Before leaving I was really in a creative funk, but now my head is filled with all kinds of stuff, so there will be no end of posts. And--hours before leaving for NY, I got another commission--a sunrise over the ocean. All I have to work with is a tiny photo, so I have to create the setting from other work I have done at the site and put it all together. Will post that, too.
In my dry period, I was reduced to wandering aimlessly around looking for subjects and I show here what I came up with.
Seen Better Days
Oil on Masonite 12X9
There is an area on the South Portland Maine waterfront near where I live, that is not developed. It still could be called a working waterfront but there are a lot of old buildings such as these in total disrepair about ready to collapse. This is one group. I painted loosely, tried to concentrate on the structure closest to me, and tried to suggest a certain starkness with very dark shadow areas. That tree in the distance is really there. It makes you wonder what was here before. There's an irony here, too. On the other side of these buildings, nearer to the water, there is boat storage and a couple of marinas. These are BIG boats worth hundreds of thousands--quite a contrast. When I can get into the boat yards, I'm going to try capturing them.
Windy Day Off Kettle Cove
Oil on Masonite, 11X14
This is an area a few miles down the coast from where I live. There's a small beach here and a grassy area on a point where people sit and read or have picnics. This day, there was a blustery wind so there was a lot of chop in the water. Also, I was facing into the sun. The water had a greenish cast and there were some interesting cloud formations over the island. I painted this almost exactly as I saw it, trying to capture the wind effects and the unusual colors. Really laid the paint on!
Calla Lilies, Pewter Cup and the Mystery Golden Bottle
Oil on Masonite 9X12
I must have had too much wine for dinner when I dreamed this one up. In our family we've had this bottle of Cemballos Sherry from Spain for several generations--I'm sure back to the 40s at least. It has been passed around, but I ended up with it. It is full, never opened and is covered by a kind of gold foil, so you can't see the contents. I Googled "Cemballos" and all I could find was someone on what appeared to be Spain's eBay trying to sell an antique Cemballos display. So the bottle is probably antique. I decided to use it as a subject in a still life and added the lilies and a pewter cup from Bonnie's collection. I have a piece of burgundy velvet so I put that in as it related well to the lilies and worked well with the pewter. I added the greenish background as it seemed to help the gold and worked with the foliage. A strange array of colors, but it seemed to work for me. It was tough to get the gold right--many reflections and there is more green in it than you might think.
So I post these to show there are really subjects everywhere, even when you're in a funk. Don't despair!
.JPG)