Catalogs Available

The Aladdin Lamp, oil on linen, 20" x 30"

The Dowling Walsh Gallery is offering a 22-page color catalog of my show Right Here: New Maine Paintings for the very reasonable price of $5. You can pick one up at the gallery, or contact Jake Dowling at 207-596-0084 or at info@dowlingwalsh.com if you would like one sent to you via mail.

The catalog includes 20 color reproductions and an essay by Carl Little, author of Edward Hopper's New England and other books. His article on Fairfield Porter and James Schuyler appears in the 2011 Island Journal.

Outdoor Painter article!

What fun that Alex and I have reciprocal portraits in the Painters Painting section of Outdoor Painter! Both our paintings were done on the same trip, one year ago when we went on a "business trip" to Maine and stayed with Diana (who appears in Alex's piece, too) on Mount Desert Island for a few days. Click each image to enlarge and read the article by Steve Doherty.

What a fun and fruitful trip that was! For a time at least, you can see the piece online by clicking here.

Alexandra Tyng's Upcoming Show at Dowling Walsh Gallery

I know it's a while until summer, but I wanted to let anyone who reads this blog know that I'll be having a one-person show at the Dowling Walsh Gallery in August (opening August 5th). The title of the show is still a work in progress. At some point close to the opening date, I'll be giving a gallery talk on my work. I'll be posting more specific information in the next couple of months.

The paintings will range from large aerial panoramas to figures in settings. I am focusing on three geographic areas: the Camden/Rockport area, Monhegan, and Mt Desert Island. Stay tuned!

June paintings in August

Noon Islands, 9 x 12 oil on linen mounted to board, 2010 (Somesville, ME)

Okay okay, I am late. But two recent occurrences inspired me to get on with it: a flurry of comments on some of my old Maine paintings on Facebook, and Alex posting her recent Maine paintings both here and on Facebook. Today was overcast but bright, perfect for shooting art, so I finally took the shots and am now posting the pix of my most recent Maine sketches. These are from June when Alex and I went up to Mount Desert Island and stayed with Diana in Somesville (see two posts back) We had a short but highly productive week of plein air painting (four nights/five days?) These are some I did on that trip, and are AS IS. I did no more work on them in the studio. In fact, I can't bear to do any later retouch at all these days...it all happens on site and in the moment or not at all.



Houses by the Sea, 12 x 16, oil on linen mounted to board, 2010 (Stonington, ME)



Porcupine Islands, 12 x 18, oil on linen mounted to board, 2010 (from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, ME)



Alex Tyng Painting at Beaver Pond, oil on linen, 12 x 9, 2010 (Acadia National Park, ME)
Funny thing is that I also did a painting of Beaver Pond. It was fun to do but it ended as a confused mess. Alex wanted to keep going with her piece for another 20 minutes. I had a palette full of fresh paint and extra canvas so I speed painted this baby, more as a way of passing the time than with any serious intention. Wouldn't you know, this one was the keeper!


Reflecting Pond, oil on canvas, 12 x 16, 2010 (Somesville, ME)
Yes, that's the library in Somesville. It was the last painting of the last day!

Business Trip... to Maine!

Alex and I (Nancy Bea here) made a quick visit up to Mount Desert Island to stay with Diana while taking care of a little gallery business (Alex and I each have two galleries in Maine that exhibit our work, one is the same) and of course, PAINTING! Which is our business, for real. We stopped in Freeport for coffee and a little L.L.Bean-ing. Notice my business-like attache case (really, an archery set!)

Diana and her sweet dog, Tucker, welcomed us warmly!



Our first day of painting was a total pleasure, despite my easel becoming marooned!



We painted in Stonington one day and did some business with our mutual gallery there, gWatson. Here is Ron Watson talking with Alex.



Lupines were everywhere! It's a very floral time for coastal Maine.



Painting on the side of Cadillac Mountain one early evening was truly a highlight of the trip! Diana's gorgeous hair was flaming:



We worked hard all the hours we could. I came home with eight pieces or "sketches". Here is Alex with her Cadillac piece:



Happy sigh! I wish the rest of the MLG had been there with us. We'll do that soon, I hope. Farewell till we meet again, in Maine!

Week-long Workshop

I wanted to share some photos from my workshop on Mount Desert Island, Maine (July 27-31).

This summer in Maine has been WET! It has rained almost continuously since June-- a worrisome sign of climatic change. The ponds and lakes of Mount Desert were full to the brim, so full that the water level is just under the trees, and hardly a rock is visible along the shore from a distance.

Apart from being concerned about the implications of this weather, I had more immediate concerns that the workshop week would be one long rainstorm--but luckily there was enough sun to give some variety to the weather. One completely sunny day allowed us to paint in two prime locations, Ocean Drive and Cadillac Mountain. On cloudy, foggy, damp days we painted at the Beaver Pond across from the north end of Eagle Lake, and Somes Landing. We painted at many of the key locations on MDI.The talented and dedicated participants worked hard and we all had a lot of fun.

