Leaving on a jet plane...

I am celebrating the 2011 Summer Solstice by heading off to the Southwest - somewhat of an odd summer plan - to leave the cool ocean breezes and the greens and blues of the Maine Coast for the hot winds and the sands, greys, and ochres of the Southern desert region. I am told the 90-110 degree summer temps there are heightened even more by all the forest fires burning, and that the famous blue skies are variegated by billowing plumes of wood smoke... but the flights are scheduled, the tickets bought, and unknown adventures await.

Dream Canyon - 24 x 30"oil $NFS

For many years I've had dreams and urgings to spend time in the Canyon lands  and red earth places - but until now the plans simply wouldn't gel. This time thanks to  friends, I will have some nice places to stay, wonderful guides for the region, and good company for those times when I need a break from solitude and painting.  The hardest thing was deciding what to take in the way of clothes... art supplies were an easy decision; watercolors. While there, I hope to catch some of the seasonal monsoon - a yearly deluge that comes complete with lightning that flashes for miles in the open skies. One of my destinations is full of natural hot springs, another is a magnet for rockhounds; full of jaspers, opals, and other lovely stones, and one is famous for it's "dark skies" which are said to allow one to see the Milky Way with the naked eye because there is no light pollution! ... but it is the Canyons - Grand, Bryce, Zion, Arches... any or all that thrill me. Imagine waking to sunrise in that terrain - and sunsets are sure to be memorable too! I'll be gone at least a month, and hope to return with a satchel worth of paintings.

Getting Ready

Today is Father's Day... it is also the day I must take my African Grey Parrot (inherited from my father in 2003) to the bird sanctuary where he is to spend the next 4-6 weeks while I head off to the Southwest. I tell myself that this is best - that he will enjoy the other birds and excellent care there, but of course my heart never listens to rationalizations. I struggle with the fear that he will feel discarded or abandoned. I wonder if he will like or fear the presence of the huge Macaws and Cockatoos that live there. I wonder if he will show off his repertoire of bird calls, songs, and vocabulary... or if he will feel shy and overwhelmed...

There is no other choice for now as my airplane passage is booked and people await me, but it is hard to leave a creature who cannot understand being left behind - especially knowing he has had others leave and never return. I know the people who run the sanctuary absolutely love birds and are very knowledgeable so he will be safe and well looked after, but I can't help but wonder how he will take my absence... and that he was my father's bird and today is Father's Day has me feeling all the more conflicted.
The only thing that helps at all is knowing that he is God's bird even more than my own, so I must trust that this will enrich his life in ways I cannot yet know... and perhaps my trip will begin a life for us both in sunshine and warmth come fall!

Going Southwest

After months of talking about it with friends in New Mexico and Arizona, today I bought the ticket and on the Summer Solstice will head out to the Southwest region for 4-6 weeks. I hope to spend time camping out in the Canyon-lands, as many as time allows and to see the Grand Canyon and experience a part of the earth I have known only through photos, video, and dreams in my almost 60 years on the planet! I am drawn to the red earth places and have a notion that they hold a piece of mystery I hope to explore... with luck I will find a horse to ride and some kindred souls to dance, and to share good food and fine times with. It is a journey I've wanted to take for a long time and now the pieces have fallen into place to make that possible. I want to paint there and wish I could take all my mediums as I am sure that the landscapes will beg for the silkiness of pastels and the richness of oils... but to travel by air is to travel light so my watercolors will be the ones to come along. I hope to get some good photos and sketches that will later develop into oils and pastels in the studio... and perhaps, if it is the place of magic I imagine, I will return to camp and paint in the Canyons for years to come.

Summer Pines

Summer is just around the corner, and though some folk hold out til the full moon of June to plant their gardens - Nature's is in full tilt. Trees that were bare a few weeks ago have filled out with leaf and blossom and gardens are a riot of color delight!
As I sat out in the back field, I painted a stand of pines that have been there as long as I can remember...

It is a quiet painting - nothing flashy or even all that colorful - unless you are a fan of greens, but the scene spoke to me in it's quiet strength...  so I am painting again.

Quick and easy image enhancement trick...

http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2010/09/16/how-to-eliminate-background-distractions-in-photoshop/

This link takes you to a simple clear and concise explanation of how to remove unwanted backgrounds from your photos. It will greatly shorten the time it would take you any other way, and it can turn ho-hum into yum!

Winter Railroad Tracks

I've just finished another watercolor. This is not my usual subject matter, still I found the snow-covered railroad tracks, the way they curved gently through the trees, and the depth created by the misty winter air, most compelling. There is a quietness to the scene that really appeals to me.

With six new winter scenes added to my gallery I am eager to find a new subject - preferably something with some glorious color!

Two Watercolor Paintings

Today, using my new set of Yarka St Petersburg watercolors I painted all day.

The first painting is of a coastal tidal river cove, caught at low tide.

The second is of horses pastured in winter snow.

Still Painting :)

Though not exactly a  painting a day (I skipped a couple days...) I am still happily painting winter scenes. The light has been muted and diffused this last week and I am tending toward quiet vignettes. Today's is more detailed than the past few posts... though heaven knows not as detailed as actual nature!

Another Winter Painting

Today I painted another Watercolor - this one of a local stream tumbling over low ledges. Over the next few days I think I will work on varied versions of this stream as it is challenging to endeavor to capture the movement of the water over and around the snow laden rocks..

Winter Watercolor

It was a typical winter day in Maine today; sometimes sunny sometimes overcast. I drove around looking for a scene to paint... something simple-not too complicated, since I haven't been painting for a few months because of my arm injury and resultant Brachial Plexis and "Frozen Shoulder".
It was a world of white out there today with 12 inches of fresh snow piled on top of the 18 or more already on the ground. The contours around the countryside vistas are all soft and peaceful... in many places the snow has fallen so thick it has totally buried the stream-beds!
I wandered out to Skyline farm in North Yarmouth and found an ideal composition for today's mood.
So here it is, my first watercolor of 2011 :)

Sketching in NY & The Body Exhibition

Took out my sketchbook to work my hand for the first time in several months while cruising through NYC last week. After months of an arm that would not lift and a hand that seemed to leap erratically when I tried to  draw, it was fun to sketch again - and even more fun to have the usually aloof  NYers complement and encourage me.  

 

This was my first sketch on the NYC subway

Following my subway ride I went to the Body Exhibition in the Seaport

This first Body sketch was difficult for me as it was so strange to see all the muscles and sinews exposed and in some cases even peeled back to expose other muscle groups below them and the second attempt failed entirely so I tried another figure from the back as it followed more recognizable patterns - the muscles actually looking much like they do under the skin, except for the buttocks which, with all the fat removed, seemed incredibly flat.

I am not sure anyone would call this art but it was a start to getting my hand in again and it was certainly challenging to illustrate the familiar in such an unfamiliar way! I think NYers are fortunate to have such excellent subjects to hone observation and rendering skills... 

Now that I'm back in Maine again, the piles and piles of snow and snow covered objects are stirring my desire to record the incredible beauty and contrasts of white on white, white on dark, and white mounding into all sorts of mysterious forms!