The Footbridge at Perkins Cove

The Footbridge at Perkins Cove

in Ogunquit, Maine on March 25, 2014, sketched on March 31, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Marginal Way View in March

Marginal Way View in March

in Ogunquit, Maine on March 25, 2014, sketched on March 30, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, white Crayola crayon wax resist, 

on 140 lb. Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping
Note: The Crayola crayon wax resist works well with the houses on the horizon. The paper surface affects the resist so I purposely used cold press paper the make the spaces, the wax only blocking the watercolor on the high points of the paper.

Gull Eye to Eye

Gull Eye to Eye

in the parking lot at the beach in Ogunquit, Maine
on March 25, 2014, sketched on March 29, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Studio Gallery Waiting

Studio Gallery Waiting

of artist Todd Bonita, web site HERE and blog HERE, 
in March waiting for the May 2014 opening, located at the
end of the footbridge in Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine  
taken on March 25, 2014, sketched on March 28, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper

painted entirely with a large brush, a Winsor & Newton round 

number 16 Sceptre Gold II sable/synthetic brush, 

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Studio Gallery Waiting Study

This is the study I did March 28th to figure out my approach,
how to simplify the basic elements.
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb. 

painted with Winsor & Newton rounds, numbers 10 and 12 

Sceptre Gold II sable/synthetic brushes, 

Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper.

Studio Gallery Waiting 

Reference Photo

March 25, 2014

We Have Liftoff

We Have Liftoff

an American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)
lifting off from the parking lot by the beach in Ogunquit,
Maine on March 25, 2014, sketched on March 26, 2014
10" x 8", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Gull from Below

Gull from Below

an American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)
standing atop the footbridge at Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine
on March 25, 2014, sketched on March 26, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Lichen in a Wood

Lichen in a Wood

in my woods in Shapleigh, Maine on March 23, 2014, sketched on March 25, 2014,
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping
This is my 300th painting posting...

Snowy Wood Sunset Illumination II

Snowy Wood Sunset Illumination II

by the fields behind my home in Shapleigh, Maine
on March 21, 2014, sketched on March 24, 2014
10" x 8", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper
Painted entirely with a Princeton Neptune #20 watercolor brush, a very large brush 
Note: 
I painted this after I'd worked out the basic elements by painting a more detailed study the day before. It helps me in placing the image in my mind in simpler graphic form so that I'm able to paint the finished work with minimal brush strokes. I'm painting an impression of the scene, tending towards the abstract. It's a painting; if I want a reproduction of the scene a photo will suffice.

        I'm amused at how this approach seems to be the reverse of many artists, whose lose sketches get the basics and then they add the details in the final art. I'm often drawn more to their sketches than the finished pictorial art; it's more of an impression.

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Reference photo

Snowy Wood Sunset Illumination

Snowy Wood Sunset Illumination

by the fields behind my home in Shapleigh, Maine
on March 21, 2014, sketched on March 23, 2014
10" x 8", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Spring Sunset Snow Field

Spring Sunset Snow Field

looking north behind my home in Shapleigh, Maine
on March 21, 2014, sketched on March 22, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Spring...
by Bruce McMillan

...is here, this I know,
late sunset light is in flow,
while snow blues persist.

Photo and text © 2014 Bruce McMilla

Cape Porpoise Pier

Cape Porpoise Pier

seasonal empty in Kennebunkport, Maine
on March 10, 2014, sketched on March 21, 2014
10" x 8.5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite,
Crayola crayon wax resist, on 300 lb Fabriano Artistico
soft press extra white archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping 

Bartlett Pear Over Lichens

Bartlett Pear Over Lichens

on a rock with snow background in Shapleigh, Maine
on March 18, 2014, sketched on March 20, 2014
9.5" x 7.5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite,
Crayola crayon wax resist on 300 lb Fabriano Artistico
soft press extra white archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Study for Tomato Soup Box 2014

Study for Tomato Soup Box 2014

Imagine natural Creations Creamy Garden Tomato Soup box
set out in the snow in my yard in Shapleigh, Maine
on March 18, 2014, sketched on March 19, 2014 
7.5" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite,
and uni-ball waterproof fade-proof ink on 140 lb.
Strathmore Windpower cold press archival watercolor paper 

unframed, sold framed, $9,500,000 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Grand Boys in the High

Grand Boys in the High

Grandson Teague McMillan and Grandson Finn McMillan
from a photo on an iPhone by Brett McMillan at Andermatt in the Swiss Lepontine Alps
on March 2, 2014, sketched on March 18, 2014
9" x 7", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Windpower cold press archival watercolor paper
NFS

Rowing To . . .

