I am teaching several workshops this year, all of which have been sold out but one. The workshop with spaces left is the one I am most excited about, because of the location for the class. This workshop will be in northern Maine in late September, when the leaves will be changing and the bugs will be gone.  We will be focusing on painting the landscape on site and trying to capture the light and feeling of a scene.  The workshop is being held at a camp sitting on a point of land that sticks out in to a remote lake, near great hiking trails and beautiful views. Housing and meals will be provided for us, so we can spend all of our time either painting or playing. I’m hoping to get a lot of painting time in, and will be happy to spend the evenings sharing ideas about art and painting. There will also be plenty of time for relaxing and enjoying the beautiful setting. With all of my workshops I try to give as much of myself as I can. For this class I hope to have a really enjoyable time with everyone and give as much information and time as the students want. This week will be a great chance to immerse ourselves in our art in a beautiful place.

This workshop is being offered through the Chewonki Foundation, a school that I’m proud to be partnering with. If you want to see some more details about this course you can visit their website. You can also  contact Chris Riley at Chewonki, who is organizing this workshop, or email me to follow up with any questions that I may be able to help you out with.

This is a commission that I painted this week. I was thrilled with how well the lake came out. I am usually a bit more comfortable painting the ocean than I am with lakes. With this painting I think I did pretty well with the deep colors of a Maine lake, and the reflections of the trees in the background. My favorite moment in this painting is where the ladder disappears into the water. And compositionally the dock leads the viewer right into the scene, giving the viewer a place to feel like they are sitting in the middle of the painting.

This week I’ll be in Door County, Wisconsin for a plein air painting event. Forty artists from all over the country will be getting together in Door County to paint the landscape. This event was a lot of fun for me last year, and I’m really looking forward to having a good trip again this time. If you are in the area you should try to catch a few of the events.

The circus came to Camden and set up right down the street from my house. This was just a small circus, but still lots of fun to paint. They were only there for one day so I did a few sketches and tried to get a little bit of the color. The painting above is where they do pony rides once the kids showed up, 11×14″.

Before the crowds arrived I was able to stand in the middle of the grounds and paint the ticket booth with the big tent behind it, 11×14″.

The ticket booth as people are showing up for the first performance, 10×8″.

This car is parked on a corner in Camden, Maine. Every summer this car shows up as an advertisement for the Hope Jazz Festival. On the other side of the car is the lettering “JAZZ NOT WAR.” I have always wanted to paint this car and finally got to it this year. While painting here I met the car’s owner, who also has a fire engine restoration business out in Hope, Maine. His barn is full of old fire trucks and ladders and water pumps, which may also make it into a few paintings.

For the next few months I’ll have paintings on display in the governor’s mansion and state house in Augusta, ME. The paintings will be up through September. I’m really happy to be sharing my paintings in this space.

This past few days I have had a lot of fun enjoying the holiday weekend. There was an art walk in Rockland on Friday, and a cookout party afterward. I spent a lot of time swimming in a local pond and walking around town on Saturday. Sunday I went to a picnic/lobster bake on an island in Penobscot Bay, followed by a barbecue and camping out. It was all so much fun that I’m completely exhausted and trying to recuperate today so  I can get back to work tomorrow.  I hope you all had a good fourth of July weekend.

Painting has been going pretty well the last few days, and I’ve been enjoying my downtime in this great summer weather. I picked up a grill and porch furniture at a yard sale this weekend, and had a great evening cooking up some tasty treats for dinner last night.

I have a lot of projects that I am in the middle of right now, but I feel like I’m getting things done and getting there. I’ve been struggling a bit here and there as I work through my paintings, but I’ve been getting decent results in the end, and I’ve been learning a lot.

This Friday is an art walk in Rockland. I hope to see you at Dowling Walsh Gallery.

14×18″ oil on linen panel. Harbor Dogs, in Camden harbor, is a great lunch stop with incredibly good fish tacos. I love the food here, and always thought it would be a fun painting.

From 5-7pm this Thursday, June 24, I will be at the opening reception for a show at Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth, ME. The show is an exhibit of paintings done on Mount Desert Island, ME. I hope to see you up there tomorrow.

Also, I am still trying to get word out about my workshop this September in northern Maine. This class is through the Chewonki Foundation and will be a fun, rustic retreat where we will study plein air painting. Read more about this class here.

In one month I’ll be heading back to Wisconsin for the Door County Plein Air Festival. Last year I had a great time  at this event and I’m looking forward to returning the week of July 18-25. There will be a lot of events where you can come meet the artists and watch us paint.

This is a 14×18″ oil on canvas. This is a morning painting of the fish pier in Rockland, where I did a whole series of paintings this spring.

This week has been a bit busy. I got some good painting time in, and also have been running around delivering paintigns and getting ready for other upcoming shows. One of which is at Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth, ME. Thursday, June 24 from 5-7pm is the opening for that group show of paintings of Mount Desert Island. I hope to see you there.

The Dowling Walsh Gallery has posted video of a talk I gave about my current show, “Rockland Municipal Pier.” You can check out my ramblings on Vimeo.  That show will remain on display until the end of the month.

I’m getting things ready for a workshop tomorrow in Damariscotta. The weather will be a bit iffy, but I have high hopes of getting some good work in with my students. Sunday we’ll probably get stuck inside so tomorrow we’ll be toughing it out in the elements.

Below is a quote that I was directed to by another painter, Stacey Peterson. I stumbled on it while putting together materials for the class tomorrow. It’s quoted from an interview with Clyde Aspevig in American Artist Magazine

“I’m trying to be the best that I can be as a human being. Art is the vehicle with which I have the best chance of leaving behind something of worth.”