Capturing Fleeting Moments

Morning Clouds Over Boothbay Shores
8" x 10"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
$600

It was dawn and these clouds were streaking across the sky. I had to capture this fleeting moment before it changed. A real challenge, but oh so exciting. I did not have to tweak it at all when I came home.

Here are four paintings I did "en plein air" for the "Art in the Square" Fundraiser Show for the Boothbay Region Art Foundation Gallery in Boothbay Harbor. All paintings are 12" x 12" The Exhibition runs from November 27 to January 3.

Upper Left: Hendricks Head Shoreline SOLD
Upper Right: Victorian Gull SOLD
Lower Left: Another View From Red Hawk Reach SOLD
Lower Right: House on Capitol Island SOLD

A Morning at Ocean Point

Ocean Point Shoreline
9" x 12"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
$700

The Shoreline at Ocean Point is an endless subject to paint. I can go there every single day 365 days a year and paint a different painting. The sky colour changes, the sea changes. the seaweed changes... even the rocks change colour from the reflected light. That seagull was really there.

Every Painting is a Learning Process

End of Summer
11" x 14"
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
$800

This was painted during the Oil Painters of America's "Great Paint Out" at Ocean Point in East Boothbay on September 9. What a day. There were 25 painters on the shore. I was amazed at how the Beach Roses and other grasses could grow right out of the rocks. The trick here was to get enough texture in the rocks without getting literal. Every painting is a learning process.

Wild Mustard

Morning at Boothbay Shores
11" x 14"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
$800

I have painted this vista at Boothbay Shores many many times. It is always a learning experience. Each time the result is different. I was with my fellow painters (Plein Air Painters of Maine). It is great painting with other painters. We learn so much from each other. The wild mustard with its tiny yellow flowers was in bloom and the day was beautiful. Living in this environment feeds my soul.

Morning at Barrett Park Cove

Morning at Barrett Park Cove
6" x 8"
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
$495

It was a glorious day at Barrett Park. I was told that Barrett Park is Lonnie Sisson's favourite place to paint when he is in Maine. I was intrigued by that and thought of him a lot while I was painting. While my painting is absolutely nothing like his work, I was fascinated by how we artists interpret the same place so differently from one another. Every nook and cranny of Barrett Park is a new painting.

The Lois Ann L. Moran

The Lois Ann L. Moran
8" x 10"
Oil on oil-primed lined on board
$700 SOLD

This painting was done at the Shipbuilder's Park in East Boothbay Maine. This tugboat is being built at Washburn and Doughty, an over 100 year old shipyard. There was a tremendous fire in 2008 and completely gutted the old wooden buildings. They lost some tugs being built. The shipyard has since been rebuilt with steel. This tug is one of their commissions. I tried to capture the feeling of the attention being paid to her.

Lady Esther

Sea Pier from Browns (Lady Esther)
9" x 12"
Oil on oil-primed lined on board
$700

A beautiful Lobster Boat. I painted her from the deck of Brown's Wharf in Boothbay Harbor.
A few weeks later she ran aground and thankfully is able to be restored. So many things we paint change, disappear or become extinct. We artists are truly visual historians.

More Loosestrife

Ocean Point Loosestrife
11" x 14"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
$900 SOLD

We had a HUGE amount of loosestrife by the ocean this year. Naturally I had to paint as many days as I could there. The fog was beginning to lift in the distance, but close up it was colorful and clear.

An Ocean Point Wave

Ocean Point Wave
5" x 7"
Oil on stretched canvas
SOLD

This was a quick little painting I did on the shore. It sold at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation Gallery. It is fun to do these. Now if the waves would only stay still!

Ready to Sail

Ready to Sail
6' x 8"
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
$495 SOLD

Early morning in Boothbay Harbor you see lots of people getting ready to head out for a sail. It took these fellows quite a while to get going so I had a decent length of time to paint them. The streaking cloud was quite dramatic and demanded to be included.

A Pristine Day

An Inlet in Maine
8" x 10"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board.
$595

Knickercane Island is a painter's dream. It has inlets, a lobster pound, boats being launched, even Queen Anne's Lace this time of year. I had an emerging painter observing which made it all the more enjoyable.

Marshes and Meadows

Saltwater Marsh
8" x 10"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
SOLD

This is a painting I exhibited this month at the ART DISTRICT by allen david GALLERY at their Marshes and Meadows show. I painted it at the Maine Maritime Museum during the American Society of Marine Artists show. A wonderful location to paint.

Boothbay Railway Museum

At the Railway Village
8" x 10"
Oil on oil-primed canvas on board
$650

I spent time at the Railway Village and came away with this painting. Toning the canvas with cadmium red light unified the painting in a nice way. There are so many ways to paint and I get so excited I want to try every one! Plein Air painting is "the berries".

An Honor

The Pond in November
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
9" x 12"
$700 SOLD

My painting of the Ocean Point wetlands near my home was chosen to be on the cover of the Boothbay Region Land Trust's fundraiser news.

An Invitation

Morning at Linekin Bay
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
8" x 10"
$575 SOLD

I was invited to paint at the Linekin Bay Resort. The Beach Roses were in bloom. Their sailboats were at anchor and I could smell the breakfast coming from the kitchen. A most peaceful morning.
This painting did not last long in my gallery.

