Way out east... Paintin with Dan Corey in Maine

My blog has been a pretty big snooze fest lately. I'm hoping I can revive it with this post, maybe even zap some life back into it.

I have wanted to go to Maine for a long time, and after meeting Daniel Corey and getting to know his work, I needed to go. Dan is a killer behind the easel. His paintings sparkle with that east coast light. I think the best thing you could do right now is go over to his blog www.danielcorey.blogspot.com and buy a couple of pieces. The pieces look great on his blog, but you just have to see it in real life!

My trip started with a short ride over the ferry in Merrimac.


Next, I boarded a plane in Madison. Anyone who has had a conversation with me about flying knows that I do not enjoy it. However, after this flight, I have down scaled my flying anxiety from sheer terror to slight discomfort. Really, it is silly to be afraid to fly, I mean just look at the clouds!




The first morning in Maine was hazy-one of my favorite things to attempt to paint. We drove for a while, and I had the urge to pull over every mile or so to paint. Dan kept going, and we finally arrived at Round Pond, a great place to paint.


Here is my first effort. Dan set up a palette for me, with loads of color, and also let me try some of his linen panels. There were two colors on this palette, that were new and interesting to me, prussian blue and vermilion. Vermilian is a red that I'd say "goes orange while maintaining it's identity as a red", sort of a Chinese red. I think this will be added to my palette in place of cadmium red. Dan explained that prussian blue is the color of Main, and after several failed attempts to pronounce it correctly, I was attempting to use this foreign blue. I might add, that for the first few of these my blues were ultramarine by Utrecht and the prussian. I like the prussian blue and it was good to step outside of my normal palette.

12"x16" oil on linen.

We both painted another study or two at round pond, the second that I did that morning is going to lead to a studio painting.

That afternoon, it was time for me to try a lobster roll and a whoopie pie. A lobster roll is a buch of lobster meat mixed up with mayonaise (I think) smeared on a toasted hot dog bun with a pickle. A whoopie pie is sort of a big oreo, but with chocolate cake instead of the cookies. When I say big, I mean rediculous. There is a roadside place right on Hwy 1 called Patty's that gave us a TON of lobster meat and the best whoopie pie I had while I was out there. She also gave us a side of fried clams for free. Starving artists eating well.

And then the rain came. The rain was ok because Dan is hilarious and kept us entertained the whole time. Dan has a library with lots of obscure landscape painting books that could drain the richest paypal account. He also has a good dvd collection, even though we were stuck inside, we could at least watch somebody else paint. I think you can tell by Dan's paintings the kind of personality he has - larger than life. He had us cracking up watching funny youtube painting video's (which I'll let him post them as not to steal his thunder) and best of all he even kept us updated on the wetcanvas threads while simotaniously playing his acoustic guitar at the same time. Dan is ambidextrious.

The rain cleared one afternoon and it was time for me to eat my first "real" lobster. Here in Wisconsin, I've only had lobster tails, not the whole thing. I have already mentioned that Dan and Raquele are generous, but here is the real kicker. They offered to take me out for a two lobster meal - two lobsters people! The meal also included an ear of corn and a pound of steamed clams.

The cups had instructions on how to crack one open...

...but Raquele had the proper technique.

Sweet signage.

On Friday we went over to Rockport for Colin Page's latest opening. The show was stellar. I believe that the idea behind the show was that the works were mostly paintings from the same port, right behind the gallery. The thing that I admire the most about these works is that several of them were just booeys, or somebody's work truck. His simple compositions are really striking, they will grab you from across the room and pull you toward them.
This is a random shot of the street in front of the gallery.


After the opening, we had to try to paint too.

9"x12"

I came home and made this studio painting from the above piece.

16"x20"

The last day I was around we had some good sun. We got out there early, and went to South Bristol. This is a storybook Main town, where the main street goes across a bridge that has to open every 20 minutes or so to let a boat go through.
In this picture you can see a bit of the bridge.


and here is another shot of South Bristol.


I was having a heck of a time trying to stay in the shade when painting this one.

18"x24"

After this, we were pretty exhausted, and it was time for me to go. I'd like to thank Dan and Raquele for having me out there, we had such a good time... my face hurts from smiling so much.

Spring Fling

11x14" The old donkey farm.


9x12" My favorite view, half sun.


11x14" A Baraboo Garden.


11x14" Painted on the side of the highway, by Loganville.

Spring - Hansa Yellow is Back

I was recently vacationing with my wife in the Bahamas. On the return flight, my camera got smashed, along with 4 paintings out of 10 or so getting smeared pretty bad.
Here is one from this spring that I grabbed a pic of when I had the chance.


Another Hawthorne quote
The whole thing hasn't the surprise of truth. Don't reason - by reason I mean don't say that I must have a cool light over this, for it gets a light from the sky. It's a sad commentary that nothing is so startling as truth to human beings - in a canvas too. Be a vital painter or they will take you to be academic.

Hey Love

In Like a Lamb...

And hopefully not, "out like a lion."
March has been a great month, several days of above freezing temperatures.

16"x20". The farmers have one hell of a mess right now. Lots of mud.


