Progress 03/08/2020

It was, what seemed like, a very long week. There were several beautiful spring days, like today, and several cold cloudy days that remind you very quickly that there might be some winter left. I spent a good portion of the week in my studio working on, and finishing the third in a series of four portraits. These are conventional paintings that I am creating from portraits that I painted digitally in an app called Painter. The first two that I have completed were fairly simple in composition and detail and were rendered on 6x8inch canvas panels in acrylic. The third, because of the detail, was rendered in acrylic on an 11x14inch canvas panel; as will be the fourth that I hope to get started on today. Pictures will be posted when all in the series have been completed because I would like them to be viewed in a grouping.

In the mean time, I continue to get out for a walk each day and am truly astonished by the inspiration I am able to draw from the energy of life on an island off the coast of Maine.

A few photos...

taken on my walk...

earlier today.

A Few Photos From This Week

Gonna try and resurrect this blog by trying to post each Sunday (famous last words). I have been in the process of renewing my website and deciding on what I hope to achieve from having one. For now, I think I would like it to be a presence where I showcase the artwork and photography I am proud of creating. I took steps to renew my hosting and domain name for another three years. I have also canned my Facebook account; but for the time being have kept my Instagram and twitter accounts. The reasons for canceling Facebook were many. To keep it short, I weighed the benefits of having a presence on Facebook against all the privacy concerns and information that Facebook kept about my posts. In the end, the analysis was exhausting and a distraction and my decision to leave came down to the fact that I just lost interest in Facebook.

I had primarily used Facebook as a means to promote my art. Through posting for promotional purposes, I found that I had lost my way as to why I made art in the first place. It was supposed to be fun and about expressing myself, not about turning it into a business. Visits to my art page (which I had tried set up to keep the business of art and personal accounts separate) were down. I didn’t find that that the Facebook business model worked, so I began posting only to my personal page where my bigger audience was. But, “Likes” never translated to sales and art seemed to get lost in the mire of politics. I rather enjoy Instagram and from what I have read, many creatives are migrating to that platform anyway. So I try to keep my Instagram about my art, and my twitter account about politics and news.

I have had a creative block most of the winter. I believe that canceling my Facebook account was freeing, making being creative less about likes and sales. Back into my studio again it has become fun. I spent quite a bit of my down time acquainting myself with digital painting and more recently I am exploring translating several of the digital portraits I painted over the winter into painted works on canvas panel. I am currently 1/3 of the way done on the third of four planned for the series. I will post more when the series is finished.

In the meantime I walk for inspiration, taking photos for future reference. While out and about Portland, ME and Peaks Island, here are several photos that I took this week.

After the storm blew through...

two views back shore on the island

Portland's narrow gauge railroad...

this area soon to be re-developed

Washed Up

Not me, it's the title of a new painting. "Washed Up," 11"x14" oil on canvas panel. A beautiful driftwood log had washed up this year at Hadlock Cove and appears to now be holding back the beach. Tried to loosen up my style a little and go for something more abstract. Done totally with palette knife and a ton of paint. Need to get more comfortable with being left handed and using the palette knife. Found it difficult, those times that I had to shift holding the knife from my dominant hand to apply the paint.

In other news, I am readying my NH house for sale so that I can move permanently to the cottage on Peaks Island, ME. Lots of work downsizing as both houses are furnished to a degree, so choices will have to be made. Can't wait till my studio is on the island. Currently, I am working in acrylics on the island and oils at home in NH.

In other news, I have had four paintings chosen for the "Paintings in Oils", May group exhibit at the Richard Boyd Art Gallery on Peaks Island. More on that exhibit when I have more information.

A Walk Out Back

Tuesday this past week I had the opportunity to take a walk in the woods behind the house. Used to do it quite often. But is has been a long while. All of the snowmobile trails that were heavily in use the last time I hiked here are now mostly invisible with overgrown with vegetation. I was able to find my way making a loop over to the trailer park next door. All in all about 2 miles. It was a beautiful day and I was able to grab a few nice reference photos for paintings.

"Twenty Mile Brook," 6"x8" oil on wood panel

This painting  is of a view looking up the brook that runs next to the house from a where a trail crosses it.

Re-Imagining Views

I have been scanning old photos from boxes of my mom's in preparation of downsizing prior making a move out to Peaks Island. In doing so, I came across a shoe box filled with old postcards that she had collected over the years. Looking at the ones she had of Peaks Island, I got the idea to re-imagine some views of the island, from the early 20th century, as paintings. The first card and view that caught my eye was entitled "Pumpkin-Nob off Peaks Island, Me." ca. 1909.

It was an interesting view that I don't often get to see because it is from the water and I am not a boat owner. The card I have is clearly a colorized photo and very much faded, so I re-imagined a brighter pallet, trying to visualize what it might have looked had I been the one taking the photo and not so much trying to reproduce the postcard.

"Pumpkin-Nob off Peaks Island, Me." 6"x8" oil on wood panel. The size format of the painting is different from that of the postcard so I was able to add more sky.

5 Months....Sheesh!

Not very good at this blogging thing and I am deffinitely not going to get any better if I don't do it more often than once every 5 months. That's less than useless. Bad news is that over the last 5 months there hasn't been a whole lot going on in my studio to blog about. Since my last post I started having some problems with double vision. Multiple new glasses prescriptions and 5 months later, it has turned into a full-on neurological adventure. They think Miller-Fisher syndrome. I will let you google that, like I had too. Consequently, it has left me with one frosted glasses lens on the bad eye, which has turned out and doesn't track properly with the good eye. Not sure yet how much use the affected eye will be again. Doctors are still working on trying to understand what it is that actually happened. So moving on.

The vision has kept me out of the studio until late because, between work and doctors visits, there wasn't a lot of time left.  I was able to kick out several monotype prints and a commissioned portrait for my niece's fiancé, but it was a struggle. Good news, I am fully retired now. So, no excuses, not even the eye thing. Spent yesterday, all day, in the studio. A glorious day was had. Had to work out a few depth perception details, like trying to discern when my brush was actually hitting panel. Also had to  change the lighting in the studio. But, a few do-overs later and voila! "An Island View," 6"x8" oil on wood panel. Think I will keep them small for a while.

Slow To Get Back

Slow to get back into my studio since the sudden passing of my wife in March. She was champion and head critic of my artwork, always there to keep me on task. She found and made time in our schedules for me to paint and print by selflessly taking on much of our mundane daily/weekly household chores herself. Her friendly outgoing personality complimented my severe lack thereof, always having new ideas on venues and outlets for my art. She handled the business of my art in the background. I will tell you that I find that the business of art blows. If I have to focus on the business of art, I am not painting, and my wife realized that if making art became a job for me our house would just fill up with my art. She always felt there was value in my works as affordable art. So, she took on the job so it didn't have to become my job.

Since her passing, I have had a hard time finding joy in creativity. Only recently have I felt her gentle force nudging me back into my studio. I am starting to see renewed inspiration from spending time on Peaks Island, especially in the places on the island we liked to go. I have been able to: finish a couple of paintings that were started before her illness, complete a new small painting and start, for me, a very large painting (30" x 40"). The latter I hope to post progress photos of.

She gave me the gift of the philosophy that "everything I make is for sale. If it doesn't sell it always makes a great gift." So if you see anything on my website that moves you, or if you have a reference photo and would like to commission piece, you can get a hold of me through the Richard Boyd Art Gallery or through contact information available on my website.