Acadia's Duck Stream Bridge sold

                    Duck Stream Bridge Acadia  6x8 oil on canvas panel

 I have been to this location many times and painted other views here. This is the first time I included this bridge. It was a sunny early spring day. I was able to stand on the rocks bordering the stream. There were a lot of small birds flitting about in the nearby branches while I painted. In between brush work I was grabbing my binoculars to see the birds up close. One bird seemed to hang around for some time, a Myrtle Warbler. I had never seen this type before. Warblers are some of my favorite migrating birds to look for. There are quite a variety of warblers and I am happy when I get to see a new one. There were also a few Gold Finches with their striking yellow and black coloring.   The summer is shaping up to be a busy one. I will be going on several painting trips and doing my outdoor shows in between.  My first trip will be in about one week. Monhegan Island. Looking forward to this. 
This week I made my first delivery of paintings to my new gallery,
North Light Gallery in Millinocket. While I was there I had the good luck to go out and paint without the black flies attacking me. I had two beautiful days to roam and paint. I hope to post some soon.   Sandy
www.sandydolan.com
www.artnorthlight.com

Poling on the East Branch of the Penobscot River, Maine

              
                        Poling on the River  12x12 oil on canvas panel
                Available at North Light Gallery  www.artnorthlight.com


   Don't stand up in the boat!  That is what we are always told right? That is why the first time I saw someone poling in a canoe I was in total awe. It seemed so graceful and impossible.
  I used to work as a photographer for the Belfast Republican Journal in the 80's and 90's. It was a fun job in many ways but mostly because I had the chance to meet many different kinds of people and see what they were up to. I wrote a story about poling and some Maine Guides who used this technique of travel on a regular basis. I thought it was very cool. They let me try it. Here is a photo of my 5 minutes of poling fame.

Sandy doing what she thought to be impossible.

 

When I was up painting in the Katahdin area last year  I saw this man, shown in the top painting, come around a  bend in the river where I was working. It still amazes me to see someone poling. I had to paint it! Have you ever had a poling adventure? Share it in the comments!

 

www.sandydolan.com

Canoeing the East Branch of the Penobscot River, Maine SOLD

                          
                           Rapid Response  8x16 oil on canvas panel
                  Available at North Light Gallery www.artnorthlight.com

  I have been working on some different subject matter in the studio these last couple of weeks. This is one of them. With this painting I was hoping to catch the sparkle of the light and the excitement of the moment.
  There are a lot of people hitting the rivers of Maine in their canoes right now with the snow rapidly melting and the rivers running high. A couple of days ago we had a rain storm that brought 3 inches to some areas on top of all the snow melt. It is a pretty exciting time.
  I hope you are enjoying spring were you are. It has been very cool temps here and a slow arrival of spring this year but the crocuses are coming up in the garden!  Sandy         www.sandydolan.com

Monhegan-One More and 2015 Show Schedule! SOLD

                                     8x16 oil on canvas panel   SOLD

   I have always wanted to paint the various buildings that line the harbor when you arrive on Monhegan.  I love the lyrical shapes and the way they bump along the rocky shore line.  If you go to Monhegan enough you know each one of these shapes and overseeing all of them is the iconic leader The Island Inn. There is so much history there not to mention all the past weather these structures have seen and survived. I think this is the last of Monhegan paintings for a while. I hope you have enjoyed them. 
    I have just posted my new show schedule for 2015. You can see it by clicking on this link  www.sandydolan.com then click on the show link in the left column.  My next online project will be to update the paintings on my web site and install a buy it now button on each painting to make it more convenient for all my customers out there who can't make it to the shows and would like the opportunity buy my paintings online. Stay tuned!!  Thanks again for stopping by, Sandy
You can still purchase some paintings from my etsy shop by clicking on this link.
www.etsy.com/shop/sandydolanart

Monhegan's Horn Hill Sold

 

Horn Hill View 12x16 oil on panel

This is another painting that I started plein air on Monhegan Island last fall. I had a few things to work on and finished it last week. The colors look more on the blue side here than they do in reality. Sandy

www.sandydolan.com

Big Changes and a Juried Show SOLD

                           Swim Beach Landing Monhegan 12x16
  Above is the new version of a painting I did on Monhegan Island. The one below is the original painting. I decided to take out the white dory in the middle of the painting. I thought it kept the viewer from traveling into the scene. I had to think about this for some time before I got up the courage to make this huge change but I felt that it would be a big improvement.

I changed a few other details to enhance the destination of the house. I was so much happier with the results. Big sigh of relief.
Yesterday my friend Dianne and I traveled one hour by car to Waterville to enter some paintings into the Maine Open Juried Art Show. This is a show that happens once a year. Each artist can enter 2 paintings. This new version of Swim Beach Landing is one of the paintings I entered. We dropped off our paintings in the morning then we had to wait several hours for the jurying process to be done. We went out for a delicious lunch and then went to see The 2nd Great Marigold Hotel movie. That was fun. We went back to see if our paintings got in and both of our paintings got accepted. That felt good! We rode home happy! Tuesday night is the opening and we will be there to meet the other artists and see what paintings got awards. Should be fun.
Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog! Sandy
www.sandydolan.com
www.etsy.com/shop/sandydolanart

The Red House Monhegan Island Maine SOLD

                 The Monhegan Red House   12x16  oil on canvas panel

  Last summer I went to Monhegan Island in late August. My friend and fellow painter Erik Minzner was there visiting with his family. We had the good fortune of being able to paint for a morning together. This is one of the paintings I did that day. I made some adjustments to this recently in the studio. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for stopping by the blog. I have been busy applying to my upcoming shows for 2015. I am looking forward to another season of traveling around Maine selling paintings and meeting all my wonderful customers.