18"x24" Richland county farm. When I began painting this, the ground was spongy, by the end I was in a swimming pool.


6"x8" Clouds, I'll take 'em!

Things out of doors are very much of a silhouette-silhouettes and patterns are always vital whatever the conditions of light so long as we can see at all. On a gray day the light has a way of being a rim around things. You see the masses of light and dark and sometimes forget the tree as a whole spot in its relation to other things- after all, we must see the large spot of the tree against the sky. - Charles Hawthorne.

Baraboo

There are many opportunities for enjoyable painting sessions in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This certain scene is one of my favorites. The stacking of buildings creates an interesting layout, one that culminates with the silhouette of St. Joes church against the sky.
Golden hour, on my 29th birthday.

9"x12"

A few days later, mid morning.

9"x12" picture a bit crooked.

The next evening, from a different view.

9"x12"

It has been a long interval since my last post. I have been doing a lot of painting and observing, trying to grow while being in the middle of a demanding semester. Any time that I get to unload the french easel from the trunk feels great, a needed release. At the same time, and this is something that many can respect, is that growth does not mean finished ideas. Often times it is just the opposite, fragments that may lead in the future. At any rate, the life of an artist is a good one!

"Those things are too beautiful for use. The subject may be very beautiful, but it will only be beautiful with a veneer of the thing I was talking about-that is, it will be purely literary painting. The reason is that you have thought about it in that way-that it was a landscape. You painted it because it was beautiful, but you did not have a sense of how beautiful those shadows were, coming against the sky. True you have made the house of the correct and conventional shape, but it couldn't possibly have meant anything to you; you did not specially settle yourself to paint that scene with the conviction that it was beautiful, that it was a beautiful subject. That was yellow sunlight, these widows would be purple-true, these windows of yours are the accepted shape, but see how in Sargent's water colors you have a conviction of shadow before you notice his purple. I want you to see things from the realization that your drawing does not need to be a house. The view that you mst take is that this is a piece of God's outdoors, that this is shadow and this is light. You ought to tremble before it, and not sit down like a magician and try to make windows" - Charles Hawthorne.

Still Life

I've been working in my friend Jim's studio a day or so every week in addition to painting outdoors. The past couple sessions we have been working by window light only, observing subtle effects. It is challenging to finish one of these in one session, just like a landscape, the light is fleeting.

I have a few more pieces that I'd like to share, but the pictures don't do them justice. I will try to get better pics soon. A lot of my time has been spent doing calculus homework, I'm figuring 3 hours every day, in addition to my other classes.

"Don't let your schooling get in the way of your education" - Mark Twain.
If only it was that simple!

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. I love that people are still making good soul music.

Frozen Fog

Frozen fog giving way to sunlight.

11x14 oil on canvas.

A Weeks Worth

Hello,
















-Wade photo


Set up in the shadow of a round bale.

2010

More winter paintings!

Just outside Lloyd Wisconsin. I've been painting in Richland county lately.

18"x24" oil on canvas.

Here is a white barn that is pretty high on a hill. When the sun goes down, it gets all of the final evening light. I'd like to give this one another try.

11"x14" oil on canvas.


The Chazen Museum, in Madison, is full of surprises. They have a nice nice collection of 19th century art, including a Twachtman painting titled "Misty Landscape".

Bay and Twachtman.

Snow on the Slamwalls/urban art.




Maybe So, Maybe No?

New Boots - AM Radio

Winter is the best. It is a relaxed time of year. Time seems to open up a bit and allow one to as they please, rather than running around aimlessly.
I had plans to paint directly after my last final, but it was snowing. I decided to take cover and set up looking out of my garage to paint this tree.

9x12 oil on canvas.

Often times, a clear sky will dominate the day, only to give way to cloudy haze in the last hour of light. These make for some dramatic winter sky's...

11x14 oil on canvas.

...but sometimes, the sky's remain open, allowing golden light to dance on the subject.

11x14 oil on canvas.


9x12 oil on canvas.


I have new boots (thanks mom!) and they have opened up a new world of warm feet. When I painted this larger canvas, I was actually sweating. I spotted this view on the way to Jenny's grandparents house on Christmas, and made a note to return on a sunny day.

18x24 oil on canvas.

Snowshoein' and Paintin' - High Rock

I was up early on Saturday to meet Elliot in the Dells, for a sunrise snowshoe outing. Ever since I have known Elliot, he has been telling me about his views on the Wisconsin River, and how great they are in the winter.

Here he is, shoein' into the magically lit forest.


Eliot throwing a branch overboard, and then waiting to hear the crash 10 seconds or so later.


Paintin' Highrock.



14"x11" oil on canvas.
Thanks for takin' me out there, Elliot! I had a good time (as soon as I could feel my feet again)


Here is a view, painted a half block from my house in the passenger seat of my car. This was done on Tuesday, the day of the big blizzard. I was driving home from the grocery store, and saw the -overcast but warm- sky peeking through the branches and pulled over.

6"x8" oil on canvas.

There have been a few others since the snow, more to come soon.

Bonus, a Todd Rundgren Video: