Jana Matusz on Site

First, a little catch-up. Last October’s first annual Acadia Artist Retreat at Schoodic Institute was awesome. (This year, there will be another retreat, so mark your calendars for October 17-24, 2015!) This special program offers a wonderful opportunity to do your artwork in one of the most beautiful corners of Acadia with other nature-inspired artists. Here are some photos from October 2014:

And some paintings from the retreat. It is always a joy to paint at Schoodic.

Since Acadia is my favorite place to paint at any time of year, I’m back! I’ll have an extended painting sojourn this time of almost three months.

Of course, Mount Desert Island in March and early April was pretty dreary, cold, gray, and snowy. The park roads were closed, most trails were inaccessible. The record snows of this winter were taking a long time to melt, and even as late as April 9 there were another 2 inches of snow.

But the bare winter trees allowed for certain views which are hidden in summer. There are also plenty of friends around if you pay attention!

Whenever there was a moment of that special late winter light, I tried to get out there and capture some of it!

 

Slowly but surely, the snow is melting. The season is changing, and I’m delighted to witness the new spring coming.

I’m looking forward to May, and to painting up a storm!

I had been keen to paint on the Isles of Shoals for some time. This group of islands, 6 miles or so off the coast of New Hampshire, has a long, storied history and is renowned for its connections to art and for its beautiful rocks. Aside from a short visit to Star Island, I had never had the opportunity to work on the Isles of Shoals.

This changed in August, when I had a terrific work week at the Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore, (which is officially in Maine). Another painter and I were happy explorers, eager painters, and well-fed guests. Thank you, to Executive Director Jennifer Seavey, and to all the terrific, fascinating people on the SML team for making it such a great visit for us.

Here are some photos from Appledore, including some birds from the banding station. (Thank you, David Holmes, for sharing and showing me how you capture and band and check the birds. Fascinating!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of my paintings from Appledore.

 

 

 

 

 

Appledore! A great place to paint. Let me add poison ivy to my list of “plein airritations”  😦  but the rash will go, the paintings will live on!

Ahhhhh…. It was such a pleasure to return to the island of turquoise waters, white roofs, colorful flowers, kiskadees, tree frogs, and the kindest people on the planet. It was wonderful to see so many friends again. (It was very hard to believe it had been three years since my 2011 Masterworks residency.)

Many thanks to the organizers of the Arts Project for inviting me to teach some workshops! Emma, Martine, and Helen did a wonderful job, and their concept is very compelling. Bermuda, always a destination for excellent recreation, can also be a destination for cultural exchange and education. St. George’s in particular has so much to offer. I wish the Arts Project much success, and look forward to visiting again. Here is a link to the Arts Project Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ArtsProjectStGeorgeBermuda?ref=hl

I came primarily to teach, but I was happy to do some painting too. Two weeks was such a short time — I’ll just have to return again since there is so much more I’d like to paint! Here are some paintings and photographs to share some of Bermuda’s unique beauty:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warmest thanks to all my dear Bermuda friends, including the latest Masterworks Artist in Residence, Kal, whose political cartoons will be the talk of the island!

It’s back to New England for a bit now. I’m looking forward to doing some painting in the Portsmouth/Kittery area again, and to some more time in Maine. If you are an artist interested in an Acadia Artist Retreat (October 6-12), please check out this program on Schoodic. I’m very pleased to be included as one of the program leaders:

ACADIA_ARTIST_RETREAT.pdf

It will be a beautiful time to be in Acadia…

I had a special visual treat during this short stay at Schoodic: baby foxes!

 

 

 

The only thing cuter than a fox baby is TWO fox babies…

 

 

or better yet, THREE!

 

 

I worked on an unusual project this time, working with some taxidermy specimens from the Acadia curatorial collection. Many thanks to Kate and the staff at Acadia for arranging for them to migrate to my studio classroom on Schoodic!

