Monthly Archives: April 2015

Utopia, derailed

Queensboro Bridge construction, 10X8, by Carol L. Douglas. Cities were once the highest expression of civilization. What happened? I had intended to write about the beauty of boreal bogs this morning. But then I came across this, from the Economist: The bigger problem for Baltimore is that lawlessness is not limited to nights like tonight. […]

Hidden gems

A vintage photo of the Tidal Falls from August 1954, by Ellis Holt. Yesterday I was packing art books when I came across a forgotten little volume, The Plein Air Artist Guide to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island, by Gail Ribas. Leafing through it, I realized that students driving to my workshop at […]

Beautiful Winter Harbor

Part of Winter Harbor Yacht Club’s fleet.(Credit unknown.) Yesterday I saw this photo essay of Winter Harbor, ME in Yankee Magazine. I hope you click through and enjoy the pictures. This is the closest town to Schoodic Institute in Acadia National Park, where my workshop will be held August 9-14, 2015. (There are just a […]

Back home in New York

Grain Elevators, oil on canvas, 16X20, Carol L. Douglas I got home on Tuesday to read yet another news story about the dystopia that is America’s archetypal mid-sized city. The feral children who are the result of 50 years of public policy were rioting in the new transportation center, and this week’s police department reorganization […]

Quantifying color

From A. Boogert’s treatise on watercolor pigments, Traité des couleurs servant à la peinture à l’eau, 1692. Every artist I know loves color swatches—especially those done by other artists. Old ones are particularly interesting, since there wasn’t much unified color theory until the Impressionists came along.  From A. Boogert’s treatise on watercolor pigments, Traité des couleurs servant […]

The color of light

Boys on the Beach, Joaquín Sorolla, 1908. There is warm light with cool shadows, but there’s also a strong warm reflection from the sand on which the figures are resting.  What we call “light” is really the narrow band of electromagnetic waves that our retinas can perceive. This narrow band is comprised of the colors of […]

New beginnings

The next home of my studio is a classic Maine farmhouse. Yesterday I wrote about Maine’s prettiest villages. I’ve worked in many of them, but the bulk of my perambulations have been centered in Camden (#1), Rockport, (#6), Damariscotta (#3) and the villages and hamlets between them. This stretch of coast has open ocean breaking […]

Prettiest places in Maine

Wadsworth Cove (Castine), by Carol L. Douglas Down East recently did a poll asking its visitors to identify the prettiest villages in Maine. It’s nice to see that many of my favorite haunts have made the list: 1. Camden2. Boothbay Harbor3. Damariscotta4. Wiscasset5. Kennebunkport6. Rockport7. Stonington8. Castine9. Blue Hill10. Northeast Harbor I might add a […]

Paint and sip

On the left is Chrissy Spoor Pahucki’s rogue painting from a paint-and-sip event. “Elena’s painting on the right looks like the demo and is what I was supposed to be doing,” she said. About once a week, someone tells me that I should get a gig doing one of those ‘paint and sip’ party events, […]

Ripple Effect

Semicolon, by Barbra Whitten If you’re in Portland, ME a week from today, go to see Ripple Effect: Monoprints by Karen Adrienne, Kris Sader & Barbra Whitten. I know Barb Whitten through Camden Falls Gallery, where she is an indefatigable gallery assistant. Turns out she’s a wonderful printmaker, too. “For as long as I can remember, […]