Back to Work

Lubec Narrows, oil on canvas

Coastal Garden, oil on canvas

Lubec Poppy Patch, oil on canvas

After this extended winter, it's time to get back into the studio with increased frequency and focus.  The Brunswick Art Walk season is coming up and I'll also be part of a two person show with Ed Morton at Points of View this June.  Time to get busy.  And then there's the Life Form drawing sessions at Centre Street Gallery in Bath on Sundays.  What a great space and nice folk.  Some of my latest work done over the winter is shown with this post.

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.  

Lubec and Quoddy Head State Park

"Pope's Folly", ink on paper

"Quoddy Head Cliffs", 10" X 10",
oil on panel

Just before the first days of summer, Alex and I spent a week up in Lubec, on the border with Canada across from Campobello. We had not been previously north of Bar Harbor but were very taken with the beauty, peace and pace of this DownEast town.   We also visited Quoddy Head State Park a number of times, and that has spoiled us for all the parks down here on the Midcoast.  Quoddy Head is spectacular.  Click here for an album of photos from Lubec and Quoddy Head.  Lubec's restaurants were very capable.  The library was welcoming and had free wi-fi.  Also, the SummerKeys program, a summer music program with many visiting musicians provided a wonderful organ recital while we were there.  I painted and sketched ("North Lubec" and "Pope's Folly" being examples).  On my return I completed "Quoddy Head Cliffs" from my photos and sketches.  I think we'll be heading back to Lubec sooner rather than later.

Camden Harbor

"Camden Harbor", Joe Godleski, oil, 2011

Alex and I find ourselves visiting up the Maine coast from time to time and Camden is one of our favorite spots. When we can, we climb up Camden Hills for the view of the harbor and surrounding seascape. It is always a wonderful vista. Well, I finally sketched out a view of the harbor from the visits and resulting photos. I painted the view on DaVinci panel in 24" by 18" format. It's such a seemingly calm, organized locale to be the backdrop for a movie such as "Peyton Place."  You never know.

Heron

I took a break between paintings to cut and print a soft block print "Heron."  The image is sketched from photos I took on the grounds of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art last fall.  It was a bit of luck to catch the great blue heron in flight so clearly.  The prints are in an edition of twenty-five, matted to fit an 11 by 14 inch frame.  The image itself is 7 1/2 by 9 inches.

Another Blooming Painting

The latest work, "On the Kennebec," has been completed and is shown below.  It is another painting in panoramic format of blooms seen here in Maine, this time from along the Kennebec in Bath.  I selected this scene because of the contrast it offers between the tree in blossom and the structures in the background.  This makes two paintings in this style, the first being the "Coastal Garden Rhododendron."  I plan to make a series of these by doing a third.  Alex and I returned from three weeks on the road, most of it in Florida, near St. Augustine.  The weather and scenery were a perfect change from this persistent winter here in Maine.  Check out the "mall egret" we found strolling the strip mall parking lot where we stopped for Thai food.  We also found the Ormond Memorial Art Museum in Ormond Beach, where they had a show focusing on race cars and the Daytona speedway, just down the beach.  The photo-realistic works of Colin Carter were particularly grabbing.  On a serious note, we hold the people of Japan and Libya in our thoughts and prayers.

Joe Godleski, "On the Kennebec"

A New Painting and a look at Rackstraw Downes

Casco Bay Ferry

Rackstraw Downes,
Farm Buildings
Near the Rio Grande:
West End of the
Barn, P.M.,

 The latest painting, "Casco Bay Ferry," took me in a different direction as far as painterly process.  I applied the paint in uniform blocks or dabs, with minimal gestures or lines, using a palette knife to flatten and coalesce adjoining dabs.  The over-all effect is an impressionistic one I am told, although I was not sure that was where it would end up.  It's something I'd like to try on a larger scale canvas with a freer palette, just to see.  On another note, Alex and I took in the Rackstraw Downes show at the Portland Museum of Art.  We both enjoyed the show immensely and found the works very accessible and remarkable.  Having spent a couple years in Kansas running on desolate roads there with a backdrop of dust, stone, scrub shrub, rusting equipment, lonesome structures and big sky, I felt particularly one with Mr. Downes paintings of the southwest like the one pictured above.  They offer a solitary man's view into these corners of our country that have their own character and aesthetic. 

Latest Work and a visit to NCMA

"Coastal Garden Rhododendron", Oil, 30" X 10"

The first new work of the new year has been completed - "Coastal Garden Rhododendron" - shown above. It is from a sketch and photo early last Spring at the Coastal Botanical Gardens.  Again, the panorama format seems to work well and I really enjoyed working on this piece. 



Bob Trotman, "Girl", 2002



Alex and I returned from a holiday road trip early this month.  We had a chance to visit the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.  It was surprisingly enjoyable.  While the art critics may not have been kind to Mr. Rockwell, there is little doubt his work is well-composed and executed.  The exhibit was quite large, with many, many of his oils spanning 5 decades and a compelling narrative to accompany.  Also, at the NCMA was Bob Trotman: Inverted Utopias, a series of life-size carved, painted wood figures in falling, floating, suspended or otherwise unusual poses.  These works were impressive in their construction and a little spooky in their connection with each other.

Yarmouth Arts Festival

Sunday was very busy.  Between the annual LACO Walk against Hunger and the annual College Guild benefit dinner, I dropped three paintings off at St. Bartholomew's in Yarmouth that were juried into this year's Yarmouth Art Festival.  These three paintings are Casco Tug and Barge, Heading to Peaks and Christmas Cactus.   In all, art works from 74 artists were selected for the the second Yarmouth Art Festival, Oct. 20-23 at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 396 Gilman Road, Yarmouth, Maine.  The gallery will be open to the public Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Oct. 20-22 from 10 am to 7 pm, and on Saturday, Oct. 23 from 10 am to 4 pm.  In addition, on Thursday, there will be an artists' reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with music and refreshments.  That should be fun.  The full gallery of art that will be shown at this year's Yarmouth Art Festival can be seen by clicking 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. 

Art in Education 2010 Scholarship

The Art in Education 2010 Scholarship event is being spearheaded by Stephanie Hill, a Brunswick High student. There is a silent auction at Gelato Fiasco on May 21 of donated art work. Stephanie has facilitated donations from local and quite accomplished artists, including Ed McCartan and Mildred Johnson. I have my eye on Mildred's work. Three of my paintings are included. For more info -> http://artineducation2010.blogspot.com/