Points of View Artists

Little Charmer, acrylic, Joe Godleski

The Points of View Artists group has welcomed me into their fold.  They are a vibrant team of artists working for their community and to better their own art.  It will be fun.  The next POV show coming in October at 18 Pleasant Street is "Animal House," for which I have painted Little Charmer, a work in acrylic focusing on a little guy we saw down at Faneuil Hall.  It was making out quite well with the tourists and visitors.  The 10 by 10 show is coming up Friday 5pm to 8pm.  We are hanging it Thursday just ahead of the previews Thursday 5pm to 8pm and Friday noon to 3pm.  If you can't wait, the preview is online.

10 by 10s

Bowdoin Common Hour

Cordwood

Yesterday was dropoff day for this year's Brunswick 10 by 10 show.  The variety and quality of the art keeps getting better each year.  Alex and I worked a table together and watched how the Arts Are Elementary committee and Points of View folk made the whole process work, very organized and efficient.  Shown here are two more 10 by 10s, both oil on canvas panel - Bowdoin Common Hour (a scene at a Bowdoin Common Hour called Museum Pieces in 2010), going into this year's show and Cordwood (a scene at Pinelands) on the shelf for next year's show (unless it finds a home before then).

Postcard for Arts are Elementary Brunswick 10 by 10 show

"Maritime Workshop"

The postcards for the Brunswick 10 by 10 shows are ready to go out.  Click here to see the posting on the 10 by 10 web site. Also, the Maine Maritime Museum Facebook page gave a  shout-out.  Today is Brunswick Outsdoor Arts Festival and it looks like a beautiful day.  Need to check it out.

2013 10 by 10 Poster Picture - "Maritime Workshop"

"Maritime Workshop", oil, Joe Godleski

What a great surprise and honor!!  The "Maritime Workshop" was selected as the poster / postcard / publicity image for the 2013 Arts are Elementary 10 by 10 benefit show.  The show and sale is Friday, September 27th, 5 to 8pm.  It's always a fun time with great eats.  The on-line preview is set to kick off September 4th.  
About "Maritime Workshop," at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, I came across the boat workshop with its windows open.  For me, workshops in use have an appealing mix of order and disorder.  In the maritime workshop, the array of boats, objects and surfaces coupled with the light streaming in form an as-found Midcoast narrative.  So, I took a quick picture and then painted it.  A friend of mine later told me that her husband apprenticed in that workshop - pretty cool, aye.

Maritime Workshop and Wolfe's Neck

Wolfe's Neck, oil on canvas panel

Maritime Workshop, oil on canvas panel

Two recent works on canvas panel were done to a small scale:  "Maritime Workshop" 10 inch by 10 inch for the upcoming 10 by 10 show and "Wolfe's Neck" 5 inch by 7 inch.  The 5 X 7 was the smallest I've ever done and was fun and quick.  That view on the "beach" at Wolfe's Neck is always a striking one.

Joshua Chamberlain, Hostas, Lubec

"Joshua", oil on canvas

"Hosta Blooms", oil on canvas

"Pope's Folly", oil on panel

Alex and I returned to Brunswick Maine from a week at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate NY exhausted and energized.  With the Brunswick 10by10 and a couple of one person shows coming up (more on that in upcoming posts) along with a commission to finish, I got busy in the studio.  The commission was "Joshua" and it's now on the wall in the office of a true Joshua Chamberlain buff.  It was fun and challenging to execute what with the varying types of detail in the fore-, mid- and background from spring blossoms to chiseled stone to bike riders.  Other recent compositions on a smaller scale are "Hosta Blooms" (next to a bank in Brunswick Maine) and "Pope's Folly" (as viewed from the Lubec Maine waterfront).  As a footnote to the Chautauqua trip, Vanessa German's show at the Strohl Center, "American JuJu: Root and Power for a New Century" was exceptional.  Her figural assemblages were magical and mesmerizing.  

3 for 3 at 10 by 10

Across Frenchman Bay, Oil, Joe Godleski

View From Camden Hills, Oil, Joe Godleski

Last Friday night's 10 by 10 show benefitting Arts Are Elementary was really something.  Brunswick merchants and restauranteurs donated an abundance of very good munchies that this chow hound "appreciated" to the max.  The crowd was festive and generous.  The volunteers kept everything moving smoothly.  And all three of the paintings I entered were sold - November Morning, Old Pumper, Heading for Cover!  So, I've been working on a couple of mountain/waterscapes, and they are shown above.  The palette and detail for these were scaled back from my usual work, as a change of pace.  Next show upcoming is the Yarmouth Arts Festival at Saint Bart's, October 19 - 22.  The Coastal Garden Rhododendron was juried in.  I'm looking forward to the artist's reception Oct. 20, 6 - 8 pm.

