Grand Manan Island

Back in September, I led a painting workshop on Grand Manan Island, the "Queen of the Fundy Isles." My group stayed on Ingalls Head, near the center of the island, where we had easy access to a number of excellent painting spots. If you haven't been to Grand Manan, it's an island bigger than Campobello and farther removed from the mainland. In fact, it's a 90-minute ferry ride. But once you're there, there's no end of painting! We had bold cliffs, historic fishing villages, lighthouses -- everything you'd come to expect in the Canadian Maritimes. (See some photos here.)

The workshop week was modelled on my Campobello Island workshop. That is, it consisted of five half-days. If you're not familiar with my Campobello workshops, briefly, you learn in the morning with the group and then have the rest of the day free to explore or paint on your own. Since I was removed from my normal environment, I found myself with idle time in the evenings. So, I instituted an evening event -- an optional, "paint-along" session without instruction, to which everyone was invited. All seemed to really enjoy these bonus sessions! I did, too, since we were able to witness and capture some beautiful evening light.

My paintings are finally dry, and I've scanned them in. Here are five of them, all 9x12s, oil on panel. (By the way, they are also for sale. If you're interested, please drop me a line.) You can click on the thumbnails for larger images.

I'll be doing this workshop again next year, June 15-20. Please go here for more information.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Sedona, Arizona, for the 2007 Sedona Plein Air Festival. Thirty artists from across the US and Canada have been invited to this prestigious event. I'm just as excited as last year, because I'll get to paint some spectacular scenery and work beside top-notch artists such as William Scott Jennings, Jeanette LeGrue, John Poon and others. Stay tuned!

"North Head Wharf"

"Seal Cove Fish Houses"

"Southern Head"

"Southern Head Cove, Fog"

"Swallowtail Light, Evening"

Upcoming National Exhibitions

I thought I'd share some exciting news with you. First, my painting, "Low Tide, Roses," has been juried into the 2007 Pastel Society of New Mexico National Exhibition. I'm also happy to note that this qualifies me for signature status in the organization. The show runs November 2-25 at the Hispanic Arts Center in Albuquerque. Here's the painting.

"Low Tide, Roses" 9x12, pastel, en plein air

Second, "Con Robinson's Point, Fog" has been juried into the 2007 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition. The show runs November 24-January 5 at the Weatherburn Gallery in Naples, Florida. Here is this one:

"Con Robinson's Point, Fog" 11x14, oil, en plein air

(As always, you can click on the image for a bigger version.)

I'm honoured to be juried into these two events. If you're in Albuquerque or Naples during the show times, I'd be delighted for you to drop by and see the paintings in person.

About Commissions

Commissions can be both a painter's dream and nightmare. Always a source of welcome income, they also can be a source of unwelcome trouble. Having a patron buy a painting that's already completed and hanging on a gallery wall is one thing, but having him tell you what he wants painted and how and when is another. Suddenly, you're no longer an independent craftsman working for your own pleasure, but a hired man working for someone else's.

The patron may ask that things not be painted exactly as they are. A lake that has been drained by a long drought should be filled to the brim; monotonous, August greens should be charged with the electric reds and oranges of autumn; a mountain should be moved or diminished to improve the view. The plein air artist may be requested to perform magic usually done only by master illusionists and Photoshop experts.

But a successful commission can also be immensely fulfilling. A good patron will listen to your advice, and in the end, he will truly enjoy your accomplishment and appreciate your wizardry. And you will enjoy having done the near-impossible -- and not just to your own satisfaction but to someone else's, too.

I recently had the opportunity to create a series of three paintings for one of my long-term patrons. My patron is one of the best kinds, since she values an artist's opinion highly. Originally, she wanted a traditional triptych, but when I went out to her proposed location, I discovered there was no place from which I could create a traditional triptych. (A traditional triptych consists of three paintings that form a panorama, with each image capable of standing on its own as a complete painting.) We agreed that I would simply do three paintings and incorporate as much of her subject matter as possible. To ensure a consistent look among the paintings so they would make a good grouping, I used the same palette for each and painted each in the late afternoon.

Here they are, all 8x10 oils painted en plein air. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)





By the way, I've been on the road a bit -- workshops on Grand Manan Island and in Acadia National Park -- and I have a couple of more events to attend, including the Sedona Plein Air Festival. You can look forward to more regular posts from me in the future!

Painting from Photos - Copyright Violation?

Recently, a professional photographer friend of mine complained that painters were painting from her photos and exhibiting and selling them. These were photos downloaded from her website and clipped from local newspapers. US copyright law specifically makes creating, exhibiting or selling such paintings illegal.

The law preserves for the creator of a photograph (or of a painting, for that matter) the right to both reproduce the work and to create other, derivative works from it. Period. (See http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html.) No one else has this right without explicit permission from the creator.

Although I'm a dedicated plein air painter, I admit I do paint from photos now and then. However, these photos are my own. Why don't I paint from photographs other people have taken? (Other than the legal issue, of course.) Photographs that aren't my own don't have enough meaning for me. They may be pretty, but I can't feel the moment. For me, my photos evoke a lot more than what shows in the photograph. They evoke a whole world of sensation: the warm wind on my cheek, the fragrance of the sea, the cries of the seagulls. My photos may evoke a sense of early-morning optimism, noon's calm repose, or the moodiness of a fin de siècle evening - a sense I may want to bring to my painting. It's hard to find this in someone else's photograph, and even if I do, I still don't know what colours the shadows really were. I'll remember the shadow colours when I see my photo.

If you know a painter who paints from someone else's photos (or paintings), explain to them that not only are they doing the creator of the work harm -- every illegal copy that gets sold is one less that the creator can sell and is thus bread stolen from his mouth -- but they are doing themselves a disservice.

But, as you know, I really don't like painting from photos, anyway. One becomes a better painter by painting from life, not from photos. I leave you with this recent piece I did of a lovely house in Wilson's Beach, here on Campobello Island.

"Wilson's Beach, Morning" 9x12, pastel, en plein air

Painting a Mini-Series

Doing a full series can take a great deal of energy and time. By "series," I mean several paintings -- say, six or more -- that deal with a particular theme. The idea is that you keep all variables the same. This includes the choice of pigments, the dimensions of the canvas, the method of applying pigment, and, of course, the subject. This forces you to focus on developing your vision and not on your tools. You can really grow as an artist this way.

However, sometimes you just don't have the energy or time. When this happens to me, I limit my series to just a couple of paintings. I call this a "mini-series." It's useful in a limited way, but if you do lots of them over time, they can help you grow, too.

Here's a mini-series I did last week. I wanted to paint lonely fir trees. A single fir tree at an overlook sounds like an insignificant subject, but I found working on these two paintings enlightening. The work helped me learn more about the way these trees grow and occupy their corner of the world.

"Herring Cove Fir," 8x10, oil, en plein air

"Ragged Point Fir," 8x10, oil, en plein air

By the way, my approach to doing a series is just one. You can be creative about your series. Perhaps you might choose to vary just one factor. In this case, for example, I might have chosen to paint not different trees but the same tree, but using a different format, medium or palette.

My 2008 calendar is now available. To see a preview or order, please go to http://www.lulu.com/content/1155229.