Friday, August 08, 2008

Maine Boats

You don't go to a Maine watercolor workshop and not paint a boat. It just isn't on. The second and third day out we spent on the docks at Mechanic street. David starts his demo at 9AM. Note his beginning washes look more like simple colored shapes...The finish is still very much about color and visual shapes and pattern and less about the boat. Still for me, a boat is a boat is a boat. And I find boats just as daunting as bridges - so out comes the Moleskine sketchbook. It's thumbnail time. My unfinished so-called boat painting...blech So I take another route and refer to David's ever-present portfolio. Ah ha! A beautiful boat painting by Edward Hopper - I'll do a thumbnail of this to warm me up! Voila!Doing the copy is so much fun, I plunge in to a larger version to see more clearly what Hopper was up to.
*Never hesitate to make copies of paintings you like. It's the best way to put yourself in another artist's shoes and understand what they were doing. After all, you're in a great tradition. Leonardo da Vinci was an apprentice toVerrocchio and copying was part of the job.
Later on I do a very blurry, atmospheric boat - you can get away with a lot less information when there's mist on the scene. Here's an exquisitely misty boat of J.M.W.Turner's. End of every workshop day at 4, David gives us an hour crit and you learn from everyone's work. End of a trip to Maine....you have to have at least one bite of a stack of blueberry pancakes. de rigeur you know. Back to Paris next week.
BONNE WEEK-END!

24 comments:

  1. Carol..As Homer Simpson might say;
    "Ahhh...Blueberry pancackes!
    Ahhh...Maine! Ahhh...your watercolors! And ahh...your blog!"
    sjersyboy

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  2. just loved traveling to Maine with you and enjoying the watercolor classes via your blog -

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  3. I'll miss Maine! I've enjoyed it immensely--great job, Carol. I thought your first boat was beautiful! And mmmmmmmm, Joe and I fix meyer lemon blueberry pancakes every weekend.

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  4. I am going to miss Maine too. It was a lovely week away with you. It was fun seeing all the work, Your work and the lovely area. And those pancakes. . . . yummm. What a way to end the trip.
    Thanks for taking us along.

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  5. Awwwwww shucks!
    Should ParisBreakfast become MaineBreafast? ? ?
    Hmmmm...food for thought here..

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  6. Anonymous9:56 AM

    I always heard copying was a NO-NO
    Boy was I wrong. I love your interpretation of the Hopper.
    Now where is my tracing pad?

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  7. Anonymous9:59 AM

    It all Looks yummy.

    I love blueberry pancakes

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  8. Boats, boat paintings and blueberry pancakes! I love this a.m.'s Paris Breakfast. An American Francophile cannot live on macarons and champagne alone.

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  9. Those are some fine looking pancakes.

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  10. you know,
    i just decided,

    it does not matter where you are,

    you will find the art
    in the everyday of it,
    food
    or not.


    :-)

    thank~goodness
    and
    carry on............

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  11. Anonymous5:52 PM

    Love these watercolor workshop posts & your beautiful paintings!

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  12. Anonymous6:53 PM

    Loving these Maine landscapes--nice change of pace for you.

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  13. I'm hoping to do some PARIS landscapes next trip in October and give it a whirl.
    Pourquoi pas?
    BIG MERCI all!!!

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  14. Anonymous6:56 PM

    Oh I too am loving these landscapey pieces.
    Loose, watery and luminous pieces.

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  15. Anonymous6:57 PM

    Looks yummy.
    I love blueberry pancakes!

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  16. Anonymous6:58 PM

    oh gosh, that looks so good!
    I love pancakes, I clearly don't eat them enough!!

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  17. Anonymous6:58 AM

    Merci Carolg

    Je suis fan d'art et notamment de peinture du XIX siècle ...

    Ce peintre américain me fait penser à Gustave Caillebotte, vous connaissez ?

    Bonne soirée

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  18. These are not easy things you are doing my friend and they look scrumptious.

    Blueberries, YUM- EEE

    In any form.

    Lanscapes in Paris? Oh yeah.

    Beautiful Maine week. Thanks.

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  19. Very interesting Carol.

    Did you eat that whole stack?

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  20. I would definitively love to discover Maine. Thank you for these wonderful pictures and paintings!

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  21. Boats - whatever next? How many of those pancakes did you eat?

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  22. Anonymous8:23 PM

    I leave Maine with a lot of regret...perhaps because I've actually been there...so much easier to imagine. I'm quite surprised that boats - or anything for that matter- give you pause. Your 1st boat was quite admirable. Looking forward to some French landscapes!

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  23. Anonymous7:50 AM

    Your trip looked wonderful Carol. You get The Gold Star for stepping out of your cake box for the weekend. It paid, as your boat watercolors are impressive! Thanks for the nice comment about my photo album.
    Much appreciated!
    xo
    Constance

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  24. Is there anything you can't paint? Love the boat studies!

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