Tuesday, July 31, 2018

The Valley from...

The Valley from
Hólsgerði to Húsavík
in the north of Iceland at midnight
painted plein air on July 30, 2018
7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00


The Summerhouse Silo

The Summerhouse Silo
Watercolor on 140 lbs archival watercolor paper, 7" x 5" (w x h)
My Icelandic Commission
Egill spurði: "Brús, viltu mála mynd af sùrhysturnínum handa mér?"
Egill asked, "Brús, would you paint a picture of the silo for me?"
Of course...

The original farm concrete silo had been cut off and an entrance cut, so that the memory of the silo stay at the family farm, now remodeled as a summerhouse, with the silo not blocking the view north up the valley.

Egill Óli Atlason and his Brús painting,
standing in front of the silo.
 

Monday, July 30, 2018

The Windy Fill Up


The Windy Fill Up
Rannveig at Borganes, Iceland,
on July 29, painted on July 30, 2018
7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00


Sunday, July 29, 2018

Tourists Strolling by...

Tourists Strolling by
City Hall Rain
in the rain of Reykjavik painted on July 29, 2018
7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Two Chimneys Well Red

Two Chimneys Well Red
from Court Street in Castine, Maine,
painted plein air on July 19, 2018
7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Those Two Chimneys

Those Two Chimneys
from Court Street in Castine, Maine,
painted plein air on July 19, 2018
7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Down Main Street

Down Main Street
in Castine Maine, painted plein air on July 19, 2018
13" x 10" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, including tax and shipping = $275.00

Blue Hill Too

Blue Hill Too
in Castine Maine, painted plein air on July 20, 2018
10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb.
Arches cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, $175.00

SOLD

Windy Castine Harbor

Windy Castine Harbor
painted plein air on July 20, 2018
10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, including tax and shipping = $175.00

Morning's Glory at the Door

Morning's Glory at the Door
of a hollyhock at the home of my hosts, Johann and Pedrick Sweet,
in Castine Maine, painted plein air on July 20, 2018
10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb.
Arches cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
GIFTED to my Castine, Maine hosts

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Scene from Whitehead

Scene
from Whitehead
looking north from atop Whitehead
on Monhegan Island, Monhegan, Maine
painted plein air on July 23, 2018
5" x 7" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00


Seaweed on the Monhegan See

Seaweed on the Monhegan See
looking down from high atop Whitehead on Monhegan Island
painted plein air on July 23, 2018, some studio work Sept 5, 2018
12" x 9" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Prismacolor waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $600

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Monhegan Ferry Waiting

Monhegan Ferry Waiting
in the rain at the Port Clyde Dock
on July 22, painted on July 24, 2018
7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Morning's Glory...Castine Show...

Morning's Glory at the Door
painted plein air on July 20, 2018
10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam,
and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness
and permanence, and #3 graphite on 140 lb. Arches
cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
Gifted to my Castine hosts, Johanna and Pedrick Sweet
Private Collection


 
Photo of my host Johanna's hollyhocks
shadowing in the morning on their home
in Castine, Maine, July 20, 2018
Sheet Music of Hollyhocks
by Bruce McMillan
 
With a bright rising sun casting
its light on paper-white clapboard
lines, hollyhocks trumpet joy as
their musical clef starts the day.

© 2018 Bruce McMillan

At the Castine
Plein Air Festival
2018 Show

 

1
On Saturday July 21, 2018, at 3: 30 we gathered,
all of us painters, for the awards presentations, with Don Tenney, Director,
at the ABA Hall, Maine Maritime Academy in Castine.

It was a pleasure to finally see and meet all of us who'd been scattered all around
Castine on the peninsula and see what we'd all painted in the previous two days. 

The awards went to:

First Prize, Michael Vermette, Indian Island, ME, Eaton's Boathouse at Dawn
Second Prize, Chrissy Nickerson, Canmore, Alberta, Canada and Cape Rosier, ME, View, the Bagaduce
Third Prize, Roberta Goschke, Waldoboro, ME, The Little School House - Adams School

Five Honorable Mention Awards
Elizabeth Ashton Hallett, Brooklyn, NY, View, Blue Hill
Alison Menke, Clarksville, MD, Summer Beech Tree
Anthony Watkins, Bradley, ME, Harbor Nocturne
Henry Coe, Parkton, MD, Boatyard
Laurie Lefebvre, Red Ride

Judges for the awards were Jill Hoy, Jill Hoy Gallery in Stonington, ME, and Josh Adam, Adam Gallery in Castine.

Castine Captured award for the artist whose painting best depicted the essence of Castine:
Julia Durgee, Portland, ME, Castine Scene.
 
2
At 4:00 pm the public was invited in to feast on the art and as well as
take some of Castine home with a purchase.
I had my chosen six on display.
 

3
It was a full crowd, a busy place for two hours.


4Across from my table I spied a painting that captured the essence of event, what we'd been doing for the past two days. It was painted by Mary Brann of Searsport, Maine. Mary said that the painter in her painting was so engaged in painting her scene that she wasn't even aware that she was the subject of Mary's painting, and never even saw it. Note the person looking at this art, hmm.
 

5
Alison Painting Castine
Mary Brann, Searsport, Maine
Oil on canvas, 11" x 14" (w x h)
New art in the Bruce McMillan Collection
(I couldn't resist, Mary captured the event through Alison.)
So, who was that looking at the painting?
 

6
Mary Brann, left, of Searsport, Maine, the painter and
Alison Menke, right, of Clarksville, Maryland, the painted painter,
who finally got to see the painting and absolutely loved it.
 