Rowing To . . .

the Ashley Lauren in Cape Porpoise Harbor in Kennebunkport,
Maine on March 10, 2014, sketched on March 17, 2014
10" x 8", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Windpower cold press archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Eider Way Decisions

Eider Way Decisions

off the Cape Porpoise Dock in Kennebunkport, Maine
on March 10, 2014, sketched on March 16, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Windpower cold press archival watercolor paper 
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Skiffs Over Cast

Skiffs Over Cast

at the Cape Porpoise Dock in Kennebunkport, Maine
on March 10, 2014, sketched on March 15, 2014
10" x 7", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 300 lb.
Fabriano Artistico soft press extra white archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Not Looking There

Not Looking There

a Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) standing on the dock
at Cape Porpoise Harbor in Kennebunkport, Maine
on March 10, 2014, sketched on March 14, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Gull On Light Off

Gull On Light Off

at Cape Porpoise Harbor in Kennebunkport, Maine
on March 10, 2014, sketched on March 12, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Oxalis Unfolding

Oxalis Unfolding

in the Boothbay Region Greenhouses
in Boothbay Harbor, Maine on March 5, 2014, sketched on March 12, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

A McSeagull in Boothbay Harbor

A McSeagull in Boothbay Harbor

wintering on March 5, 2014, sketched on March 11, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping
McSeagull's Restaurant in Boothbay Harbor is HERE.
Their wood sculpted McSeagulls are outside.

Winter Waiting Skiff

Winter Waiting Skiff

off the public dock at Cape Newagen in Southport, Maine
on March 5, 2014, sketched on March 10, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors,
#3 graphite, Crayola white crayon wax resist, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper

Private Collection
Note: Learning the Ropes, so that's how to do it...
thank you John Singer Sargent...
I'd just finished teaching my class at UNH, and stopped at some nearby shops. I'm in the check-out line at a discount store, Five Below, in Portsmouth, NH, getting something foolish for my grand boys.
     I'm thinking about painting a skiff, how to approach it; what about the rope lines? My mind still holds memories of the John Singer Sargent watercolor exhibition I'd seen at the MFA in Boston. I was intrigued by his use of wax to keep the paper white as a color by repelling the watercolor; he called it wax resist, neat. These days we do the same thing by using a liquid masking fluid that dries and is rubbed off after the painting is done.
      I'm next in line beside the discount bin of $1.00 items. I spy Crayola crayons. I open a pack. There's a white one, perfect. Rope lines problem solved. I'll paint the lines to the skiff using the wax resist of a white Crayola crayon. Clear wax would work too, but the white of a white crayon matches the white watercolor paper, fine. I buy two packs, two white crayons, always good to have an extra one at this price. 
     The best part was painting it later that day, washing in the sea's surface with a number 20 round and seeing the boat's lines left behind so perfectly.
     I love going to art museums; learn something new every time.
 

Geranium Buds

Geranium Buds

(Pelargonium sp.) at the Boothbay Region Greenhouses
in Boothbay Harbor, Maine on March 5, 2014, sketched on March 8, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Winter Dusted Island

Winter Dusted Island

off Cape Newagen in Southport, Maine
on March 5, 2014, sketched on March 7, 2014
10" x 6.5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Windpower cold press acid free watercolor paper 

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Pilings One, Two, Three, Three

Pilings One, Two, Three, Three

in Boothbay Harbor, Maine
on March 5, 2014, sketched on March 7, 2014
9" x 6", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Windpower cold press acid free watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Greenhouse Red Geraniums

Greenhouse Red Geraniums

(Pelargonium sp.) at the Boothbay Region Greenhouses
in Boothbay Harbor, Maine on March 5, 2014,
sketched on location March 5, 2014
10" x 8", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

On Location

 

Stelkur Stepping Out

Stelkur Stepping Out

Stelkur is the Icelandic name for the Common Redshank 
(Tringa totanus robusta) on a rock on the uninhabited
Bjarneyjar Island Archipelago in the bay of  

Breiðafjörður off the west coast of Iceland 
on June 4, 2005, sketched on March 4, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Male Eider Courting

Male Eider Courting

(Somateria mollissima) in the uninhabited
 Bjarneyjar Island Archipelago in the bay of Breiðafjörður  
off the west coast of Iceland on June 11, 2005,  

sketched on March 3, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping
Note:
Male eiders in their striking black and white with a hint of green on their necks are amusing to watch while courting females, proudly puffing out their breasts as balloons, tilting their heads back, and calling out the most distinctive soft "ah-roooo", again and again, while swimming by a group of females, who are in camouflage browns. I lived with them for five weeks on their Icelandic island which is uninhabited by humans.

Tulip Past in Snow

Tulip Past in Snow

set out in my snow covered yard in Shapleigh, Maine
on February 20, 2014, sketched on February 3, 2014
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 hot press archival watercolor paper
unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping

Snowshoeing Photo Break

Snowshoeing Photo Break

while out in the back fields in Shapleigh, Maine
on February 12, 2014, sketched on March 1, 2014
10" x 6.5", Winsor & Newton watercolors, #3 graphite, on 140 lb.
Strathmore Series 500 cold press archival watercolor paper 

unframed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $10 shipping
Note: 
I tried two detailed watercolor sketches in the morning; not quite right; put them aside; mulled them over all day, and that evening I took what I'd learned from them, sat down and completed this in fifteen minutes. What I'd learned from executing the detailed sketches and time to process it gave me all I needed to paint the essence of the moment.