Monhegan Buoys Fish Beach

                         Monhegan Buoys  6x8 oil on canvas panel

In September I took a few days and went out to Monhegan. The weather was perfect and the island was a little quieter than it is in say July. This painting shows a view of Fish Beach where a lot of the lobstering gear is kept and made ready for when the lobstering season begins in October. I liked the color on these buoys. There were more boats on the beach than are showing here. I wanted to simplify the scene some. I have been working hard on getting values correct. I hope it shows.
This painting is available in my Etsy shop  www.etsy.com/shop/sandydolanart 

Changing It Up - Day 5

                         Riding Economy  6x6 oil on canvas panel

I decided to shake it up a bit in terms of subject today. Quite often I love to paint the coastal subjects. That is were I live and what I love. Today I wanted to do something a little more graphic. I love this scooter and the shadow it is making on the pavement. When the weather is good I will often start my day with a walk along the waterfront in Belfast. This scooter was parked there many times and I finally got a photo of it. In painting this I worked on my drawing, values, and tried to think about a good arrangement of the subject within the square format.
This painting is for sale in my Etsy shop. I am featuring free shipping for the month of January.
www.etsy.com/shop/sandydolanart
I hope you are all staying warm. It is getting very cold out there. I have been filling the wood stove all day today.  Thanks for stopping by! Sandy

Back Cove - Day Four SOLD

                        Back Cove  New Harbor Maine  6x8 oil on canvas panel

This past fall my painting friend Dianne and I took a trip to New Harbor. We found this area called the Back Cove. This was quite a nice location for painting as it was very quiet so we could set up our easels and painting equipment without being in anyone's way. Some lobstermen paused to chat with us a bit. In the background we could hear the sounds of boats making their way in and out of the small cove. It was a very pleasant day of working outside. This day four painting was done from a photo I took that day while we worked.

This painting can be purchased through my Etsy shop.   www.etsy.com/shop/sandydolanart   
 Thank you, Sandy



                     
                           
                       

Monhegan Worker SOLD

                                         Monhegan Worker   6x6 oil on canvas board


  This painting is from a picture I took coming into Monhegan Harbor on the island ferry from Port Clyde. That is the island of Manana in the background. I liked the light in this one.

This painting is available in my Etsy shop. I am featuring free shipping for the month of January.
Here is the link to my shop  www.etsy.com/shop/sandydolanart
It is very easy and secure to purchase paintings through Etsy with a credit card.

Welcome to my 30 Paintings in 30 days Challenge

                                   Seaside Cottage by Sandy Dolan    6x8 oil on canvas panel

January is always such a quiet and cozy time of year here in Maine. Last January I participated in Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 painting challenge. The artists who are a part of this event paint a painting for each day of the month and post them on their own web/blog site as well as Leslie's web/blog site. Her link  www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com  It was such a good experience last year I decided to do it again this year. There are over 1000 artists world wide who are involved in this event. It should be fun and hard work too. I hope you will keep in touch and follow along in an adventure that I hope will spice up January for all of us. Here we go!!!
These paintings I am doing will be posted in my Etsy shop. They will be sold unframed and the price will include free shipping for the month of January only. When you see a painting you like I hope you will make a purchase during this special offer. It is so easy and secure to purchase with your credit card through Etsy.  Here is the shop link   www.etsy.com/shop/sandydolanart
Thank you! I am so excited. Sandy

Large Plein Air and Traveling in the State of Maine

                           September Light    Monhegan Island, Maine 8x16 on canvas panel

This fall I got a chance to do quite a bit of traveling around the state of Maine. Many people have said that this has been one of the best fall seasons in recent memory. I couldn't agree more. I love the light as the sun gets lower in the sky this time of year. I think this painting of Monhegan speaks to that.

 I decided this fall that it was time to get one of my painting goals moving forward and that goal was to paint some large canvases on location. Here is the back of my station wagon loaded up with two large canvases, one 24x24, one 24x30.

 

I found out I really like painting this large on location.

 

 

 

 

Here is the 24x30 set up on a great light weight easel I found at a second hand shop. I am standing at  a place called The Crib Works near Millinocket, Maine. This was such an exciting place to paint. There were some white water rafters passing by as I painted. They were having fun! That is the top of Mount Katahdin you can see in the very back at the top of that ridge. I will complete this painting in the studio. I think I got a good start on it here.

 

 

 

Here is a picture of this location taken by a fellow painter from the other side of the river. If you click on the image and look closely you can see I am a little red dot standing on that large rock right in the middle. One thing you can't tell from the photo is the roar of the river was incredibly loud.

 

 

I took this lucky photo of a deer in Acadia National Park last week while out scouting for painting locations. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think about painting large outside. I found out I love it!  Sandy

 

www.sandydolan.com

 

 

 

Katahdin show, a new gallery, and my open studio

      
                                                    Katahdin-Maynard's View  24x24
                                                       oil on gallery wrapped canvas
                       Available at North Light Gallery  www.artnorthlight.com

  I am so pleased and excited that my painting of Mount Katahdin was juried into a show to be held at the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell, Maine November 5th-29th. The show is called Inspired by Katahdin. From there it will travel to an exhibition space at Southeby's International in Damariscotta. That show will run from January to May of 2015. Thank you jurors David and Carl Little and the Harlow Gallery for this opportunity.
I have a lot of news to share. I have been accepted into the North Light Gallery of Millinocket, Maine. I am very honored and pleased about this. 2015 is looking really good.
This past weekend I held my second annual open studio event here in Searsport. Thank you so much to my loyal customers and friends who came by to share hot spiced cider and cookies, chat and see my latest work. Also thank you so much for all your generous purchases!!
Well that is it for today. I will have more exciting news next week so I hope you will check on back then.  Sandy

                                                               www.sandydolan.com
                                                              www.artnorthlight.com