Day 519 "End of Day" pastel on black ink

What an interesting weekend!  Yesterday morning provided a sunny gleam on top of the few inches of snow we received Friday night.  Then, clouds rolled in and the pre-snow heaviness was followed by rapid snow beginning around 10pm last night.  We wound up with about a foot of heavy snow greeting us this morning, and no school.  It was fun to shovel... great exercise and clean air.  This afternoon we did some errands, then drove home along the coast at dusk.  I saw this over my shoulder while looking east.  The sun was almost gone, and it lit the sky, pushing against the heavy, dark clouds that were moving out over the ocean to the east.  So many colors, so much beauty.  Great day with lots of outdoor time.  I even made a snow angel, because... otherwise I'll wait until next year, and I believe this is the first one I've ever made in March.  
This is my five hundred nineteenth daily drawing.  Thank you for your interest and your comments.  I appreciate every one.

Day 139 "Ferry Due" 9 x 7 mixed

Each summer we spend a couple of weeks on Monhegan Island, Maine.  It is small, and breathtakingly beautiful, twelve miles out into the Atlantic.  There are no cars for visitors on the island, just a fistful of pickup trucks that arrive at the dock numerous times a day to meet incoming ferries.  The dock is a spot of comings and goings, of exhuberant welcomes and warm goodbyes. One of my favorite spots.  
This is my hundred thirty-ninth daily drawing.  Again, thank you for your interest and your ideas.

Day 112 "Overlook" watercolor & ink 7 x 9

When walking down the Burnt Head hill on Monhegan Island, there is this quick peek of the ocean, and the mainland 12 miles distant as you crest the hill.  The hill then drops into the village, bringing you down to sea level.  I love this sweet house, just as rustic and warm on the inside as out.  Looking forward to my time on Monhegan Island this summer.

This is my hundred twelfth daily drawing.  Thank you for your interest.

"Rear View" mixed 12 x 9 #Inktober

Just a glimpse of the Atlantic through the pines behind a couple of buildings on Monhegan Island.  This is pen and ink with watercolor pencil and colored pencils.  
This is my 24th drawing for #Inktober 2017.
As always, thank you for looking.

"Christmas Cove Rocks" watercolor & ink 8 x 11

The southern tip of Monhegan Island is defined by beautiful, powerful, rugged rocks.  When staying on the island, I listen in the morning for the sound of waves from that direction, although I'm sure there is a much more accurate way of predicting interesting surf along the southern end of the island.  Perhaps wind direction... I don't know.  It's a small island, so I listen, and can hear the waves through the 1/2 mile of forest between me and the rocks.  Sitting on those rocks is absolute joy, all senses activated by the movement of surrounding air and water.  I wish I had a recording of the sounds accompanying the visuals.  I can hear them when I look at the painting, deep booms when waves crash into narrow crannies, splashing sounds of surf and spray on the rocks, and the silky withdrawal of the water back into the sea.

Thanks for looking (and listening)

"Monhegan Sketch Book" July 29 and a sunny selfie

Today I sat on the rocks above Swim Beach in the sun and added watercolor to some sketches from yesterday. I'll finish up tomorrow, but it was a joy to paint and listen to the hubbub on the crowded beach this hot July afternoon.

 The beach was filled with many children, and families with the singsong accents of our country's south.  Children on paddle boards, in small kayaks, on floats.  The water is COLD, but there seems to be an inverse proportionality to age and tolerance for cold water, as in, the younger you are, the higher your tolerance.  Toddlers toddle in, single digit-aged children head in with a little hesitation, then have to be ordered out eventually by adults witnessing their shivering bodies and blue-tinged lips; pre-teens have to contend with peer pressure so they hit the water a little more slowly, then simultaneously, with a lot of squealing.. and up the line.  Adults that I have witnessed are more likely to try but turn away; or just not try at all. 

Today's high point was watching a pair of toddler girls on the beach.  They were both naked, and loved the water and sand and excitement of their older siblings' activity.   At one point, the two girls looked twenty yards up the beach and saw an inflated raft. They toddled across the wet sand with great purpose, each grabbed part of the raft's rope and they dragged it down to the water. (Did I mention they were on the young side of 2 years old, and it was an adult-sized inflatable raft?)  Toddlers are not known for cooperative play, and these two weren't speaking in sentences yet.  I didn't hear them utter a word.  They formed their plan while exchanging a conspiratorial glance, and off they went.  It wasn't their boat, and it was a new beach to them.  These two girls may be future world leaders.  Very impressive.  


I added a "selfie" here from our rented house, late afternoon.  The sunset was glorious, and cast a golden glow into the living room.  

Thanks for looking; thanks for reading.    

"After the Hike" pen & ink 6 x 9

Today's sketch is another from my Monhegan files.  This couple were sitting on the dock one afternoon.  I loved their pose, she leaning on his leg as she looked out over the harbor; he providing her some support while he unlaced his shoe, removed his sock and stretched his toes in the sun.  They look so comfortable, so familiar, so different in their outlooks and yet as one.  I'll add some color tomorrow, and see where it goes.

Thanks for looking!  

"Exodus" oil 8 x 11

Each summer, as we leave Monhegan Island, I take a photo or two of our party taking the last walk down to the dock.  There's something appealing about the consolidation of belongings, and the unified energy of departure.  It has been a decade now, and I know I'll be taking a few more photos when we leave again in a couple of days.  

This month's challenge topic for Girls Just Wanna Paint was "travel".  These three girls are traveling,  about to embark on another leg of their trip ... over the last rise, down the hill, onto the ferry and back to the mainland, paved roads, pace quickening and heading home.  Is that technically, "untravel"? Unravel, unwind, rewind... back again.

  Thanks for looking.

"Over View" 9 x 12 oil Monhegan

One of the reasons I love the New England coast is its topographical variety.  Up, down, around, in, out, over, under... the foreground and background constantly shifting in their relation to one another, providing a myriad of exciting views. 

Remember all those Hanna- Barbera cartoons where the Flintstones, for example, were driving in their car, and the background was zooming by?  The foreground was moving at a different pace than the background and conveying speed.  I was fascinated by that relationship of the front and back when I was a child.  Still fascinating.

"Over view" is a painting from up behind the Monhegan schoolhouse, looking out at Manana and the mainland 10 miles distant.  Walking along Monhegan's coast provides that same fascination.  Every couple of steps provides an entirely new arrangement of foreground to background.  So exciting.

Thanks for looking.  Feel free to comment and to share.

Oh, and here's the Flintstones opening segment.  It'll all come flooding back to you.

"Flintstones, meet the Flintstones..."

Island Retreat, 12 x 9, oil

For many years, I have been blessed to spend time painting on the coast of Maine. This is a study from South Bristol.  This tiny island had a wooden causeway to the mainland near my location, perhaps 50 yds long. While I was painting, someone wheeled a garden cart full of groceries across the little bridge; and later, a lawnmower.  Lawnmower?  From my vantage point, nail scissors could have done the trick.  Lovely day. I liked thinking how my life might change if I had a wooden footbridge rather than a driveway.

Come check out Island Retreat the North River Arts Society's Holiday sale this weekend. Saturday and Sunday 10 - 4; more details here:

http://www.northriverarts.org/events.html