7
At the end of two hours, two of my paintings, red dots, had found homes.
And Blue Hill Too, 14" x 11", $275
Breeze in Castine Harbor, 7" x 5", $115

And at the end of the day some of us
artists gathered to celebrate over dinner...
 

8
I was stuck between two winners, Alison, left, and Chrissy, right.
 
Alison Menke, Honorable mention Award, left, is an accomplished painter, traveling the country, California to Maine, in her plein-air vehicle, painting fine art, winning awards, and engaging everyone with her painting enthusiasm and warm, endearing personality. And she'll be painting on my wall in Mary Brann's painting. Alison's web site is HERE.
 
Chrissy Nickerson, Second Prize, summers in across-the-harbor Cape Rosier, and lives in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. And I've had her art hanging in my house for years. We met in February 2007 in the Exumas, Bahamas on her parent's boat for brunch. She was playing with watercolors. That morning she also painted with my two grandsons on the dock. Two watercolors that I purchased from her that morning hang in my home. And I commissioned a watercolor of my son's sailboat, SV Grace, which hangs in their home. I remember seeing her sitting out in her dinghy painting it at anchor. And I've watched her online over the years mature into a brilliant, masterful oil painter. And our paths crossed again, this time as painters, at the Castine Plein Air Festival, 2018. Chrissy's web site is HERE.

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Power of the Waterview


Power of the Waterview
at the end of Court Street in Castine, Maine
painted plein air on July 19, 2018
18" x 14" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Prismacolor waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $425, at and for the Castine Plein Air Festival


The Setup Power-view
 
Art in the Show
 
Over the past two days, July 19 and 20, 2018, I've been busy painting watercolors in this beautiful coastal town, Castine, with fabulous warm sunny weather at the Castine Plein Air Festival. My hosts, retired school teachers, Johanna and Pedrick Sweet were more than generous and gracious, and I thank them. Friday night, after two days of painting in the sun, I realized why I was mentally and physically weary. I counted the number of paintings that I'd completed in these two days, twelve, sheesh. The maximum per artist in the show is six, so here are the selected six in today's art exhibition. The other six will show up in later postings. In addition to the Power of the Waterview above...

To Penobscot Bay
14" x 11", $275


And Blue Hill Too
14" x 11", $275


Down Beyond Maine Street
10" x 8", 175


Two Chimneys Too
10" x 8", 175


Breeze in Castine Harbor
7" x 5", $115

The Castine Plein Air Festival 2018 web site is HERE

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Wed in Japan

 Painting 
Wed in Japan
a commission
 

1
 

2
 

3
 

4
 

5
 

6
Wed In Japan
painted on May 6, 2018, delivered July 17, 2018
11" x 14" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Prismacolor waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white
watercolor paper matted, $250

 


When the recipients
commissioned this painting,
they purchased a watercolor, 
Three Forelle Pears on Snow,
seen online HERE,
which now hangs in their kitchen, 
a Japanese motif.

 

Monday, July 16, 2018

The Equalizer Cape Porpoise

The Equalizer Cape Porpoise
on July 13, painted on July 16, 2018
7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Nora Sitting Studies

Nora Sitting Study 1
painted on July 13, 2018
7" x 10" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam,
and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light
fastness and permanence, and #3 graphite on 140 lb.
Arches rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, $120 + $6.60 sales tax + $10.40 shipping = $137.00


Nora Sitting Study 2
painted on July 13, 2018
7" x 10" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on
140 lb. Arches rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, $120 + $6.60 sales tax + $10.40 shipping = $137.00

Friday, July 13, 2018

Before Breakfast at the Colony

Before Breakfast at the Colony
the view from the balcony at The Colony Hotel in
Kennebunkport, Maine on July 8, painted on July 12, 2018
21" x 17" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Prismacolor waterproof fade proof ink on 300 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, including sales tax and shipping = $700 SOLD


On exhibit, and for sale, August 10-11, 2019 at the
64th Annual Kennebunk River Club Art Show.
Website for The Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport, Maine HERE


Sunday, July 8, 2018

Footbridge Flag

Footbridge Flag
looking up from the south side of the Footbridge
in Ogunquit, Maine on July 7, painted on July 8, 2018
8" x 10" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on
140 lb. Arches rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, $120 + $6.60 sales tax + $10.40 shipping = $137.00

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Sara Studies

Sara Study 1
at our Kennebunkport, Maine art Group
painted on July 6, 2018
5" x 7" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $100 + $5.50 sales tax + $9.50 shipping = $115.00


Sara Study 2
at our Kennebunkport, Maine art Group
painted on July 6, 2018
7" x 10" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb.
Arches rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
,
framed, $120 + $6.60 sales tax + $10.40 shipping = $137.00


Sara Study 3
at our Kennebunkport, Maine art Group
painted on July 6, 2018
12" x 9" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press fine grain 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $200 + $11.00 sales tax + $14.00 shipping = $225.00



By Design
By Bruce McMillan

Swift sweeping gestures,
the fine art of leaving out,
among a flower.

 Text and photo © 2018 Bruce McMillan

Friday, July 6, 2018

Affection by the See

Affection by the See
strolling on Marginal Way by the Atlantic Ocean in
Ogunquit, Maine on June 30, painted on July 6, 2018
10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb.
Arches cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, $120 + $6.60 sales tax + $10.40 shipping = $137.00

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Wave Form

Wave Form
at Ogunquit Beach, June 30, painted on July 5, 2018
10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb.
Arches cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, $120 + $6.60 sales tax + $10.40 shipping = $137.00

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Marginal Way Holiday

Marginal Way Holiday
on June 30, painted on July 3, 2018
12" x 9" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and
Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and
permanence, and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano
Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper
framed, $200 + $11.00 sales tax + $14.00 shipping = $225.00