Twelve Paintings, Twelve Days

As beautiful as Fall is, I have such a hard time even thinking of painting all those colors....they seem to be screaming at me. So I did a tiny bit of my neighborhood.

Eleven Days, Eleven Paintings

I just had to do it over. I like some parts better, but now the poor horses look like ponies. I started loving to draw from horses.

Ten Days, Ten Paintings

We biked a figure eight around Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond. This was the final view of Eagle Lake before we left the carriage trails to lunch in Bar Harbor.

Nine Days, Nine Paintings

We took an extra long weekend and went biking in Acadia. We loved sharing the trail with horses, it brought back fond memories of our two geldings. Truthfully, my horse would have freaked out and sailed over a cliff if he saw all the bikes that were out this weekend.

This is one of those watercolors that end up a pastel..so I call it mixed media and hope to do better next time.

Oct 8, Eight Days, Eight Paintings!

This is a the view of the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse that you see on the way to Vinalhaven.

I tried to pretend Alvaro and Charles Reid were standing behind me giving advise....I think I can hear them faintly. (Don't fiddle with the brush, warm and cool, and VALUES!) I will try to channel them this weekend when I am out doing my plein air work.

Oct 7, One Week of Paintings

I woke up early this am still feeling very spleeny about yesterday's painting. I wondered if I should just paint the same thing every day until I "got it", should I just paint water for a while? Then I realized I was not doing this Painting a Day project to punish myself..and I was expecting way to much to think I would love everything I produced. So I am plugging on.

I can already see progress in just a short week, I can imagine what it will be like in a year when I will have 365 paintings to look at next Oct 1st.....

This is a hat hanging inside the door of the Olsen House in Cushing Maine. The house is not "furnished", but each room has a little touch of something that reminds you of the lives of the Olsen's, and what drew Andrew Wyeth there to paint. It feels like being in church to walk through those rooms and see what Mr. Wyeth captured so well.

Oct 6, Six Days, Six Paintings

If I had not committed to the Painting a Day, this would have ended up in the woodstove...overworked, poorly drawn, hard to think of anything good except I followed through and I learned.

I love water, sailing, anything to do with the coast. These scenes inspire me to paint, but they never come out well....so I guess I need to get to work and loosen up. On my big easel is a painting I am working on of the pier at Old Orchard Beach, I am struggling with the water, but at least with oils you can scrap it off; watercolor is not so forgiving.