Hanging Out in Portland

Dock Fore, Portland Head Light

Dock Fore, Day is Done grouping

A little while ago, Shaun McCarthy of the Dock Fore pub in the Old Port put out a call for artists to show in his establishment and to participate in the Portland Art Walk.   That led to my paintings and prints hanging in Dock Fore for the Portland First Friday Art Walk in October through to October 29th.  Dock Fore is cozy joint and I think my pictures work there.  Plus, it'll be fun to check out the Portland Art Walk.  So, with my pictures hanging elsewhere, there's empty spaces in the Brunswick studio that need to be filled.  The newly finished "Late November" will help.  I had gotten such positive feedback for "November Morn" which will be in the September 30th 10 by 10 show, that I decided to paint a larger variation, and I dig painting those rocks, using a lot of wet-on-wet technique.

Late November, Joe Godleski

November Morn, Joe Godleski

The 10 by 10 September 30th

"Boothbay Harbor",
Joe Godleski, oil

"Old Pumper", Joe Godleski, oil

This past Saturday morning, the check-in was held for the annual 10 by 10 show at the Curtis Memorial Library here in Brunswick. The web posting of the works submitted gives some indication of the variety and quality to be available at the show. It will be a pretty cool show, preview September 29 and 30, show September 30, 5 to 8. My third 10 by 10, "Old Pumper," is shown to the left. I also finished another work in water-based oil, "Boothbay Harbor." It's the first vertical painting I've done in a while, measuring 24" high by 8" wide. And lastly, kudos to the Thornton Oaks folks for the set up, most wonderful opening and ongoing show (until September 22, 2011) of "Community Paints."

Two upcoming shows: Community Paints & the 10 by 10

"November Morning," Joe Godleski,
Oil on Canvas, 10" by 10"

Thornton Oaks here in Brunswick is hosting an exhibit running August 18 through September 22.  They are inviting all artists to submit a piece of art based on the theme "Summer in Maine."  The quality of the exhibits at Thornton Oaks is very solid and consistent.  Also, they have a roomful of Carroll Thayer Berry prints that is pretty cool.  For more info on the Thornton Oaks Community Paints show, click here.  Of course, the annual Arts are Elementary 10 by 10 show is coming up in late September.  I've started working on my 10 by 10s, and the first one "November Morning" is shown above.  The photo on which the painting is based was taken Thanksgiving day off Land's End.  For more info on the 10 by 10 show, click here.

Art Show, Jazz, Block Print

Last Friday night, the 10by10 show took place in Brunswick - an exceptional event.  The food and volunteer support were outstanding.  Alex and I wished we hadn't eaten dinner before attending, so much wonderful food.  And 60 works of art sold, including two of mine - Lobster Buoys and View from West Branch.  A very good start to the evening.  Then it was on to Bowdoin's Studzinski Hall for an hour of jazz by the Ahmad Hassan Muhammad trio.  Ahmad is a recent Bowdoin graduate who plays a very lyrical, rhythmic and jazzy piano.  If you haven't heard them, give them a try.  The trio is setting off on a tour and was recently featured on MPBN Friday Night jazz.  For video and audio from MPBN Friday Night jazz click here.  Lastly, I've completed a new block print - Off Wolfe Neck - a view of lobster boats at work off the shore of Wolfe Neck State Park.  It presented a different challenge in the variety of detail presented, but hopefully it works.  Click the image above for a larger view.  It will also be available in an edition of 25. 

Now Showing - 10 by 10, Town Council, Colby

The preview jpgs are now available for the upcoming Arts are Elementary benefit 10 by 10 show to be held on October 1, 2010 at the Curtis Memorial Library and St. Paul's Church Hall on Pleasant Street in Brunswick.  Click here for the 10 by 10 web site.  It is a one-day only sale, public preview 10am - 3pm with reception and opening 5pm - 8pm on Friday October 1, 2010.  I'll have three works in the show, Summer Snow, Lobster Buoys and View from West Branch.  It is a very popular event with lots of good art available. 

If you watched the Brunswick Maine town council meeting on local channel 3 this past Tuesday, you may have seen 8 of my paintings in the background.  My works have been selected for display 9/1/10 to 12/1/10 in the new council chambers.  Props and much thanks to the Five Rivers Arts Alliance Harriet Mosher and town councillor Benet Pols for facilitating this. 

Lastly for now, if you have a chance please make your way to the Colby Museum of Art in Waterville.  Two shows in particular there are very worthwhile - Sharon Lockhart: Lunch Break, a film and photo tribute to BIW workers and The Search for Beauty: Whistler and his Time, works in a number of media from the Lunder Collection from the latter part of the 19th century with a clear focus on the aesthetic of the time.  Click here for more info on these shows.  The Sharon Lockhart show ends October 17 so time is short to experience that show.