Plein Air in St Andrews, NB

I wanted to share the remainder of the plein air paintings from Artists by the Sea for Hospice.

Here then are some more.

Clearing Over St Andrews Wharf, 7 x 10", watercolour, July 10, 2010

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After a wet and foggy start to the day it finally cleared in the afternoon.  The whale watching excursions that had been cancelled in the morning were able to sail.  This painting shows some of the many people who walk out along the wharf, to board a whale watching boat or maybe just to take in the sights.

On the Fly, 10 x 7", watercolour, July 10,2010

As I was working on the painting of the wharf, above, I kept an eye on the passage of water approaching the wharf.  There was not as much boat traffic as I had hoped, but then this sailboat come in from beyond Navy Island.  I grabbed a new peice of paper and sketched the boat and its crew directly while they drew nearer.  I managed to get the shadows painted on the sail before they sailed past the wharf.  When they came out past the wharf, the sail was down and they were preparing to moor.  I painted in the water and the background from what was around me and from memory.  I am very fond of this one, as it seems to me that this is what plein air is all about.  And the title seems especially apt as well.

Whale Watching, 7 x 10", watercolour, July 10, 2010

This is the last of the paintings that I made on Saturday.  The clearing clouds were making wonderful patterns in the sky, so I chose to paint the low cabins that house the whale watching operations that operate from the St Andrews waterfront.  This allowed me to try to capture the sky.

Sunday was a new day.

Sunday morning I started late as we had family visiting from far away and I did not want to run away to paint for a second day.  So I started at lunch time.  I went to the beautiful Kingsbrae Gardens and set up there just in time for it to begin truly raining!  So what I attempted to paint there is now on the back of a peice of scrap paper.  I moved down to the front street to try to paint in the rain.  The street was to busy to get a good view from the front of my car like I did the day before.  I set up under the awning of a local business and went to work.  (The business is Treasures and Trash, and the proprietress, Lola Boyles, was very kind and welcoming)

Water St in the Rain, 10 x 7", watercolour, July 11, 2010

You can see a big ugly clip in this one as it was in the way as I photographed it and I did not notice it.  When I set up it was just sprinkling but it soon turned into a down pour!  At first there were lots of tourists in summer clothes, shorts, tank tops, flip flops, but these soon disappeared to be replaced by folks in jackets and under umbrellas.  It is no fun having it rain on one's vacation!

The air was so wet that my paper was very reluctant to dry.  I started this next one and needed the paper to dry before I could proceed, so I actually took it inside Treasures and trash and tucked it under an antique bed to dry until I could keep going.

Man, It's Really Raining, 10 x 7", watercolour, July 11, 2010

I should have called it "Man, I am glad we packed these raincoats!"  but I did not think of it until later.

And here is the last one, I was getting pretty worn out by then, and cold, but am still fond of it.

Wet, 7 x 5", watercolor, July 11, 2010

Even though the weather was terrible for painting, I had a good weekend.  I hope that the Hospice was successful in their fundraiser, despite the weather.  If you can make it to the event next year, I would encourage you to go.

All the paintings in this post have been sold.

Artists by the Sea

Here are some of the works that I painted last week at Artists by the Sea, a fundraiser for Hospice of Charlotte.  I did not think it would take a week to get these up here...  All I can do is thank people for their patience.  I shall post the works in chronological order.  It will take a few days for me to get them all posted, I believe.

Water St, 7:30 am, 7 x 5", watercolour

All paintings in this post have sold.

When I started out last Saturday morning, it was raining.  So I parked the car on the main street in St Andrews, aptly enough, named Water St, and started painting.  I rested the board on which I mount my paper on the steering wheel, (Carefully, as no one appreciated horns honking at 7:15 am)  and spread out paint, brushes, etc on the passenger seat.  It worked reasonable well.

                                                          

Car in the Fog, watercolour, 5 x 7"

Niger Reef, 5 x 7", watercolour

After painting the two street scenes, I moved out to the waterfront where I set up on a boardwalk running behind the sheds from whence operate the whale watching operations.  It was still quite foggy and as I sketched, I watch the fog advance and recede, advance and recede.  What was quite neat was seeing how the fog revealed that what looked like solid clumps of trees were actually trees separated by fields.  I could quite clearly see the different layers of distance with the fog creating a screen or curtain which moved with the wind.

Golf Course view, 7 x 10", watercolour

Boats in the Fog, 7 x 10", watercolour

This is the same view as the previous one but the fog is closer to the viewer in this one, and I added the boats which I had left out of the above version.

St. Andrews Wharf in the fog, 7 x 10", watercolour

So that is all of them for today, but more to come soon.  Stay tuned. 

A Chance to Win This Painting

Sailboat sketch, 7 x 5", watercolour, 2010

I am offering this painting to one lucky individual among those who sign up for my newsletter by September 30, 2010.  For those of you who have already signed up, I will include your names in the draw as well.  Think of it as a thank-you for choosing to subscribe.  So if you like my art or are interested in watercolours, sign up now for my newsletter and your name will be enterered in the draw!

This weekend there will be a "Come and See" event in Digby at the Digby Curling Center on Shreve St (Saturday 1 to 5 pm)  This show and tell is hosted by the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, of whom I am the newest member in Atlantic Canada.  Anyone may attend.  There will be demonstrations of watercolour techniques, (one by yours truly), the opportunity for critique of the audience's works (you may bring one or two pieces if you choose), a slide show of works by Atlantic CSPWC members and more.  Leave me a comment or email me through the contact me link on the right hand side of the blog menu if you would like more information.

Artists by the Sea for Hospice

Hayfield, 7 x 10", watercolour, July 2010

This is a recent plein air peice, that shows the field across the road from where I grew up. It is a recurring subject for me.  I am enjoying having the chance to paint it several times while I am here.  Already it looks different, as the hay has now been cut, baled and safely stored in the barn for the winter.  It was the first time that I was home to help with the haying in years, and it was a lot of fun.  It was work, but good work.  I did take a break from some of the last load to take lots of photos which I hope to turn into paintings sometime in the future. 

This weekend will see artists from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia gather together in St Andrews, NB, to  paint and make other artworks in support of the Hospice of Charlotte. The art works will be auctioned off through silent auction at the St Andrews Legion Hall (corner of Queen and Princess Royal in St Andrews).

Auction Details:

Saturday July 10, the Legion is open at 11 am, there are two auctions, closing at 2 pm and at 5 pm.

Sunday July 11, the Legion opens at 2 pm and the auction closes at 4 pm.

There will also be a gallery show of framed works by the artists involved in this event at Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Center running over the same weekend.  Contact the gallery for more details. 

Hospice of Charlotte provides practical, emotional and psycho-social support to terminally ill people and their families to improve their quality of living and dying. Services include care-giver respite, transportation, information and resources, bereavement and grief support, volunteer training, complementary therapies and community education. These services are provided to residents of Charlotte County, Grand Manan, Campobello Island and Deer Island.


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