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This painting is one of 7 paintings/studies which were created over a 2 1/2 day period on Swans Island, Maine at the time of the Summer Solstice.  The idea was to look, to see and to paint without over thinking.  Each painting, except the last, was completed in a 2 hour period.   They are studies to use in future paintings.  With grateful thanks to the Harringtons of Swans Island who hosted us for 3 nights and to Arrah Vanier and Greg Cyr for arranging for the Plein Air Connect group to stay on the Island, we arrived at the Island eager to paint and to see what we could do on an 'intensive' painting day.  The first half day was warm-up:  two small studies to begin to see the area, the colors, and to feel the excitement of being on the Island.  Saturday. June 21,  we started at 4:30 AM on the east side of the island, looking towards Mt Desert and Acadia Park.  Throughout that day we painted sun rise, a morning painting at Mill Park, an afternoon painting at the Island Quarry, and a west facing sunset painting.  It was great fun but took an enormous amount of focus, energy and stamina to make it to sunset.  I wonder what it would be like to try the same thing on December 21, the winter solstice!  To see each of the Swans Island Solstice Paintings in the order they were created, click here.  The first six were created in a day and a half.  The last was completed at a more slowly  on our last day on the island.

Dear Friends, 

I am pleased to invite you to a show of my recent watercolor and oil paintings which explore Windows and Doors as metaphors.   The show runs from June 30 to September 4 at the Robert White Gallery at Husson University.  The gallery is located in the Campus Center in Peabody Hall, 1 College Circle, Bangor, ME.  An Artist Reception will be held Wednesday, July 16 from 5-7 PM.  I hope you can stop by at the reception.

As individuals and as communities we organize ourselves in ways that are not always obvious.  The business of day to day living happens.  It is influenced silently by a myriad of unobserved elements in our environments, unstated hopes and dreams, and internal and external pressures, all changing constantly and all finding their places in our lives.  How we organize and express ourselves says a lot about these influences.

Boundaries help identify who we are.  Windows and doors offer boundaries which define us.  Seen from the inside looking out or the outside looking in, they are metaphors for the organization and continuity of our lives. 

I have been particularly interested in windows as boundaries:  how they can be transparent, reflective, even opaque.  From the painting ‘Still’ in which the intense glow of winter sun penetrates the cold and frost and illuminates a small geranium on the windowsill of a Quaker Meeting House, to the painting “Looking Thru” which takes the viewer into layers of reflection and interior space toward a sun-lit bay, I explore how chance glances, everyday mundane events, places barely noticed guide and strengthen our daily living.  It is the processes of the mundane, that I celebrate in these paintings.

I hope you will be able to stop in and see the show sometime this summer.

Me, stirring the pot of Gesso, at our 'production site' in my barn,

previously cleaned up by my good husband

I turned 70 this week.  To some of my friends that is young;  to others it's ancient.  To me it is an opportunity to greet each day expecting a grand adventure.  Monday was definitely a day of adventure.  I worked with three other artists to prepare 40 oak panels on which to paint. The adventure part involved following the processes used by the old masters as they created painting panels... materials: oak panels, rabbit skin glue (poor rabbits), zinc white powder, and terra alba (ground rock). Process:  slow and deliberate;  It was totally amazing to be learning from the traditions of our art. I celebrate these traditions.  They are not 'old', they are precious!

Becky Whight, Karston Kittlesen, Michael Vermette consulting about the process and applying one of 7 layers of Gesso.       

                The finished product, in an old barrel press

This coming weekend we will try out our product while painting on Swans Island for four days.  Two of the days will be 'intensive paint-outs'.  Our plan is to complete four to five little studies in a day.  I do this not to be a 'production' painter, but to immerse myself in painting for a full day.  Each study will take no more than two hours.  I hope the benefit comes in sharpening my composition skills, clarifying the colors I use, and making my brush strokes more bold while continuing to experience the joy of painting.  That is the grand adventure I anticipate!

Red Boat

completed at East Blue Hill Harbor this past Tuesday

Downtown Bangor"s June Art Walk is this Friday, June 13, from 5:00-9:00.  It is also the last day of the show of Plein Air Paintings by Michael Vermette, Becky Whright, Nora West, and myself which has been at the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine for the last month.  I hope you can take some time to join the Art Walk and enjoy all the activities.  Bangor has some amazing artists who work in a variety of mediums on both studio and plein air pieces. What could be more fun than a walk through artists studios and venues on a pleasant summer evening (we are ordering up warm weather!).  Check out the web site:  www.dbac.org for more information about the Art Walk

The paintings at the Peace and Justice Center will all be reduced in price.  We are also adding a number of works which have not been at this show previously.  This is a fund-raiser for the Peace and Justice Center and an opportunity for folks to enjoy a series of paintings completed in similar locations by different artists. 

I painted outside three times this past week.  Explosions of sun called me out!  It felt as if the days were filled with constant gifts of light, warmth and crisp air.

The first day of painting took me to Bailey Island on a peninsula in Casco Bay.  The trip was organized by Plein Air Connect, a group of folks who love to explore the far and near reaches of Maine.  That day the painters included Becky Whight, Michael Vermette, and Eric Glass.  We all chose to paint the Giant Staircase, a rather complex area of rock and surf.  Although the day was a long one with lots of driving, it was special to be at one of Maine's coastal attractions before the summer visitors started to arrive.  While painting, I immersed myself in the feeling of the water's energy and the rock's solidity.

Having been challenged by the Giant Staircase, two days later I decided to go to a quiet place on Newbury Neck in Surry to develop a watercolor painting of the long view to Mount Desert Island and Acadia Park.

Above is the painting which I completed while sitting on the back deck of my car on Newbury Neck Road totally enjoying the sun, the bird song, the bicyclists passing by,  a magnificent view, and - happiness - no blackflies!  The easel I used came from the estate of Bob Coe, a wonderful artist, mentor, and Friend who passed on at least 15 years ago.  I loved being able to find the easel 'up-attic', bring it out, clean it up, and  use it in my work.  Bob's joyful Spirit painted with me in Surry.

Yesterday the Plein Air Connect folks went to Asticou Azalea Gardens on Mount Desert Island in search of color.  Although the Azaleas were not in full bloom, color and reflections in the pond were abundant.

Thus went my week.  The last of our vegetable garden didn't get planted until today, but my garden of joy was fully indulged with the plethora of painting experiences. 

This coming Tuesday The Plein Air Connect group will be painting at Goodell Brook Falls, a waterfalls located just north of Monson Village in Piscataquis County.  Our intent is to create paintings which can be submitted to an art show and fundraiser to be held in Northeast Harbor in August to raise funds for the group working to stop the East-West Corridor in Maine.  My friend, Ron who lives in the Monson/Shirley Mills area assures me that the black flies will carry our painting gear and us from the car to the falls in appreciation for the new meat which we bring to them.  Note to self:  time to get this year's supply of bug repellent.