I just returned from a weekend in Saint John, New Brunswick, and the annual Plein Air Painters of the Bay of Fundy paintout. Eleven of us descended upon the city's historic homes, natural parks and other scenic wonders to create work for our annual exhibition, which opens Wednesday at the Saint John Arts Centre. We have a reception this Friday (June 25, 2010) at 5:30 at the Centre, which is located at 20 Hazen Avenue. I hope some of my blog and Facebook followers will join us.
The port city of Saint John is the province's largest city and sits at the confluence of the St. John River and the Bay of Fundy. Saint John has an interesting history. Fortified by the French in 1631 and then captured by the British in 1654, it welcomed Loyalists during the Revolutionary War, and then much of it burned to the ground in 1877 in a conflagration. This summer marks its 225th year as an incorporated city, and today, it's a busy port with the oil and pulp industries sharing the landscape with cruise ships - and this weekend, with plein air painters!
We had great (and rather warm) weather on Saturday and then fog and scattered showers on Sunday. Still, I was able to do three paintings. I pretty much covered most of the motifs - historic homes, boats and the natural landscape. Saturday evening, some of us met at the home of artist David Reeves for a barbecue. One of the great pleasures of this type of event is meeting people we've only corresponded with through e-mail or other electronic venues. The Bay of Fundy is big, touching two provinces plus Maine, so you can see why we don't all know each other.
Below this post are my three pieces. (I have five additional pieces in the show that were painted elsewhere.) Tomorrow I return to Saint John, because I have a three-day plein air workshop to teach for the Art Centre starting Wednesday.
"Boat with No Name" 11x14, oil
"The Gorge" 8x10, oil
"Summer Light" 8x10, oil
