Back from Door County with many great memories of painting and new friends. I'm posting some of the work from the week and will photograph a few more tomorrow that need reshooting. Some of these pics were shot on the run and the paintings are gone so I am posting the best image that I can without having the paintings in hand.
I'll write more tomorrow when I post the new paintings. Please forgive any typos or grammatical fumbles... I'm tired and rushing to get this up. :)
'Evening Being Cast' oil 11x14 © Marc R. Hanson '09
Painted this on Sunday night the day we arrived. We found a location with great bales that we wanted to paint but didn't know if we should ask the property owner about stopping on the land. We did ask and the most generous man let us park in his driveway and gave us free reign of his entire property. It was good to get out and try to shake off a little rust.
'Longview Arrangement' oil 8x10 © Marc R. Hanson '09
The road along this group of farm buildings is called Longview Rd, to explain the title. First morning of Door County PA Fest. Just anxious to get to work painting and inspired by the depth of the reddish blue-gray sky color against the warm color of the wheat field.
'A Good View' oil 8x10 © Marc R. Hanson '09
On Monday night there was an artist reception at the Peninsula Players Theater, an incredible open air theater complex in Fish Creek. Many of us painted before the festivities began. I attempted this one but there was a lot of talking and visiting involved so the result wasn't quite what I had in mind.
'Wilson's' oil 11x14 © Marc R. Hanson '09
I didn't know when I set up to paint this ice cream parlor that it is world famous. It didn't take long before everyone who stopped by let me know that. This was in Ephraim, a gorgeous little town. Kami and I painted a few yards from each other in the middle of a lot of tourists. She painted 'The Chef's Hat' a great little restaurant that quickly became our lunch time eating establishment. They served very natural and delicious sandwiches and salads. Yummmm!
'Fish Boil' oil 12x16 © Marc R. Hanson '09
A pretty hard day this one. We were bushed by the end of it. Our last stop was at Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek. The light was really good but quickly became flat and overcast with a sprinkling of rain too. As I was painting this one everyonce in awhile a puff of smoke would lift out of the trees across the bay. This happened about five or six times before someone in the park was walking by and made a comment that that was the fish boil at a some restaurant that was creating the smoke. I thought that it was pretty cool as a note and had already painted it into the composition. Now I had a title for the painting too. The gulls in the air and the one on the rock must have been coming out of my bird painting past? They helped add a little interest to the scene.
'Crane's Calling' oil 11x14 © Marc R. Hanson '09
Wednesday morning started very moody, misty and Wonderful for painting. It didn't last long but while it was both of us produced what we would probably say were two of our best of the week. Sun is nice, but for my money there is nothing like a good heavy atmosphere to provide the fodder for the possibility to produce some very evocative work. As we were painting, a pair of cranes flew over not 40 yards above ground level. As they approached another pair about 60 yards away began to sound off, either telling the airborne pair to 'get the heck away', or 'please land'? I don't speak crane so I don't know but it was impressive as it broke the still quiet of the morning air. Seemed like as good a title as any for this one.
'Overgrown' oil 10x8 © Marc R. Hanson '09
Each painter was to pick a couple of 'demo days' during the week so that people who were following you could come by and watch you paint. It kept us from hiding in the forest to do that. Kami and I picked a Pottery studio to paint and we anxiously set up here at Clay Bay Pottery and started to work on some marvelous landscape. We also signed up for a lunch delivery for each of these two days. It was funny that the two of us were the only ones who showed though it was raining earlier. None the less, at least 5 other painters should have been there and that should have given us a clue. About 1pm we were really getting hungry so I called the school and inquired about our lunches? Our very nice and friendly 'artist container' person asked me where we were, I told her and she said that the reason we didn't have our lunches is because we were in the wrong place!!! We were supposed to be at the 'other' clay studio. Give artists choices and you're asking for trouble.
'She's A Beauty!' oil 10x8 © Marc R. Hanson '09
On Wednesday night the artists all participated in a sunset paint out in Ephraim. We started earlier than the actual sunset (which disappeared behind the clouds and didn't set at all) in order to get it in. I just painted this beautiful sloop that was moored along the Anderson Dock.
'Pump House' oil 11x14 © Marc R. Hanson '09
On Thursday morning we were scheduled along with about 7 other painters to do a demo painting at Edgewood Orchard Gallery in Fish Creek. During the four hours or so that we were scheduled to be there trolley's brought around people who signed up to come out and watch us paint. I met many very nice people, one of whom ended up purchasing this painting later in the week.
'Moonlight Bay' oil 11x14 © Marc R. Hanson '09
This was the last painting of the trip aside from the following painting from the quick paint day. We didn't spend much time on the 'quiet side', the Lake Michigan side, of the lake until this afternoon. Frankly, following the demo session earlier in the day I didn't have much juice left so following this one, a nice restaurant and a bottle of wine was the crowning event of the day and week's work. A good week, a good day and a good wine... not bad.
'Blue Shade' oil 9x12 © Marc R. Hanson '09
On Saturday morning we all participated in the 'Quick Paint in the Park' event. Two hours to paint followed by an auction. About a third of the auction was put on a rain delay and was continued that evening at the public opening of the show of the week's work back at the gallery at the Peninsula Art School. I painted the patio of this restaurant, liking the warmth of the umbrellas against the cool colored shaded side of the building. In the end, the gentleman in the painting with the silver hair and his wife ended up purchasing the painting at the auction! Very cool.
