Plein Air Painters of the Bay of Fundy

View from Manawagonish road, 7 x 10", watercolour, today

So here I am in lovely Saint John, NB, painting my fool head off. The Plein Air Painters of the Bay of Fundy is a group of artists who gather to paint scenes outside, in the Fundy region. Today and tomorrow is the annual paint out where we converge to paint and create an exhibit. Tomorrow I will give you the details of where and when they will be displayed. After a full day of painting I just want to get these images posted and then rest for tomorrow's day of more painting.

Above is a view I have long admired. The island in the picture is part of the Irving Nature Park, where I hope to go paint tomorrow.

After painting there, I went on the the Reversing Falls Bridge, which is a Saint John icon. There is a touristy café with a lookoff looking up at the bridge. I painted there and made a painting which needs just a bit more done to it before I frame it (or post it, you will be able to see it another day).

Then I met up with some of the other painters of the group and we set up at and around the Saint John Power Boat Club, where there was lots of stuff to paint. The interaction of the different shapes of the boats and the relatively calm water made for too wide a variety of subjects. I focused on one boat and painted it in 3 different compositions.

Fractured Reflections, 7 x 10", watercolour, today Portrait of a White Boat, 10 x 7", watercolour, today

The One that Got Away, 14 x 10", watercolour, today

The title for this one might sound a bit obscure, but you will understand as I explain. I was just starting to paint in the reflections (my drawing was finished, thank goodness) when I heard the motor start up. A man and a woman had been working on this boat all afternoon at the shore and now it was time to return it to it's mooring. So I finished the painting from memory. I had a few minutes to concentrate really hard before the boat moved away so I think that I did ok with it.

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As I am working on a different computer than usual, I have not been able to process my photos as I usually would, so you can see the edges that I usually crop out. In fact, the first painting in this post shows you how I secure my paintings while painting. I use binder clips and a varnished plywood board. The paper usually dries fairly flat and I find this very portable and simple. When the paper dries with a ripple, it is easy enough to flatten it out, as long as I am careful.