Odyssey: Paintings of Grand Manan

I've got a show up at the Grand Manan Art Gallery right now!  There was a crowd at the opening last Saturday, and they seemed to like it.

Matthew's Cove III, Oil on Panel, 12 x 12", 2013

I'm pleased with the show, and happy to have produced some new work.

Grand Manan is one of my favourite places, and the plan for the show was to hike around the perimeter of the Island, painting as I go.  If you've been to Grand Manan, you'll know how ambitious this is!  The western side of the island is virtually uninhabited.  It's a high, rugged cliff for many miles, and it's accessed only by a narrow trail.  No cell phones, no water tap, nothing but rocks and trees and ocean. The scenery is totally awesome.

Well, hiking and camping along the coast with my painting gear for a few weeks sounds like fun to me, and I was looking forward to doing this sometime between mid-May and early July this year, to produce work for the show.  Well, fate intervened, and I spent that whole time with a cast on my painting arm :(  By the time I got my arm back, time was short and things were cooking at my own gallery, so I had to settle for a couple of shorter trips to Grand Manan, and some painting closer to home.

I haven't given up on that whole idea yet, maybe next year fate will be kinder.  I'll be posting some more of the 30 paintings from the show over the next couple of weeks.

Odyssey: Paintings of Grand Manan is up until Sept 12 at the Grand Manan Art Gallery, 21 Cedar St., beautiful Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick.  They're also hosting exhibitions by Susan McChesney and Victoria Hall. http://www.grandmananartgallery.ca

Some Drawings

I'm really happy to be doing some figure drawing again!

Lubec Paintings

 

Lubec Boats, 2011.  Oil on Panel, 8 x 8".

Here's a couple of paintings, done on Campobello, looking across the bay towards Lubec, Maine.

Lubec Wharf, 2011.  Oil on Panel, 8 x 8".

It was a foggy day, and a high tide brought dozens of hungry seals to the spot.

Duck Pond

Duck Pond, Oil on Panel, 8 x 8", 2011.

I just spent a productive week on Campobello Island, doing a mentoring workshop with instructor Michael Chesley Johnson.

Campobello is a beautiful island, and not too far from home.  I enjoyed spending a week there painting and hiking around the provincial and international parks there.  This is the first of a few paintings which I'll post over the next week or so, done on the south end of the island, at the Duck Pond.

Portrait Studies

3D Work

I find it instructive, and fun, to make clay models from time to time.  They help me understand the forms I'm trying to paint.  I can position the light from any direction, and see what effect it has.
                                     
Here's a couple of shots of one such, and a study (below) based on it.

Head Study, 2011.  Oil on panel, 7 x 8".

Heavy Snow -- Study

Snow Study, 2011.  Oil on Panel, 6 x 8".

I thought we'd seen the last of the snow, but winter's holding on here.  It's hailing golf balls out there...