Showing posts with label marine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marine. Show all posts

Monday, September 22, 2014

MAPLE JUICE COVE, MAINE

MAPLE JUICE COVE, MAINE

I think about my July/August trip to Maine a lot as it was a lifetime event.  I want to go back and often think about buying a little cottage in the mid-coast region.  If only.

I found it difficult to paint en plein air there because the colors seemed flat, the light key very high and the water vistas vast.  Can you see what I mean by comparing and contrasting the photographs below with my completed painting?

It took many days of plein air paintings and corrected paintings to see how important it was to zero in on a smaller area.  Paintings can't capture the vastness the eyes see.  But translating the view to a painting takes practice.  It is so important to sketch before painting.

On my last day on the mainland of Maine  I wandered looking for a coastal painting opportunity.  Way too often what I wanted to paint was on private property so it occurred to me to look for vacant "For Sale" waterfront property.  When I drove to this beautiful For Sale site, a handsome man was working in the yard giving me an opportunity to ask for permission.  He assured me it was ok to paint there.  

Maple Juice Cove, Maine by Carol Hopper
9x12, unframed, oil on gessobord
Click here to purchase




 The gorgeous house on Maple Juice Cove is still for sale and you might like to buy it at www.maplejuicecove.com.   The owner told me even more than I had previously learned about the Olson House which is located directly across the water to the left, out of my photograph.  If you are a lover of history and famous paintings and painters you might like to visit the Olson house website.

Edward Hopper is a very famous painter too, who painted this area.  I have thought about telling you how he is a relative of mine...through marriage.  Would you be interested in hearing that story?

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Wyeth House, Monhegan Island

Wyeth House, Monhegan Island

Wyeth House, Monhegan Island
8x8, unframed, oil on gessobord
Click here to purchase

This house was built in 1906 for famous painter Rockwell Kent.  Following Kent's death, Jamie Wyeth bought this beautiful coastal home.  It overlooks Lobster Cove in the Gulf of Maine.  The beginnings of the art colony on Monhegan Island, located 12 miles off the mainland, date to the mid 19th century and was firmly established by 1890.

I felt honored to carry a very heavy load of painting gear to this site, not knowing at the time I was painting a famed artist's home.  It just appealed to me.

Maine light is very high key.  Often the value of the sky is almost the same as that of the water.  Imagine the difference for me as compared to my home in NM where one almost never sees the effect of humidity in the air.

Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island

Rockwell Kent, Jamie Wyeth house on Monhegan Island

Village of Monhegan Island

Monhegan Island Light

Thursday, July 31, 2014

NO LONGER IN SERVICE

NO LONGER IN SERVICE

NO LONGER IN SERVICE
12x9 unframed oil on museum quality gessobord
Click here to purchase

I have fully explored two peninsulas in Maine
St. George and Cushing/Friendship

Lobster boats experience heavy use in all kinds of weather
They are built well but there is an
end

Can be rebuilt! 
Being refurbished
Trawlers (draggers) no longer used due to fishing changes

There are so many aspects of fishing/shrimping/lobstering that support Maine.  Additionally 40% of all jobs are in there service industry....we tourists/painters love to eat fresh-off-the-boat lobster,

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

LOBSTER BUOYS STILL AT WORK

LOBSTER BUOYS STILL AT WORK

LOBSTER BUOYS STILL AT WORK
12x9 oil on museum quality panel
Click here to purchase

How can one spend only 15 days in Maine
 allegedly for the purpose of painting when there is so much to see and do
  Add in a dose of dealing with the guilt of NOT painting everyday.
very time consuming

 Best solution
 Do it over next year and schedule ten weeks instead
 Anybody in with me on this

Yes, I need your response

You can see how the lobsta' men's buoys
keep on working
AFTER
the buoys years on the sea






Wednesday, June 4, 2014

SAILBOARDS ASHORE

SAILBOARDS ASHORE


Sailboards Ashore
Oil on canvas covered cradled board, FRAMED
Click here to purchase

Many years ago I had a time of my life windsurfing off Kihei, Maui, Hawaii.
I was a pro.

Just a few years later I went windsurfing off the coast of
Cozumel, Mexico and for the life of me couldn't catch the wind
without
dumping myself in the water.

What happened?

It is just as well these sailboards are parked
on the white sand beach
in Perdido Key, Florida

A younger sister lives in Florida
Maybe she will help me relearn this skill?????


Monday, June 2, 2014

VENTURA HARBOR IV

VENTURA HARBOR IV

VENTURA HARBOR IV
12x12 oil on gessobord
Click here to purchase

Besides painting en plein air in Ventura I also took many photographs so that once I returned home to New Mexico I could continue to paint the boats, water, harbor, and buildings.  I got a very good sense of the setting, could smell the salt water and feel the humidity so missing here at home.

I love the color the paddle and surf boards, flags and canvas sail covers add to the scene.  Adjacent to the building, there are many umbrellas under which to enjoy a fish sandwich or a spicy Mexican meal.

If you haven't been to Ventura you would be missing something.  There are quaint shops, hotels, restaurants and even a weekly flea market.  Ventura is fairly quiet with not a lot of traffic, my kind of place.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

IN THE HARBOR

IN THE HARBOR

IN THE HARBOR
8x8 oil, unframed, palette knife
Click here to purchase

I am thinking boats, harbors, lobstermen, fishermen, fish markets, waves
and
my summer trip to Maine

This painting is textural with thick paint layered on with a palette knife.
It is suitable for framing and looks best in a floater frame
but you can also display this on a beautiful tabletop easel

Monday, March 31, 2014

VENTURA HARBOR III

PAINTING HARBORS AND BOATS

VENTURA HARBOR III
9x12 oil on canvas covered cradled board
Palette Knife Painting
Click here to purchase

After my very recent trip to Ventura, CA, I have completely fallen in love with

PAINTING BOATS AND HARBORS
A few years ago I spent a week in Maine at York Beach getting salt in my blood.
I can't stay away from the ocean at the moment,
 nor studying famous seascape artists,
 so I have decided to return to Maine again in July, this time for two weeks.
 Of course there will be time for sightseeing,
but my main purpose this time is more painting than vacationing.

To see many awesome painting in one place
click here to view my Pinterest board on Ships, Boats and Harbors.
Click here to view my board of Seascape Paintings on Pinterest.