Tag: landscape

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Daily Painting #3 ~ Summer Days

Late Afternoon. oil. Available.

Perfect weather. I went to the back side of the dune at North Beach in Ogunquit. I looked across the river at the Footbridge parking lot and decided I needed to be there looking north up the river into the marshes. So I headed over there to set up.

Looking North, oil.

It was after 5pm when I set up my easel. The light was moving fast. Lots of choices. I just started to paint fast.

Just After Sunset.oil.

The colors changed by the minute. I’d be looking at my painting as I applied paint, then look back at the view and it was completely different.

Peach Dusk Reflections. oil.

Some colors lasted for only 3 to 5 minutes.

Sliver of a Moon. oil.

I was going to pack it up and stop for the day when I noticed the sliver of moon in the sky in the west. The houses on the edge of the marsh were all being lit so I put on my headlamp and started another painting.

Moody Beach Lights. oil.

Dusk was now long gone and the evening darkness was setting in. It was really getting dark when I started this painting. The tiny lights sparkled and glowed from the cottages across the river at Moody Beach. I could sort of see the values of my colors on the palette, but the temperature and hue were being altered by my headlamp so I just went for value and hoped for the best. Painting in the dark is amazing! It was a blast being out there!

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Daily Painting #2 – The Days of Summer

After Sunset.oil. Available.

This is a wonderful time to be painting. I was at North Beach in Ogunquit on the marsh. I painted the sun as it was setting. Then I painted the clouds as they fanned across the western sky. Finally I turned and painted the bit of the river and the warm sky after sunset. When I’m painting like this I’m just moving really fast. I might start with a sketch when I arrive on location. But once I get going I just keep painting the changing light and colors non stop. I finish panel after panel until I run out of mixing space on my palette. I never run out of brushes.

Sunset. oil. Available.

I stayed in one spot while painting all these pictures. I didn’t move my easel. I just turned and looked in a different direction for a different view.

Sunset Clouds. oil. Available.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these studies please email me for size and details.

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Daily Painting #1 ~ The Days of Summer

Snowy White Egrets. oil. Available.

Its mid August in Maine. The weather is perfect . The days are gorgeous. The Snowy White Egrets are gathering. A nice groups of 20 or slightly more were all feeding in the salt pans in the marsh at Wells Harbor the other day. I was more than happy to see them!

I’m painting every day now out doors. I will post and share what I saw and my impression of it. I’m focusing on fast studies that capture the essence of what I’m experiencing.

This may not be a 30 in 30 painting schedule. It may be shorter or longer. Or I might skip a day here and there. But most of the time I’ll be out there painting. And smiling the whole time!

Egrets in the Marsh. oil. Available.
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New Landscape Painting Class ~ August 5th!

The Smell of Rain. Oil. 8×10 NFS

Are you ready for some fun, enjoyable times right from the comfort of your home ?

If you are ready to add some beauty, enrichment and reward to your life, you will want to join us! This live streaming, online class is the perfect cure for the “stuck at home stuff.”

If you love painting landscapes and want to learn and utilize the best foundational elements of the masters in your landscapes, now is the time to pick up your brushes and jump in. This is the perfect time for you to practice everything you want to learn in the quiet of your studio before you venture outside. You are welcome to join us in the NEW Class starting August 5th!

NOW is the easiest time to jump into landscape painting !

  • ONLINE ZOOM CLASS ~ PERFECT FOR ALL AGES
  • TIME: Wednesdays 5:30 pm – 8 pm.
  • EXPERIENCE: Beginner to Intermediate levels welcome.
  • LOCATION: Where ever you are, from the comfort of your home or studio. Any where you have wifi!
  • INSTRUCTION: Classes are small. Each student receives individual attention, instruction and guidance.
  • NEXT CLASS BEGINS AUGUST 5TH ! DETAILS & REGISTRATION HERE.

New Live Streaming Landscape painting class starts August 5th, details & registration info here!

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New Live Stream Landscape Class ~ May 13th !

A NEW ONLINE LANDSCAPE CLASS STARTS ON WEDNESDAY MAY 13TH.

If you love painting landscapes and want to learn and utilize the best foundational elements of the masters in your landscapes, now is the time to pick up your brushes and join us. This is the time for you to practice everything you learn in the quiet of your studio before you venture outside.

Our favorite landscape painting season is here. I’ve been out painting as much as I can in-between the many April showers. This spring has been a little chilly, the blossoms are slowly coming out. I’m looking forward toward to seeing the apple trees in full bloom!

This will be the last online Landscape Class offered this spring. If you wish to join us ~ description & registration are here.

I hope you are all healthy and thriving.

Remember to be kind to yourself and others, think of your loved ones, make time for quiet moments, breathe the fresh air and spend some in nature.

Paint and create beauty as if it counts. Because it does. It’s important to have quality in our lives.

Thank you all for being here.

Warmly,

Mary

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Landscape Painting in Winter

2.21.20 Painting in late afternoon.

It was about 30 degrees when I started painting today. I promised myself this morning I was going out to paint. It was -11 at 7:00 AM. I worked indoors until it warmed up. Then I headed out to the marsh to paint snow and shadows. Oops, no snow on the marsh. So we went up the road to Laudholm Farm. There was a bit of snow there and some nice shadows. And it was an hour or so till sunset.

Long violet blue shadows were stretched across the snow.