I'm so glad I was able to work with my fellow MLG-er, painting partner, and long-time friend Diana Cobb Ansley in planning the workshop.We stayed in her historic home in Somesville, and she provided hospitality and made sure things ran smoothly. Every day for lunch she ordered delicious gourmet sandwiches from Mother's Kitchen which we brought along for picnics on location. She also knew the best restaurants on MDI for dinner. By the time I got home, I actually felt that I had had my fill of popovers!

We're looking forward to doing this again next year. There are so many themes for plein air landscape workshop, and so many more painting locations on MDI.

Tea and Popovers Anyone?

Willowbrook

With this cold winter weather I thought you might be up for this. After years of perfecting the recipe, we first tried this in "Willowbrook" our old house in Maine. We have tried various combinations of ingredients, cooking methods, and everything from outdoor ovens to convection ovens. We thought we had finally found the secret from a server at the Jordan Pond House. She let us know that they baked them in convection ovens. We tried it, but it didn't work. I think this recipe works because of the jumbo eggs and the special instructions. Enjoy!!

Popovers

1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 jumbo eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Generously grease popover cups--1/2 pat of butter per cup.

Pour milk into medium size mixing bowl. I have also heard that ingredients should be at room temperature.

Add flour and salt

With rotary beater or wire whisk beat until well blended ( I have to say that I blend as little as I possibly can and think that if you blend too much the popovers are tough. So do it gently!!!)

Add the eggs one at a time. Beating in each until blended

Pour batter into popover cups, filling three fourths full. Do not scrape the bowl.(Tough Batter?)

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Reduce oven to 325 and continue baking 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Check how your oven works because it may only take 20 minutes. I sometimes cook at 425 for 10 minutes then reduce to 325 and check it after 10 minutes.

Winter Bliss on Mt. Desert Island

How I missed all of you on my recent trip to Maine!!! It was incredible! We drove through a blinding snow and woke the next day to a clear, crisp, frozen world. Hope you recognize this panorama from Trenton as we approached the island.



Somesville had so many wonderful views. The mill pond had such incredible colors, I had to take a picture every time we passed it. We spent most of the morning there. I was hoping to paint the view from inside the old house, but it was colder inside than out! I think next time I will paint like Hopper in the car!!As you may have heard we had a mix-up on closing the house so all the pipes had been drained and the house was all closed up. I was fortunate that one of my friends let me stay in one of her rentals in Southwest Harbor.

More views of Somesville!!! We then went out to the camp. The road had been plowed, but was still all snow. We walked from the end of the driveway into the camp. I was so taken by the stillness and beauty of the woods. The lake was just freezing over down the sides of the lake. In front of the house the water was still flowing and looked much the same as September except for bits of snow on Beach and Bernard. Anyone for a swim?

The days just flew by as the island is in darkness at four o'clock in the afternoon. You really have to get up early to enjoy the day. Next year we need to do a December trip!!! I wanted to go to Monhegan, but the boat only runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It makes one trip and then turns around. I was trying to go Monday and return on Wednesday, but we woke up to snow on Monday. The ferry is weather permitting so if you get there it could be a while before you are able to get off!! We had to leave a few days early as a huge storm was due.

Nancy Bea thanks for sending me notes on posting!! I'll leave you with these two views of the head of Somes Sound and then another view of the Sound from Sargent drive.

A Little More Long Pond...

Well, Alex,that was a beautiful and moving post! You're a natural at this blogging stuff. Since we were on the subject of Long Pond I thought I'd post this little painting of it I did, sitting on Diana's lakeside porch on Mount Desert Island. Was it the first evening we got there? Or maybe when we got back to the cabin after our rainy day of painting at Seawall. Can't recall now.

Alex's post made me think of this piece, because it and another plein air (the rainy morning near Seawall one) are currently in the Small Works show at Artists' House Gallery in Olde City. I am going to the Sunday reception tomorrow, 1-4. If any of you are around please come too!

By the way, I uploaded a page of all the paintings I did on our September trip:
Maine plein air 9/07
Five of these are currently hanging on gallery walls: Sherry French Gallery has all three of the Monhegan ones up, and then two from Mount Desert Island at Artists' House. Five out of eight is pretty good odds, for me anyway.

Last Light on Long Pond, oil on canvas laid to board, 4 x 6 inches

Welcome!

Hi everyone and welcome to The Maine Landscape Guild blog! The Maine Landscape Guild started out as a group of four painter friends who went to Maine to paint in September of 2007. When we came back, I was so still entranced by my Maine experience that I did not want it to end. I decided to start up a blog for our little group to use to post about our trip, our future trip, our paintings from the last trip, and essentially all things Maine. We had jokingly agreed to call our group The Maine Landscape Guild, on one of those long car rides, with our motto of course being "Remember the Maine (landscape guild!)" We are planning our group's return trip for next September, and have already grown to include two more painters who have thrown in their lot with us painting-in-Maine nuts. So anyway, here we go with the blog, and lets see where it takes us. Right back to Maine I hope!



Rainbow over Long Pond, Mount Desert Island photo: N.B. Miller Click on the image to enlarge.