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.  

The view from the Met Rooftop

After setting this one aside a couple of times, I finally completed the painting shown above - Met Roof Garden.  It was Fourth of July weekend two years ago, and the rooftop of the Metropolitan Art Museum offered a crystal clear view of NYC over Central Park tree tops.  It was also wicked hot and getting up there took some climbing as the elevator was reserved for special use.  The panorama was painted from a composite of 7 photos taken as I spun slowly left to right.  I think it will be a while before I try to paint so many building windows.  On another note, Alex and I attended a presentation by visiting artist, Nancy Blum, at Bowdoin today.  She was captivating and her work was just amazing.  She works very artfully in large scale drawings, sculpture and public art.  We are so glad we didn't miss her talk.

Dogging It

Maggie, Joe Godleski, Oil on Board

Foxy, Joe Godleski, Oil on Canvas

Here's a couple of portraits of family dogs - Foxy and Maggie.  Foxy's portrait was originally a much bigger canvas but upon further review, the interesting part could be distilled down to a 10" by 10" window, and so with scissors  and new stretchers, it was.  Maggie's portrait is done on gessoed Elephant board, which turned out to be a much smoother medium to work with versus trying to traverse the hills and dales of canvas.  I'll be using more board moving forward.  On another note, the Bowdoin season has resumed.  The lecture / slide presentation by Mark Wethli on his public art documented his efforts to complete a work, Civitas, for the Muskie School of Public Service.  Mr. Wethli abstracted Lorenzetti's 14th century fresco, Effects of Good Government on City Life for this work. The walkthrough from idea to design to build for this project provided a behind-the-scenes insight into the soon-to-be finished work of art.

The Hopper Exhibit at Bowdoin

Alex and I attended the opening of the Hopper exhibit at Bowdoin. We had tried to attend the lecture on Hopper and A. Wyeth just before the opening but were turned away from the lecture hall as it was filled to standing room only. So we grabbed dinner at the new Inn at Brunswick Station and found the service and food quite good. Anyway, then off to the Hopper Opening which was a bit crowded. But we still found good access to the paintings and drawings, as the food and wine at the Opening served as a diversion for a good number of folks. Hopper's works were well displayed and were just wonderful, particularly for me, his Monhegan oils. Major props to Curator Diana Tuite and Director Kevin Salatino for their work in putting this together. It will be an exhibit to visit and re-visit.

Salt Water Farm Show at Fort Andross

The most recent show at the Coleman Burke Gallery (on the left as you are just getting to the Frontier Cafe in Fort Andross Brunswick) is a full room extravaganza of sculpture and found art assemblage that takes some time to digest.  The show is titled Salt Water Farm The Quimby Colony: A Collective, and features the cooperative and inter-related works of a number of Bowdoin alumni.  A review of the show in the Bowdoin Orient provides further detail and background.  On opening night, the gallery space was an absolute zoo and it was difficult to gain perspective and see things.  A second walk around during the day two weeks later when all was calm brought a lot of the work into focus, unfolding a whimsical, organic sort of Mad Max experience.  The Salt Water Farm show which includes Sam Gilbert as part of the collective, follows a show where Mr. Gilbert's work alone was featured, 141280.  Hopefully, we will be seeing more of Mr. Gilbert's work moving forward.