Works from Maine

Today, I was going to go work out in the yard, so I put on my purple converse (which are now my yard work shoes) and much to my surprise, there was still sand inside of them from Popham Beach in Maine. It brought back memories (even though it really wasn't that long ago, still) and also reminded me that I needed to scan my paintings that I did while I was in Maine. So here they are. I'm not immensely proud of all of them. I make it quite clear that I do not often paint landscapes or seascapes. That's just not what I paint. But it was a challenge painting them, and it was fun. How often do I have the Atlantic Ocean stretching out before me? Plus, each painting has a story and to me, that's the most important thing.

My watercolor sketchbook went everywhere with me in Maine and will probably start traveling with me more often now.

It was the first night at the house and I just wanted to break in my sketchbook. I found a tea kettle (the house was chock full of teapots!) on the stove and decided to do a blind contour of it. Why not. I like how it turned out.

This was actually done from a photograph that I had taken earlier that day. We went to Boothbay Harbor which was a quaint little town (one of many that we went to) with a lot of old, charming signs, such as this one. I like ocean creatures a lot, so the seahorses really caught my eye. If it had been a nicer day, then I suppose I could have painted on location, but it was cold and rainy, so I painted from the comfort of the dining room table.

 Petey the Ovenbird. Ah, Petey. This little guy flew into the porch window at the house and of course, all of us being artists, scooped him up and painted him. I took a rather quick approach to painting. I've been trying to get away from detailed rendered paintings lately. But I think this says what it needs to say in as few brushstrokes as possible. We kept Petey in the freezer the entire week (wrapped up of course), while we planned a full pirate/viking funeral for him. Unfortunately, it was the last day and we still had not sent him off on his funeral raft (yes, we built a raft!), so Lucas buried him in the yard. Oh well. RIP Petey.

A twisty tree that was in the backyard of the house. The day we didn't go out, I sat and painted or doodled for most of the day and this was my favorite thing that came out of that day. I've used this illustration on a few products on my store.

Pemaquid Beach. The sun was out and right in front of my eyes, I had the Atlantic Ocean! It was amazing. This was my favorite day of painting, for sure. I don't think my painting looks that great, but whenever I look at it, I think of that day and all the great memories. This wasn't even the first time I saw the Ocean, but it was the best way I saw it (every other day was foggy and rainy), so I will never forget this.

I collected a lot of shells, stones and sea glass from the various beaches we visited and one evening back at the house, I decided I wanted to illustrate them and make icons. These shells and the starfish are also featured on products in my store.

Bubbles the Lobster. I think that was what we named him in the end. Some people wanted to name him Rocky the Rock Lobster, but he wasn't a Rock Lobster, so I think Bubbles was the winner. He got that name because as he sat on the table while we painted him (minutes before he was to meet his doom in a boiling pot of water), he had bubbles coming out of his mouth. It's sad because he was suffocating, but the name stuck, I guess. Another casualty of the trip, but it was for the best. RIP Bubbles, as well.

 This was one of the few I did on our "island" at Popham Beach. This turned out the best. The awful scan really doesn't do it justice...and the painting doesn't do the view justice. I told you I'm not good at seascapes. But as far as views go, this was one of the best. It was absolutely breathtaking. Crashing waves, rocky cliffs, grey-blue ocean, cloudy sky. I never thought I'd get to see something like that in my life. It was incredible. And it was really, really cold!