Last workshop of the summer...

Tomorrow evening I will be going to Courthouse Fine Art in Ellsworth to do a gallery talk at 6pm for my solo show. If you are in the area, please come by and say hi.  I am really happy with the show, and hope you all get a chance to see it. The gallery printed a catalog for the show, so you can contact them directly if you are interested in getting that.

Last week I was really busy with a 5 day class in Rockland. I had a great group and we had a lot of fun working together. The class worked really hard and was willing to do whatever crazy exercises I threw at them.

We dealt with a mix of weather and one day was a whirlwind of chasing fog and sunshine back and forth. In the photo above the class was working hard at a beach in Owl’s Head. They all worked incredibly hard, and as exhausting as it was, it was also really rewarding for me as the teacher.

The painting above is from the top of Bald Mountain in Camden. It’s a great view, especially into the late afternoon looking into the sunset as I did here. This one is 18×24.”

Lilies...

These are some lily pads at a pond near my house. The painting is 20×16″.  Not counting this evening, when I spent 3 hours starting paintings and wiping them out, I’ve had a good week of painting. I’ve been hiking into some fun places to paint and getting a hell of a workout hauling my painting set up.

The opening at Courthouse Fine Art was a lot of fun on Wednesday. I met some great painters and really enjoyed the show that is hanging. If you are in that part of Maine you should try to stop by the gallery and see the work up in the 3 shows this month.

Next week I will be teaching a 5 day workshop in Rockland, ME. This is always a fun class for me because it’s right here in my stomping grounds and I can bring the class to places I paint regularly. I’ll let you know next week how the class is going.

Slide Show...

I borrowed an audio recorder from my friend Doug this past weekend for my presentation in Belfast. So the video above is the slide show with the audio track of my talk laid over it. I was a little tense because of the time constraint, but I think it came out alright. There were 8 presenters that night, who all did a great job talking about different subjects. Each presenter showed 20 slides for 20 seconds each. I’m not sure what other videos I will be posting, but I’ll try to come up with some other possibilities.

Land Cruiser...

My presentations this past week went well. My talk in Thomastonon Wednesday was relaxed and fun. My talk in Belfast was of a different format and was part of a great evening, but it definitely felt a little more pressured. In Belfast I was one of 8 presenters showing 20 slides at 20 seconds each. It is a fast paced and exciting way to present ideas and images, but also a little more nerve racking. I managed to get an audio recording of my talk in Belfast, which I may post on here once I figure out how to get it on the site. I have been talking to my web designer about some new ideas and ways to play around with video and audio content. I will let you know more as we get there.

The painting above is from my week in Door County. One of the events was at Fine Line Designs, where I show my work in Wisconsin. For that event the gallery owner was nice enough to have her husband leave his truck in the field, since she knew I like painting things like that, and I would be coming out to paint at the gallery. Thank you Shari! If you are in Door County,  Wisconsin, Shari at Fine Line Designs always has a selection of my paintings on display.

Searsport Lunch Truck...

I painted this lunch truck in Searsport a few weeks ago. The guy who owns the business was really nice and fun to talk with. He bought me lunch and really seemed to enjoy seeing the painting develop. One of the benefits to painting outside is getting to introduce someone to how a painting is made. It can be distracting to have someone visit  and watch me paint, but that interaction can be a good way to excite someone about art.

I know I have been promoting a lot of events lately, but I have a lot going on, so I’m afraid I will have to keep it up for just a few more posts. I like this journal to be a way to share my experience as a painter, but I also want to get the word out about events. Tonight I will be going to the Rockland art walk from 5-8, which is always fun. And tomorrow night I will be in Belfast as part of a night of presentations at Waterfall Ats, starting at 8pm on the lawn outside. I will try to record my presentation and see if I can figure out a way to post it on the website.