Winter's Treasures

I haven't been blogging lately, not because I've been in hibernation. Not at all. Winter in Maine has many gifts for painters and I've been honored to receive many of them. Here are a couple, inspired by my daily walks on our nearby beach. It's called Willard Beach and because it's southeast-facing, the stroller is protected from the northwest winds that blow incessantly at this time of year. Most mornings it's pleasant even in the winter, but if the wind changes direction, watch out!


Winter Morning Silhouettes Oil on Canvas 18"X24"
This was a cloudy morning with the sun peaking out from cracks in the cloud cover. There was a strong reflection on the water the intensity of which is very hard to capture. I try to do it by contrast, but if there is a better idea out there, please let me know!


Snow Fences Oil on Canvas 16"X20"
These are installed to not only prevent drifting but also to protect the dune grass. If you look at them just right, you can find interesting compositional patterns. I added footprints for balance and added tiny figures on the beach to show distance. The first picture faces into the morning sun. The posi tion for this one is further to the north with the afternoon sun to the rightrear.

Saying Goodbye to summer

Strawberry Pickers
16 X 20 Oil on Canvas

After a glorious summer here in New England, the signs that it will end soon are showing. But I am reluctant to let go, so I will preserve a some memories with a couple of pieces I did. Above is that all too brief Maine tradition: strawberry picking. The season lasted just two weeks this year (it's usually three), but I did get out to catch the bent bodies of those who choose to "pick your own." This is a field in Cape Elizabeth which seems "forever." It's ironic that such verdant foliage virtually hides the berries which makes all that stooping and crawling around necessary.
Below is the product of a visit to nearby Pine Point where at low tide many boats are beached, providing the owners a chance for some maintenance. The boat reminds me of a beached whale.

Bottoms Up!
16 X 20 Oil on Canvas

Spring Has Sprung!

Signs of Spring
Oil on Canvas 16" X12"

After a really lousy winter, spring has suddenly exploded here on the coast of Maine. It seems like it happened all at once. So, naturally I'm out looking for spring subjects as I'm pretty sure it won't last long.
This scene is at Willard Beach, just down the street from our house. I was amazed at the array of forsythia that appeared on the point at the south end of the beach. It was a clear day, so the yellow wasn't particularly muted even though the bushes were quite distant. Then suddenly a young girl decides to wade in the frigid water, so I had the pink of her shirt complementing the light green of the distant grass and foliage and a purplish beach in the afternoon light complementing the yellow. Some nice reflections helped out, too. Sort of impressionistic and a little eye-candyish, but I liked it.


Balancing Act
Oil on Canvas 14" X 11"
Near the north end of the beach I came upon this--a small rock delicately balanced on a large one. No act of nature this. I mentioned in a previous blog that there is a guy who wanders the beach in search of the makings of such creations, sculptured "Kilroy Was Here" markers. I caught up with him early one morning in the act and asked him why he did it. "For the hell of it," says he. His sculptures usually don't last long--wind and water do them in quickly-- but this one lasted about a week and finally disappeared in one of the astronomic tides. It's just a painting of rocks, I guess--a lot of horizontals and one major vertical. The distance lighthouse you see is really not as prominent, nor is the red marker buoy to the right, but I pumped them up to get some supporting verticals to help my not- long-for rock. I also liked the colors in the foreground seaweed which when seen from further away looks just brown. Then, back at the studio...

Road to Salzburg
Oil on Canvas 16" X 12"
...I was going through some photos of our fall trip to Europe and thought one of the Austrian Alps had potential. During the trip, a cruise down the Danube, we stopped in Linz, Austria and then took a bus to Salzburg. What a neat city it is, but that's another story. Along the way, we stopped at a lake called Moon See. It was early morning, the sun was just showing over the distant peaks and the mists and fog had not yet burned off. A bit of snow-this was late November after all--was in the foreground nicely balancing what was on the mountains. I liked the multiple planes in the mountains but it was the fog roiling on the lake that stole the show. I stuck a building in the near left foreground just so I could show smoke coming from its chimney to tie in the misty elements. In a way, this was to be my farewell to winter, but it wasn't. Stay tuned.

Come, take a walk with me--Part I

House on Preble St.
Oil on Canvas 20X16

Fishermens' Shacks III
Oil on Canvas 20 X 16

View of Spring Point From Willard Beach
Oil on Canvas 24 X 18

Willard Beach Solitude
Oil on Canvas 20 X 16

During the winter, I take a 3 or 4 mile walk every morning. (In warm weather I bike 15 miles more or less--that's another blog, if spring ever comes). Most people have an idea of what they think Maine is like, but actually it is very diverse. Where I live, my walk takes in several different worlds--all of them interesting and stimulating. I traverse a neighborhood, a beach, a working waterfront, a college, a marina, a seaside park and a couple of lighthouses. So I invite you to join me and let's see what we see.

My neighborhood is in the Spring Point section of South Portland, on the other side of the river from Maine's largest city, Portland. It has a wide range of residents ranging from artists, to aging hippies, to fisherman, working folk, soon-to-be tycoons, retired people, college people and others undefined. It also has very diverse architecture--winterized beach houses, triple deckers built in the 40s for shipyard workers, MacMansions, large homes converted to apartments, and some oldies but goodies such as the mansard roof Victorian above. So I start my walk with a good ration of architectural eye candy, and a few "Mornin's" to passersby who must wonder where this guy is going every morning, all bundled up with sunglasses. My wife says I look like the Unibomber.
Then I head down to the beach, called Willard Beach. It's a crescent beach, probably 3/4 mile in length, but somewhat shorter when the hign tide covers a portion of it at each end. The first view is of these shacks out on a point that are painted by artists all the time. It is said they were (and are) fishermens' shacks, but they have a wonderful weathered and run down look. But it looks as if someone makes an effort to keep them standing, even as they often are battered by the northeast storms that roar through here. I've painted them several times. The one shown is from last summer. The beach is also loved by dogs whose owners congregate here in the morning while the dogs frolic in the sand. Naturally, there are people who don't like the dogs on the beach--it's a big controversy actually--but I enjoy the dogs and I'm glad their people are getting outdoors.
I usually walk on the hard sand, except when the tide is high. As you look to the north you see the Spring Point Lighthouse which marks the entrance to Portland Harbor peeking over the remnants of Ft. Preble, a Civil War military post now the home of Southern Maine Community College. This painting is from a couple of years ago when I was in a "blue period." I since have learned a lot about ocean water and skies, but a friend said she loves the colors, so I gave the painting to her.
When you get there, the view from the north end of the beach to the south normally reveals another lighthouse, Portland Headlight, but I left it out of the solitary figure picture, because I was fascinated by the particular situation of the lone man with the setting sun on his back.
I've gone halfway by now and I'll take you the rest of the way another time. Please stay with me.