Tapping Sugar Maples...

When I see buckets hanging from the sides of maple trees it means that warm weather and lots of painting are on the way. This painting is 18×14″ and was painted a few weeks ago.

I’ve been painting outside a lot lately, and I’ve been noticing how easy it is to get in ruts. For some reason I’ve had the hardest time changing the scale that I’m working in. I’ve fallen in love with painting on 8×10 panels or much larger 30×34″ canvases. For some reason anything in the middle is just hard for me to wrap my head around. So I try to go wrestle with a mid size painting each day (with mixed results), and then treat myself to a fun 8×10″ or 11×14″ linen panel. I’m mostly just glad I get to be outside painting so much.

Workshops...

This is a 14×18″ painting from a few weeks ago. This is a great little barn in Waldoboro.

The workshops I’m teaching this summer are filling up, but there are still some spaces left. There are only a few spots left in each workshop, so if you’ve been thinking of taking one, you should register soon. These workshops are fun, intense courses for oil painting landscapes on site. I’ll do a few quick demos and cover some essential skills for painting landscapes, followed by visiting each student while they paint and giving individual attention. We will work on improving your paint handling, composition, color use, and observation. Painting landscapes from life is a great way to improve your work.

May 8-9         Plein air painting workshop at River Arts in Damariscotta, ME.
June 12-13    Plein air painting workshop at River Arts.
Sept 13-17    Five day painting class at Coastal Maine Art Workshops in Rockland, ME.

Also, this summer I’ll be part of shows at the following galleries, with more info on these shows coming soon.

Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, ME

Courthouse Gallery in Ellsworth, ME

Addison Art in Orleans, MA

Fine Line Designs in Ephraim, WI

Remembering Hawaii...

Because the Maine weather has been cloudy and damp the last few days I wanted to post about my trip to Hawaii and remember the beautiful days and tropical views. This painting was done near the end of the Maui Plein Air Festival, after all of our paintings were turned in to the gallery, and the artists had all enjoyed an afternoon lunch to wind down. Before heading back to Lahaina for the opnening reception that evening, I stopped by Honolua bay to paint one more piece, to keep as a souvenir. This is an amazing surf break, with stunning views from the parking lot on top of the hill.

The image below was taken by fellow painter, Debra Huse. She stopped by to check out the surf, along with Larry Moore, Scott Prior and Billy O.

Monday...

Today I had a rough time painting. I couldn’t seem to put together anything great on the canvas. Then after struggling with my paintings I managed to drop my cell phone in a stream (it no longer works), followed by dropping the one painting that I thought might work… face down… in a pile of dirt. Oh well.

Tonight I watched Helvetica, a great documentary covering the influence of a font on our visual culture. It’s easy to forget the fact that every typeface/font that we read, write and design with has been meticulously crafted for each letter to be clear, and for those letters to read well in a group. Watching this movie, I couldn’t help being impressed by the power that designers have. The font chosen for a logo can be a daily, visual impression. As the movie points out, the subtle differences in a font gives it very different personalities. Watching this movie makes me more aware of the way our world has been crafted by so many little decisions by others.