 

 

 

Schoodic in May is beautiful. Cool, pleasant, open and airy since the undergrowth has not yet filled in, and still free of mosquitoes. Also, delightfully deserted for the most part. Did I mention I love it here?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m looking forward to returning soon. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work in Acadia.

Next stop, Bermuda for a return visit!

Really. Is it possible? Painting en plein air in extremely cold, even sub-zero weather? In ACRYLICS? Don’t the paints freeze? I headed up to Acadia again, for a couple weeks on the Schoodic Peninsula, to try it out. The answer is, YES. It is possible. And YES, the paints freeze!

It has been a hard winter. In Maine this February the temperatures were often in the single digits, with wind chills below zero F. It never got above 32 degrees while I was there.

When I tried my first painting, my washes froze immediately, (rather like the freezing rain on my windshield driving up). There were little flakes of frozen ice chipping off the board and in my brush, which was annoying. Worst of all, when I retreated to my car to warm up, propping my painting on the passenger side, I discovered as I warmed up that my painting had MELTED, running down the panel into a puddle on the floor mat. Well, I went back out, repainted and continued, but I’d learned some good lessons.

There are many good tips on the internet for painting in cold weather. Standing on a board or rug, to help keep your feet warm, for example. Or wearing a woolen mitten, which allows you to poke a brush end through to your hand, so you have brush control without exposing your fingers to the cold. For keeping oneself warm, layers are definitely the answer — four hats is not too many — and it is also a good idea to have a timer with you to remind you to take a break and stomp around a bit to warm up. It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re immersed in a painting!

To these I can add two more tips for acrylic painters: first, I took a thermos of hot water for my water cup and replaced the water often. This helped keep my brush soft and flexible, and even helped warm up the paint I was working with. (It turns out that since the paints freeze, I could work with the paint from previous layers. So it felt a bit like oil painting!) Second, I kept a Snuggle-Safe microwave pet disk http://www.amazon.com/Snuggle-Safe-Pet-Microwave-Heating/dp/B00008AJH9 at the bottom of my painting bag, which kept one palette warm while I worked with the other. When the paint I was working with got too cold and tacky, I switched off and used the other palette.

I also made sure to keep my paintings perfectly horizontal when they were done now that I knew they would thaw first, then dry!!   🙂

I found that I worked with the paint more thickly in the cold, and that my painting could have some interesting textures from the freezing and thawing.

So is it worth it to brave the cold and work en plein air in the winter? I think so. I truly believe there is nothing like the freshness and authenticity of working directly from nature, from direct observation. This is true in winter too. The unique light and colors of winter are worth the discomfort. (Yes, I can and do paint in the car too, but views are limited to places where one can park.)

I managed to do a number of paintings, and of course, some figure drawing in Bar Harbor.

Part of the immense joy of being in Maine in winter was seeing a place I knew well in another season, other attire. It was blissfully peaceful and quiet. In the snow were tracks of all kinds, the hard evidence of unseen but ever-present life. And the winter light and colors, when the sun was strong, were wonderful. Yes, it could go all colorless in a moment if the clouds turned everything grey and milky. But those intense blue shadows on snow were worth the trip.

Here are some photos from my wintery residence:

I made the most of the beautiful painting weather this fall. In addition to a second painting session in Acadia National Park, I spent a month painting in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire/Kittery, Maine area. It was a treat to have the gorgeous fall light to work with. It was also a real pleasure to get to know the Portsmouth/Kittery area better. There was plentiful inspiration for my painting, and I was able to join some wonderful artists for drawing sessions as well. (Thanks, everyone!)

