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I know it’s been ages since I’ve composed a blog entry, but it isn’t because I haven’t been busy! I’ve been very busy indeed, painting up a storm. This first entry will fill you in on my plein air painting trips, but there’s lots more to write about.
Have I mentioned? Yes, I know I have! I love painting in Acadia! I had the whole month of June 2019 to paint there.
June is a great time to be in Acadia, before the wildlife goes into hiding! (Hi, Porcupine!) And one of the special joys of nature in June is watching the ospreys fish in Somesville, when the alewifes are running.
But mostly I’m in Acadia to paint, and this time I was again entranced by the strong, gorgeous rocks. Almost anywhere along Ocean Path I can find inspiring rocks. Here is “Meeting Place” (20×20″).
The rock climbers were out, and I captured some of them as I perched on cliffs even higher. (You might have to look closely to see my painting at left!)
Of course I found good painting sites throughout the Park, braving the mosquitoes occasionally, and stopping to paint gorgeous outcroppings.
Some of those outcroppings made good single paintings, like this 16×16″ “Tyger, Tyger.”
Others made a terrific multiple assemblage, like “Acadia Roadside Quilt,” made of six 12×12 paintings done at various roadside outcroppings:
I showed the “Quilt” at the Providence Art Club Members’ Show, and Amy at the Argosy Gallery had a good hunch that it would do well if I brought it up to the gallery in Bar Harbor. (She was right!)
Quite often I started my day with a still life. I painted a lot. I loved it. Here are just a few of the many 10×10″ still lifes from June:
“Colorful Eggs”
“Did You Say Pears?”
“Spring Onions”
Yes, June is great, BUT, as I’ve mentioned before, my absolute FAVORITE time to paint in Acadia is in October. So I went to Acadia again!!! This year the colors were especially spectacular.
The weather was not great, I admit, but made the best of the times I could paint outside.
I even visited the Schoodic Peninsula. I missed it! It’s been a while since I painted there.
It is so centering and healthy, both physically and emotionally, to spend time in Acadia. There is nothing like being close to nature.
As a special October project, I painted a collection of small 5×5″ paintings of houses. There are two jokes here. One is that as a starving artist, one occasionally has to paint houses. 🙂 The other joke is that anyone who buys one of these will be able to say, “Hey, Honey, I bought you a House in Maine!” They are all titled “A House in Maine,” and they will be for sale at the Little Pictures Exhibition at the Providence Art Club, November 9 through December 23, 2019. It’s always a terrific show, and I’m happy to take part. Here’s a little grouping of four of the paintings:
Another couple blog postings are coming very soon…watch for them!
Jana Matusz on Site 