For all of you who have signed up for my newsletter recently, I would like to welcome you to my Art Spirit Connection newsletter. If you have been a subscriber in the past and have wondered where I have been, I'm back and will be writing once again, sharing my work and life in the spirit as a Maine Artist inspired by God whom I see as a loving father.
A PAINTING STORY
The painting above is the first painting I have painted on location this year. I have been painting in the studio and will continue to do so for most of the summer. But this day back in April I painted a 20 x 24 inch oil on canvas that was painted in Acadia National Park just off the Great Head trail and close to the coastal high tide line. This view was a favorite of Frederick Church and I particularly love how the whole headland rock tilts toward the sea in defiance as if to defy the force of the waves and wind. At the very bottom of the head is a sea cave where the water and surf flood in at high tide. It's a very dramatic scene and filled with rich color combinations.
The hike wasn't too bad, perhaps a few miles. But when I arrived there I realized I forgot my tripod for my easel box. I realized that this would make it impossible for my canvas to be held in place while working standing up. Not willing to quit and because I had traveled too far, I found a fairly flat rock that I was able to place my painting box on that worked out just fine. Furthermore the rock was high enough for me to stand while painting my canvas at eye-level. It was perfect! As the day became longer and the colors richer, the wind also picked up to a gale force. Even if I had a tripod I would have had to weigh down my unit with rocks. But as it were I had to remove it from my box easel and lye it flat so that the wind could not blow over it. This gave me more time to finish the work. Late in the afternoon I had finished the painting and decided that I would go home. Holding onto the painting that was as a sail in the wind while hiking up the rocky cliff, I found the Great Head trail that would lead me back to my car. It was quite an ordeal but I held on and got through it.
But on my way back I was reminded of the the biblical verse in Nehemiah 8:10 that reminds us to enjoy the sweetness of choice food and drink; not to allow your soul to be grieved. And most importantly, to know that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Upon further meditation, I realized that I could have been grieved to the point of quitting that day because I had forgotten to bring the one essential part of my painting system that could have made all the difference. But instead I decided to focus on the sweetness of the location the Lord had visually placed before me that day and my process of the actual act of painting that gave me joy. Indeed, when I paint it always invigorates me and gives me a peace inside. And that is what I decided to focused on. I think this surge of strength happens for me when I am in the act of painting. It is a matter of visual surrender. It is a visual surrender that leads me into a timelessness that translates into tangible power. This is good for the body, good for the soul, and good for the spirit of any artist.
I hope this story helps someone out there who might have felt like "what's the use?" and are tempted to give up. Just because things don't go just as you may have wanted them to, it doesn't mean you have lost the battle. Like what happened to me by forgetting something that now makes you rely on a method that brings you out of your comfort zone. Working outside your comfort zone and being at peace in the face of adversity actually builds up your inner character. Particularly if you choose to search for the joy in the work of your hands rather than quit. It's empowering to turn disappointments into strength. And with God's help all things are possible. That is a feeling of satisfaction that is felt within the painter a long time before the painting ever wins awards or ever sells for a rewarding price.
Many of us are bound to run into opposition this summer from the weather, equipment failure, an injury, or even belligerent people who are unsympathetic with our efforts to paint in plein air. The wisdom here is to decide to count it all as joy by working through these circumstances. By actually guarding the "joy of painting", as it were, stay at peace from negative outside influences, and begin to tap into the real strength we never knew we had inside us. And that always creates amazing paintings that may have been a perfect battle in the making!
MY PAINTING SCHEDULE THIS SUMMER
As I have already mentioned so far, I will be spending a lot of guarded time in my studio this summer. I hope to paint eight large paintings for a show I am having at the Gleason Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, Maine from October 1st to October 10th. My opening will be September 2nd and I will be showing with William Irvine and his landscape paintings.
But that doesn't mean that I will not be painting in festivals or participating in plain air art auctions. I will be participating in the Bar Harbor Art-in-the-Park sidewalk show at the village green from June 18th to June 19th. We will be staying with a patron friend of ours, Lesley Waldron, who has a camp on Mount Desert Island.
Then Elaine and I will be traveling to Cape Elizabeth once again to participate in the Paint-For-Preservation Cape Elizabeth Land Trust wet paint auction on July 9th-July10th. We are staying with a lovely couple, Peter and Priscilla Dixon who have invited us to stay at their home. We met them last year as they rescued us from the heat and kindly took us in to freshen up before the live auction. It should prove to be lots of fun and I hope to see lots of my friends and family there again this year.
Then we will be off to Blue Hill where I will paint a few paintings at the Paint The Peninsula 2016 fresh paint silent auction to benefit the Blue Hill Public Library. The reception is July 16th from 4:30 pm to 7pm. I hope all who can attend will be able to meet us there. This is a great opportunity to purchase a reasonably priced and freshly painted work of mine.
Later on that week starting on July 21st to July23rd I will be participating once again in the Castine Plein Air Festival 2016. On Saturday, July 23rd there will be an art sale that should be one of the best in the state for plein air paintings of Castine. Elaine and I are very pleased to be staying with Janet and Verge Forbes again this year. I was the winner of this festival last year and it will be great to just focus on painting without any pressure to win as with previous years. It should make for great work!
There are other exciting events to come and as I know for sure if I am actually participating in them or not; I will share that information as well.
LARGE WATERCOLOR SALE In JUNE
In the mouth of June I will be selling about 20 large watercolors on E-Bay. Below are 4 that I have posted so far. They are very reasonably priced and come unframed. The money I hope to raise will go toward art supplies and framing my work for my show at the Gleason Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, Maine in September.