I think the big problem with winter is we don’t get outside often enough. It makes you feel good to to spend a few hours in fresh air. That’s why kids have recess. Adults should have it too. When I was going outside to paint everyday in January it was great. As soon as February rolled around I slid back into my habit of diving into the pile of “things to be done.” Now I’m focusing on not doing that. I’m shaking it up and moving plein air into my schedule. If I put it in my “to do list”, I will go out.

The sun was setting fast. The light was beautiful.
I finished one painting and started another as the sun dropped behind the trees. And it started to get really cold!
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Daily Painting ~ Night Moves

2.8.2020 ~ After Dinner , oil, 4×6, SOLD.

This was the last painting I did during the last week of the month of daily paintings. I was so happy to have warm temps this night that I just kept painting one panel after another. It’s so nice to paint outdoors in winter and have mild, comfortable temperatures. This means any temp above 32! Oil paint behaves differently in really cold temps. Often its stiff and acts like concrete when its well below freezing in the single digits.

This past month I painted close to home. I stayed in town and my neighborhood. It was a treasure trove! I had no idea that I would see so many paintings in my backyard. The biggest thing I learned was that this little piece of landscape was always changing. The changes in light, weather and snow cover made a huge difference in how the neighborhood looked. I mostly painted in the afternoons, evenings and at night as that was when I had a chunk of time and I could usually rely on the light being most interesting then.

This night the neighbors had floodlights on lighting their driveway. A car was sitting parked in the pool of light. During the whole month of painting I hadn’t seen this area lit like this. While I was painting the scene the back porch door opened and a couple of people came out. Oh,oh I thought, I hope they don’t drive that car away. I painted the car quickly. They walked to the car, turned the headlights on, then slowly drove it out of the driveway. I painted the headlights, the tail lights and the light beams on the snow. As I was finishing up the last strokes on the canvas they were already gone. It was fitting that this was the last painting in this series.

Thank you all for following me during this month! It was great to get messages from you and hear which paintings & stories were your favorites!

SHOW ~ 31 PAINTINGS IN 31 DAYS : NEXT MONTH I will be having a show of all the little jewels that were painted during the month of January. You are invited to come by for tea & celebration ! As soon as they are all dry I will post a show date !

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Daily Painting: Lights in the Dark

2.8.2020 ~ The Back Porch Light, oil, 4x 6.5, $150. Available.

It was a nice warm night. I went out and set up my easel in my back yard near my studio. I looked at the cluster of houses across the field. I started painting them and the different lights that were on. My paints were behaving normally, flowing smoothly off the brush. It was great!

I work with a limited palette so it was very easy to grab a dark or a light and find my way with my brush around the different shapes. My headlight was getting dim. The batteries were worn out. No problem, I moved my easel closer to my studio flood lights. I just kept painting and guessed at what I was seeing.

I notice when painting in the dark it actually helps to not see very well. Hard and soft edges are easy to discern. If I can see it clearly and it is really bright it must have a hard edge. If its subtle and dim it must have a soft edge. When I paint it that way all the shapes emerge and all these lights appear. There is a beautiful mystery to it all. I liked this view of a back porch light, warmly lit windows and other random outdoor lights. I could see the different lights in the dark but I couldn’t tell you what they all belonged to ! The warm glow, the bits of scattered lights and lit windows were enough to hold my attention in the darkness.

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Day 30 – 31 Paintings in 31 Days

Day 30 ~ 1.30.20 Moon Light, oil, 5×9, $225. January only. Available.

It might be because this is the 30th day of painting with only one more to go, but I broke loose and surprised myself today. As usual It was another day full of things that had to be tended to. I was out and about all day and by late afternoon, when I was originally planning to paint, the light didn’t look very interesting.

So when I got home I worked in the studio until after 5, then went out to look around as it got dark. I walked into the back yard and looked toward my studio. It was all lit up like a birthday cake, light was pouring out of the windows. In the dark blue sky just above the studio rooftop Venus was peeking down at me. High up overhead was the crescent moon all wrapped in a misty layer of light.

I grabbed my easel, and placed a tall vertical panel on it. I wasn’t planning on painting a picture of my studio and the moon. t was just that kind of night. The sky was this lovely deep blue, the air was still and quiet and the stars were twinkling. Distant planes flashed their lights across the sky. I could hear a girl singing and laughing in her back yard across the field. It felt like a chilly spring night. And I was in the right place at the right time.

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Day 29 ~ 31 Paintings in 31 Days

Day 29 ~ 1.29.20 Venus Rising, oil 5.5×5.5, $180. January only. Available.

Little did I think this afternoon that I was going to get home so late from running errands. I pulled into my driveway after 5pm. It was dark enough to know I had missed all the last light and dusk views.

Then, as I was walking around the back yard checking out the different views and looking for a spot to set up my easel, I saw a brilliant star in the west. I walked up onto my back deck and saw the crescent moon shinning through the big pines trees behind the studio. By the time I had my easel, paints and brushes, the moon had climbed above the trees and was moving south west toward the bright sparkling star. This star was so bright I realized this was not a star but a planet. It was Venus. It was quiet and peaceful. No wind and the temperature was still a warm 35. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be outside painting this lovely evening as the waxing crescent moon and Venus were meeting in the sky. Last night and tonight are the only times this happens this year. What a delight!