A Painting I Am Fond Of

Behind the Parsonage
14" x 11"
Oil on oil primed linen on board
NFS

Every once in a while you do a painting that really pleases you. This was one of them. I liked the contrast, the composition and thoroughly enjoyed painting the foreground. I painted this from a dock across the water looking at the backyard of the Parsonage in Boothbay Harbor. Backyards can hold great subjects!

Sheer Enjoyment

Windswept Trees
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
8" x 10"
$700

It was a cool foggy morning while painting at my favourite place in the whole world, Ocean Point. I focused on just what I could see. This is a study in warm and cool colours and atmosphere. I was happy with the result.

Painting at Dawn on Shore Road

"Three Trees" at Ocean Point
11" x 14"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
$800

Painting real early in the morning is quite wonderful. The lobstermen are out and sometimes wave to me. The seagulls are crying, the comorants are on the rocks and the eiders are guarding their young. This is plein air painting at it's best!
These trees are a landmark. They are called "Three Trees" because at one time there were three trunks on the left hand one. Somehow one was damaged or cut, but the name has remained.

Waves Do Not Always Come in Straight

Ocean Rythyms
12" x 16"
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
$900 SOLD

My favourite subject again. The day was windy and I was intrigued by the unusual movement of the waves. They crisscrossed each other as they approached the shore and tumbled over each other as if they were alive and were in a competition to to get to the shore first.
The challenge here was to capture that turbulence of the sea and try not to over-tweak it back in the studio.
The wonder of this piece of my world never ceases to amaze me.

Tweaking Time

Summer Loosestrife
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
8" x 10"
$700 SOLD

A lot of people ask me how long it takes me to do a painting. That is a hard question to answer because some fly off the brushes in a few hours while others take months to figure out what is needed to complete it. Sometimes the painting needs a complete overhaul or a trip to the trash bin. Others just need what I call "tweaking" I did this one on a glorious day last August at Ocean Point and finally got around to tweaking it to its fruition recently. It didn't need much, but until I was satisfied with it I couldn't let it go.

A Change of Pace

A Peaceful Day at Liberty Farm
Oil on oil-primed linen on board
9" x 12"
$800

It is wise to change your favourite painting location in order to keep a freshness to your paintings. While I mostly like to paint the coastal landscape and feel most comfortable there, sometimes going inland is a challenge for me. Liberty Farm was such a challenge. Besides the unfamiliar subject, the chickens kept pecking at my backpack, the geese were honking as I approached their pen and the sheep stared at me the whole time!
I had to wipe my canvas off a couple of times because it just wasn't working. But by wiping the painting off I ended up with a ghost image which I then used as an underpainting. Doing this usually works in my favor because it reduces the values.
Nevertheless, it was a wonderful day and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

Tides Can Be Gentle

Moving Tide
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
8" x 10"
$700

A glorious morning to paint! The blue of the ocean was unreal. Once again I decided to forego the horizon line and focus on the tide gently coming in onto the rocks. This painting just flew off the brushes.

Staying With the Concept

Green Algae
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
11" x 14"
$800

When I arrived at Ocean Point on Shore Road last Wednesday to paint with the Plein Air Painters of Maine I was immediately struck by the light hitting the green algae on the rocks. I knew this was my concept. I decided to eliminate the horizon line and focus on the rocks. The seagulls were really there but were not my main focus. The trick was to paint the algae and not have every rock have the same value of green. The path of light and the warm and cool balance was important. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of painting this and was happy that I stayed with my concept.

A Study in Complementaries

From Robinson's Wharf
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
8" x 10"
$700

I decided to paint this great red boat with the complements of red and green. I finished my thumbnail (value sketch), saw no activity at the dock, and started my painting when two men came out of the building on the left, boarded the boat and took off! Plein Air Painting Pleasures! I had to do the boat from my thumbnail and memory. When I returned home to my working studio I finished the painting from the photos I had taken when I had first arrived on site. I have learned after painting boats for so long that if you see any activity going on around them early in the morning, don't paint them! They inevitably leave. But there had not been any activity when I arrived. It was a great exercise in memory painting.

7 a.m. at Ocean Point

Low Lying Clouds at Ocean Point
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
11" x 14"
$1100 SOLD

Green Island at Grimes Cove is one of my favourite subjects to paint. I have painted it many many times in every imaginable light...and will most likely paint it many times more. It has almost become the Motif #1 of Boothbay. This little island has gone through so many metamorphases since I started painting it 16 years ago. The trees on the left were tiny then and there were more tall trees and an osprey nest. Since then storms have knocked down some of the tall trees and the little tree has grown up. The life cycle can be watched and painted through this island. The day I painted this the low lying clouds were streaking across the sky. It was about 7 am. The light was changing rapidly so I had to capture it quickly. It was glorious!

Painting Near the Chapel at Ocean Point

Pink in the Morning
Oil on oil-primed canvas mounted on board
11" x 14"
$800

A wonderful morning to paint! I was able to get most of it done on site, then finished it in my working studio. I was so happy with this one that I used it as a sample to do a demonstration at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation. Sometimes your brushes behave.

Painting on a Wintry Day

"Snow at Grimes Cove"
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
9" x 12"
$800

Another cold day along the ocean at Grimes Cove. With warm clothing you don't mind...and once you get into "the zone" you don't notice anything but being at one with nature.

Plein Air Painting in the Cold today

"Across the Harbor"
Oil on oil-primed linen mounted on board
8" x 10"
$595 SOLD

It was really cold today, exhilerating! I was at the Tugboat Inn parking lot in Boothbay Harbor with the Plein Air Painters of Maine.