Nemo Night Photos

Went out to explore in the blizzard late last night: the snow was as beautiful and cold as you would expect.  I was playing with the camera settings trying to capture all the pink light glancing off the snow and sky. 

Riverside Cemetary

 

Some pictures from my most recent trip to Maine--had a great walk in fresh snow through a romantic old cemetery in Lewiston, Maine.  (Very, very Fredrick.)  Great trip, too short as usual, and quite the climate change from 75 in NC to 14 Maine in the same day.  May seem like a drastic shift, but it wasn't anything like what the hordes of Bates students underwent yesterday. (Witnessed my second puddle jump.)

Hodgman Lies Here

Snowshoeing Apatite

While my northeast readers have had well enough of winter by now, some of you in warmer climes may appreciate even more snow photos.  These are from a morning outing at Mt. Apatite state park in Auburn, Maine. Regardless of groundhog prognostications, I can't imagine seeing much more of this unseasonably warm winter. I'm reluctant to let the season go too soon and hoping for just a bit more snow. 

Fresh Snow

Woke up to a fresh light snow this morning, and took a few pictures to remember it by.   Again, I'm not enough of a photographer to catch the contrast between the morning light and shadows or the snow blowing off the trees in the wind.   If you squint and have a great imagination, you may be able to make this out in the image below:  

Gray Bates

 

Some photos from a walk around Bates, chapel and pond, the day after the infamous puddle jump. Surveying the aftermath, I was reminded of Friedrich's Ice Sea, albeit with less drama.

Fall Colors

Some shots taken from the kayak on the journey from Buker to Jimmy Pond in Lichfield, Maine.

Sunflowers

Yes, sunflowers. I'm still in the process of sorting and unpacking my new space in Lewiston, but my life of late has not been all work and drudgery.  When summer days get too hot for comfort, it's best to take the day off and find some water.  My new location, though bit further from the coast, places me within a short driving distance of dozens of lakes.  I've made the most of this opportunity by securing a used kayak from a local craigslist seller and getting some paddling in.   So far, I've had some lovely afternoons on Sabbatus Pond and briefly explored Buker and Sandy Ponds.  On my most recent outing, I drove a tad father to Androscoggin Lake.  While on a road near Leeds, Maine, I was awestruck by this amazing field of sunflowers and had to pull off the road to enjoy it and take some pictures. 

413@536: End of an Era

It's been a long while.  Not only since the last blog, but since I first took up residence in the Artist's Studio Building at 536 Congress Street in Portland, Maine.  Monday I finally bade farewell to my mates old and new, to set up shop a little further down the road in Lewiston. I've inhabited the grand, windowless, cavern of studio 413 for eight years, after spending a year prior at the top of the fourth floor in the smaller, adjacent 412.  I've seen many great artists come and go, and I now find myself in the ranks of the the many proud alumni who went before.   I have a lot of guest through this space through countless First Friday events, and events sponsored by the PMA.  Of course, I've made a lot of art here in dark, happy seclusion, and had many inspiring conversations with my peers in the hall.  It has been, and continues to be, a great community and I send my love to all the fantastic artists who remain.  I'll see you and my stops down to Portland!

Sightings Continued: Arabica

Another place I've been asked about lately is Arabica.  Yes, I do have two paintings up there as well this month, featured in partnership with Susan Maasch Fine Art.  (Which makes three venues if you've been counting this month.) Unlike my conceptual exhibition through the window of Otto's, you can actually see two paintings from the "Night Fictions" series that didn't make it into the solo show on Congress street.   (Four venues, if you count conceptual exhibtions.)  Like Ottos, Arabica gets an immense amount of Portland traffic and is a hub of town activity. Arabica is open on Monday and Tuesday, so you can check out the preview on the off days that you are not camping out in SMFA proper.

SMFA Installation

I really enjoyed watching the highly skilled team at Susan Maasch Fine Art go to work on Saturday.   It's an honor to have so many talented people carefully consider everything down to the finest detail.   As you can see, it was a hive of activity so I tried to stay out of their way.  With the exception of snapping pictures of them working, that is....  Thanks again to Susan Maasch, Matthew Rosler, and all of the great team at Susan Maasch Fine Art for all of their hard work.

With Picasso

Back from Poland last week, I'm just now posting some installation shots of the "Lust and Desire" show  ongoing at Susan Maasch Fine Art.   As you can see, my drawing has prime placement in the front window (and has already sold as a result.)  Two paintings are still available.  Here you can see me hanging with Pablo Picasso (left) and Tim Clorius (right.)  Just out of frame to the right is an awesome little Mapplethorpe Polaroid, going for the price of about four of my paintings. (Being alive=priceless.)  As the show goes into it's second half, things will get rotated around a bit, giving someone else a shot at the window.  The revised installation will be open for this Friday's Art Walk and I'll be sure to stop by.

Stonington

Back from Stonington late last night. Turns out that the town was founded as a granite quarry, has plenty of rocks as you can see. Beautiful place, surrounded by water and islands.

It was a productive trip: I took spooky night photos around the the house, I painted in the woods, and I painted on on the porch. I made little use of Stephen Pace's to-die-for studio, other than using it as a base of operations. In all a great trip and I'll post photos of the paintings shortly. The house is a wonderful gift to the college and I offer my deepest gratitude to the Pace family for their donation and making this experience possible.