As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I took some time off from teaching workshops this winter to work on a few special projects. One of these projects was painting for the upcoming Acadia Invitational III exhibit. It's a little strange, painting maritime scenes while in Arizona, but with a little music* and the right reference material, I found it easy to transport myself to Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park. I had a wonderful time re-visiting Maine this season, in a virtual sort of way. Besides my plein air sketches and photos, I possess a vast internal library of memories of the hikes I've taken there over the decades. You can't paint these scenes in the studio without them.
Before I go further, I should explain what Acadia Invitational III is. Every few years, Argosy Gallery in Bar Harbor, Maine, invites 30 artists to be in this show. The show runs for over a year, giving the public plenty of time to view and buy some really fine paintings of MDI and the Park. It's rare to see this quality of work, and so much of it, in one place. This year marks the third event, and it will run from July 29th, 2017, through October 2018. (Yes, you read that right – 2018.) Other artists invited include T.M. Nicholas, Kathleen Dunphy, John Cogan and joe Anna Arnett. I am delighted to be invited to display my work at this prestigious gallery and in such good company.
Each artist is allowed three paintings in the show; one large painting, and two smaller ones. For my biggest piece, I chose a well-known but still beautiful view of Otter Point. I particularly enjoyed painting the foreground rocks and ledges. For my next piece, I decided the feature the schooner Margaret Todd, the only four-masted schooner still sailing the east coast. (I've actually sailed on that ship – what an experience!) For my smallest piece, I featured a quiet, little-visited part of the island. I won't tell you where it is, but if you enroll in one of my workshops on Mount Desert Island, I may take you there.
I wanted to share these three paintings with you and to give you an idea of the relative sizes of each. The image at the top of this post will give you that. Below, I show you the images that you can then click on for a bigger view.
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| Acadian Summer 12x24 Oil |
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| The Schooner Margaret Todd 12x16 Oil |
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| On the Edge 9x12 Oil |
* I have eclectic musical tastes. Soundtrack this winter by Sigur Rós.
