It has been soooooo long since I have posted to my blog. What can I say, things have been busy.
So now time to catch up.
My week on Monhegan was one of the best experiences I have ever had. It was total immersion in art and talking about art - with other artists!
I was generously invited to be part of this wonderful group of people: Margaret Sheldon, Maria Bennett Hock, Jean Graves and Marji Harmer-Beem. Everybody brought something different to the group. Some oil painters, some watercolor painters - and lots of experimentation.
We rented a house with just the most wonderful peaceful view of the ocean and Manana Island just across from us as can be seen in the photo above. We brought much of our own food and everyone chipped in to cook and wash-up. It was such a delight!
This was the first time I have been able to experience plein air painting fully.
Monhegan is an island for artists. It is just 1 mile wide and 1 1/2 miles long. There are no cars on the island. In every conceiveable nook and corner of the island you will find an artist set up with their easel, painting away.
The first day or so, we spent walking the island, getting to know our surroundings and observing the light.
By the third day I decided that the light was best early morning, so for the rest of the week I was up before dawn to set up my easel. We could not have been luckier with the weather. It was perfect almost all of the week, apart for the last day when we experienced some fog.
Here are some of my paintings from the week. Some you will agree are more successful than others, but this week for me was about the learning experience. I learned to gain confidence with my set up, to paint faster and to eliminate what is not important. I leaned that I need to focus harder on how to achieve a better depth of field - something I will be determined to focus on on successive landscape painting trips.
My first and least favorite painting from the week. I painted this in bright, bright sunlight and thought I had painted a wide range of greens, until I brought it inside and it was clear I hadn't!
Although Manana island was very close by, I felt that the depth of field was not at all obvious. Something I need to work on.
Lighthouse at dawn
This was a total experiment. I got up well before dawn to start this painting. Around 4.30am.
I feel it was a partial success but I would like to attempt this again sometime. I want to achieve a more yellow hazy cast than I was able to here to capture the atmosphere of this scene at sunrise.
Easily my favorite painting from the week.
I'm very happy with the composition in this one and I felt that I achieved a looser brush stroke and confidence with it.
The Barnacle
This one was a real challenge.
The perspective was tricky as I was fairly close-up to the cafe. Also as I was painting there was lot of coming and going of customers and staff!
It was such a pleasure painting in such close proximity of the ocean though.
The house we rented was rustic but charming and comfortable. We had electricity (though many houses did not) but the water was not drinkable so we bought water each day from the one small store on the island.
As well as the store, there is also an art gallery, a couple of gift shops, two hotels. A brewery, a pizza cafe and a seafood cafe.
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