Day 81

Today's painting is a gouche of Screw Auger Falls. On this day the place was crawling with photographers, it must have been a club outing. I left the tripod out of the painting, to leave something for the viewer to "fill in". Perhaps the figure is fishing?

Well, today all of my "birthday" money was finally spent, an order was placed for the Dakota Traveler to store the new pastels. Now to wait and see which gets here first. I will take photos and post when they arrive.

Day 80

A pastel of sunset at Lamoine State Park. This park has camping right on Frenchman's Bay, and is close to Acadia National Park. We have gone there for years, usually right after Labor Day. There are working lobster boats moored right off shore, and if you are not a sound sleeper, you can hear them take off in the early morning to haul traps.

Well, I have spent a small fortune on art supplies over the last few days! What fun. I ordered a Terry Ludwig set and can't wait to try them. One small order with just a few colors came in today for me to play with later. I finally broke down and ordered mat board, so now I will cover the pool table and get to work matting some of these 80 paintings I have done since Oct 1st. Some are going to be framed and some are going in the wood stove!

Day 79

This is a pastel of the top of Cadillac Mountain, after the sun rose.

Day 78

This is my holiday offering, just because of the red and green.

I took a break from pastel today and tried some watercolor. I got the paper nice and wet and let things flow.

Now, back to pastel. I think I just burned out my vacum and the light I am using seems to be melting around the blub and dripping plastic. It can be quite scary around here sometimes, especially when no one is around to supervise me.

Merry Christmas to all!

Day 77

Pastel again today! This is the view of sunrise from our room at Old Orchard Beach. We try to take the dogs down for a walk at least once a month in winter. Joining us on the beach are cross country skiiers, horses and riders and lots of other dogs. Large pockets are required to gather shells and other beach finds.

One of my orders of Wallis paper is here, and the other is on the way. I also purchased a few sticks of pastel from Dakota which should be here in a few days....I can't wait to try "bottle green".

Day 76

Well, time to be honest here. I am totally infatuated with pastel.... I never thought this would happen. I woke up this morning thinking about a Terry Ludwig set of Cobalt blues. I just love the pure colors, the way you can just get it off the paper and start again. I don't seem to be making as much mud as I do with oil, and it has the color that I love with watercolor. I don't even mind the mess it make on my hands since I discovered how wonderful it is to keep a chamois cloth in your hands. It gives me something to play with while I am "thinking" and it gets a lot of that dust off my fingers too.

This is a view of Tumbledown I have tried many times and just made messes....I am starting to like this one.

Day 75

Rangely Lake in the rain. Finally there is a bit of chill in the air, and the ice is forming on the ponds. I am anxious to paint the shadows on the snow.

I am still waiting for my Wallis paper. I ordered from two sources, and both were backordered. One shipment has been released and is in New Jersey. I have a painting that I don't plan to keep that I did on Wallis, and I am going to put it in the sink and wash it. This paper is supposed to be tough. A much better solution than the wood stove!

Day 73 and 74

Right at the moment many of us are hoping that this body of water freezes over in time for ice fishing and snowmobiling.

The reference for this was taken from our sailboat in the early summer. No thoughts of ice then.

Day 71 and 72

Mixed media is such fun, I really got some stuff sloshing around on this one.

New rules, I just can't post some paintings, and so, I won't. They will be posted in my Daily Painting gallery, but you will have to go there if you want to snicker! This should help me get through the rough times, and there are many.

Now I will try to get caught up on my postings. Christmas preparations are all done now, so I have no excuses. Just a week to go!

Day 70

My first painting completed in my "winter" studio. I am pretty much limited to pastels in this space, it is to small to do watercolor and I don't want the oil paint smell in the house.

Pastel is teaching me about value and this is supposed to be a learning experience. I have conquered the urge to blow the dust off the paper, now I need to stop blending with the fingers.

Day 69

The reference for this pastel was taken when we were trying to find a "shortcut" between Fayette and Livermore. The sunset that evening was magnificent. I have another photo or two to play with.

I am a very happy artist tonight. As we approach another long Maine winter, I now have an "upstairs" studio. My basement studio is cold this time of year, and by the time I get it warm I loose my inspiration. Now I can paint anytime I want, and be warm. There is only room for one easel and a good light but that is all I need! Thank you Santa.

Day 68

I took this reference on my morning walk, way before sunrise. This gave me an opportunity to invent the colors. What fun! There are plenty more cairns around town, I can see a series coming.

Day 67

I keep coming back to this scene. The composition is a challenge. My intent here was to experiment with intentional blooms. It was fun and I can see how they will be effective once I master them. But, there is very little to master with watercolor, it master's you.

Day 66

These bulbs have grown eight inches since I planted them. Will they be blooming for Christmas?

Day 65

My other "Nephew" Tyler. This is the guy you want to cuddle with, he is a sweety and is very good at kisses....but he does give his brother a run for his money.

Painting a white dog was my challenge for this week!

Day 64

I am still working on this view of Tumbledown, this time in watercolor. Soon it will be covered with snow.

Day 63

This is a watercolor of my "Nephew" Otis. He is such a cutie, I think he is a Shia Poo. Otis has a little brother, Tyler, who I am going to attempt soon!

Day 62

My first portrait in watercolor. The reference photo is from Valri Ary's DVD. I am actually happy, we know Dan is human! I have never seriously thought of doing portraits, I have done of Willy Nelson in pastel that I was pleased with, oh heck, I will post it here! I think I did this about 12 years ago.

Day 61

This is a study I did from a DVD I bought, hoping to learn something about the "right" way to do watercolor! (There is no right way.) These are apples, and I am aware they are orange. Some things I just cannot control!

(reference photo Valri Ary, thank you!)

Day 60

This is the view from our balcony at Old Orchard Beach. One direction is an amazing sunrise, and the other is the pier. (We can see the sunrise from our bed!)

Day 59

Day 58

On our way to Rangeley we saw this view of Tumbledown from the Byron Road. The closer you get the bigger it gets!

A dear friend shared with me a precious piece of Wallis paper to try. I have an order in at two companies, and it is on backorder! I love this paper, and can see why it is so popular with pastel painters. My fingers did take a beating, next time I will try using a chamois for some of the blending.