painting these two people. 

It would be easier to find a photo of a couple to paint instead of making them up!

It was a cool rainy foggy grey day in Maine. 

Here is a nice snow scene from Stonington. 

I will miss the snow.  It is mud season.

   I have been taking photos of this house for years.

It is located in Deer Isle or Brooklyn on the way to Stonington.

No one has lived here for years.

Inside the house is a 1940's time capsule.

I think the house looks best in snow.

The problem is finding the right angle to paint the house.

   I admire the tree in the foreground. 

   I drove by this beautiful house with a dog laying on a patch of snow, chickens, and ducks.

I would remove the fence in the foreground.

I would create a fence on the left hand side to guide the eye into the painting.

I would paint chickens and ducks like a string of pearls across the middle of the painting.

Have a good night.