The Banks Gallery in Portsmouth, NH is featuring some of my new work (and some sculptures by Sumner Winebaum) in an upcoming show. The exhibition runs from December 7, 2013 to January 4, 2014, and the Artist Reception is on Thursday, December 12 from 5 to 7pm. You’re invited! Please stop by if you get a chance.
http://www.thebanksgallery.com/1/post/2013/11/jana-matusz-new-paintings.html

It’s a good time to see my artwork. In addition to new paintings at all three galleries, there will be work at the 17th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show
http://fineartboston.com/.
It’s also time for the 109th Annual Little Pictures Show and Sale at the Providence Art Club!
http://providenceartclub.org/dodge-house-gallery/
I have some favorite drawings for sale there. Please visit! The Little Pictures Show runs through December 23.

I didn’t want to post paintings both here and on my website — please visit my website to see some of the 2013 New England paintings.
http://www.janamatusz.com/2013PAINTINGS.html
Here are some photos though. (And yes, I really did take that one of the eagle!)

Some more Acadia (as I’ve said, just can’t get enough…):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Portsmouth is a beautiful town, very charming, very comfortable and friendly. It’s also close to some favorite coastal places, like Ogunquit and Prouts Neck and Portland, Maine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it’s time to start planning some good painting opportunities for 2014. Stay tuned!
A big, sincere thanks to everyone who has helped me and supported my work. I really appreciate it.

I never seem to tire of Acadia, no matter how many times I visit.

My latest trip, in June 2013, was productive. Of course, there were the usual challenges for painting on-site, en plein air. I’ve coined a term, “plein airritations” for them. Shifting light, changing weather, changing tides. Rain. Wind! Bugs, especially the mosquitoes (State Bird of Maine). People. Heat. Sun. Drying paint. The list goes on and on. But there are also those perfect moments, those visual surprises and treasures, those soul-filling, time-erasing painting sessions (sometimes with only a loon for company…)  I can’t get enough. Perhaps the photos and paintings will begin to show you why Acadia is so special.

All the paintings shown here are available at Argosy Gallery, and will be shown at the First Friday Art Walk in Bar Harbor on August 2.

This was the first time in all my many trips to Acadia that I had the pleasure of figure drawing sessions. Always a nice change of pace, the figure drawing rescued a rainy day or two from complete disaster.

Again, I did not keep a daily blog, but here is a selection of photos, paintings, and drawings from my painting trip. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the generosity of dear friends/patrons, I was able to spend four weeks in Provincetown, MA. It was off-season, and in March and April I knew I’d have some difficulties doing my usual plein air painting. But it was a revelation to have a chance to work for the first time in Ptown, and I understand better now why this special place has long been such an “artist magnet.”

There was snow, cold, and blustery weather, but I managed to do some work outside, some still lifes inside, and I was especially delighted to attend figure drawing sessions two mornings a week at the Provincetown Art Museum.

I did not keep a daily blog this time, but here is a selection of photos, paintings, and drawings from my artist residency. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paintings are 20×20″ or 20×16″ or 16×16″, acrylic on Multimedia Artboard:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drawings are 11×14″, 9×12″, or 9×9″, sumi ink (and walnut ink for some) on acid-free paper:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s next? I’m looking forward to lots of painting in Maine and points north this summer. Stay tuned!

And that means goodbye, at least for now. My residency work is done and I’m looking forward to a little holiday time. I’m not sure what the next painting project will be, but I’ll keep you posted. Please email me at janamatusz@aol.com. I’d love to hear from you. (Many thanks to those of you who have written.) Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to the Tacoma Symphony Chorus Touring Ensemble (Dr. Geoffrey Boers, conductor) for the really lovely concert which ended my last working day in Cesky Krumlov. You were terrific.

 

 

When I headed out to sketch it was a beautiful, hot, sunny day. I enjoyed watching the boaters and water activities. Then I finally decided to be brave and draw in the main square. I did some drawings of the nice women providing assistance and art materials. It was not easy to work with an audience of talkative Germans, and I’m not used to applause when I finish a drawing!  But I have to admit it was really nice to do some longer people drawings. Our time was cut short by the dramatic and powerful thunderstorms which crashed in abruptly and lasted a few hours. What a change in the day!