Clouds Forming...

Clouds Forming Over the Mainland

looking back at mainland Boothbay Harbor, Maine from
an island during a day with the Plein Air Painters of Maine
Midcoast Chapter with thanks to hosts Susan and George on July 29, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors,
#3 graphite, on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper

framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Plein Air
Sky filling with haze,
mainland clouds blooming, lunch break,
watercolors wait.

haiku poem and photo © 2015 Bruce McMillan
not for reuse without permission

Wedding Party Photo...

Wedding Party Photo Pose Pond View

by the wedding party hall along the city pond, Tjörnin, Reykjavik, Iceland
on July 18, 2015, sketched on July 27, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, #3 graphite,
and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Iconic Reykjavik Smokestack

Iconic Reykjavik Smokestack

still stands, though no longer used, the Egils brewery no longer here

on July 16, 2015, sketched on July 27, 2015

7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and

Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico

cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper

framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Evening at Tjörnin

Evening at Tjörnin

View from City Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland
on a cool windy evening at 10:00 pm
sketched on July 19, 2015
12" x 9", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $170 plus $9.35 sales tax plus $15.65 shipping = $195.00

Plein Air Painting
   

From an alcove under the City Hall by the pond, Tjörnin,

 

Óskar Thorarensen and I set up in the late evening
to stay out of the cool strong Arctic blasting wind.

 

Óskar sketched,

 

splashed his watercolors,

 

and painted Reykjavik, posted on his art blog HERE.

Mother Daughter Painting - SPL

Mother Daughter Painting

at the Springvale Public Library's Bruce McMillan Workshop
sketched plein air on July 22, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, #3 graphite
and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fie grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
NFS

Artists at the Library

Art of the Portrait
Faces seen by young
eyes looking at eyes looking back
brush by as new art.

haiku poem © 2015 Bruce McMillan
not for reuse without permission

What was personally fulfilling, in addition
to seeing and helping these fine young artists,
was that the summer program and the watercolor
kits, which everyone got to take home, was funded
by the sale of my watercolors on exhibit at the library
last winter HERE. Watercolors turned into
the art of future young painters
is very satisfying.

1

The theme for the Springvale Public Library's Children's Room
summer Wacky Wednesdays was Super Heros, so, because everyone's
a super hero, I had the painters, children and parents, pair up to paint the
super hero across the table. I had then paint two paintings, one to give to the
person painted and one to keep for themselves.

 2
Everyone got right into it.

3
I pointed out and praised in everyone's painting
the things that were making their
painting work so well.

 

4
It always helps to wet the brush, a quick demo.

5
Some paintings were delicately small.

6
A good time was had by all.

7
Sometimes art...

8
...matches a smile.
"We get to take home our paints too?"
"Yes, have fun painting."

Pétur's Porch View of Paradise

Pétur's Porch View of Paradise

Þingvellir (pronounced Thing-veh-leer) Lake in Iceland
10 minute plein air sketch on July 18, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
NFS - Gifted to host Pétur

 

An appreciative Pétur

Pétur's Paradise in shadow at Þingvellir

Hvalsnes House Evening Light Studies

Hvalsnes House Evening Light I

in Iceland on the Reykanes Peninsula

plein air on July 17, 2015

12" x 9", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and

Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico

cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper

framed, sold framed, $170 plus $9.35 sales tax plus $15.65 shipping = $195.00

Hvalsnes House Evening Light II

Quick, ten minute sketch afterwards

in Iceland on the Reykanes Peninsula

plein air on July 17, 2015

7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and

Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico

cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper

framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Plein Air Painting in Iceland

 

1

I painted with my friend Óskar Thorarensen,

a fine watercolor painter here in Iceland.

2

It was late evening light on the Reykanes Peninsula.

3

I laughed aloud when I saw the brush Óskar was using.

"I use this brush all the time. It's one of my favorite brushes.

It has just the stiffness when I paint. See?" I was still laughing

because it wasn't made for fine art painting. It was a gift item to

promote the John Singer Sargent show at the MFA in Boston,

a brush at one end and a pencil at the other,

and I'd gotten one for Óskar.

4

I'm always intrigued by Óskar's

 signature style, how he paints on the tilt,

using gravity with wet to drip down through whatever

to the bottom of the scene.

5

Óskar quick brush strokes give him plenty of time to pause and think.

He set up in the open. I chose to set up in the shadow of the sun,

not, not really, in the shadow of the wind, always

a good choice in Iceland.

6

Óskar's Finished Art

I admired his rendering of the house, fine drawing, and subtle light.

He admired my sky, "You caught the sense of the light.

7

We both enjoyed the grass effect 

when I set up his art to photograph it.

I love the long shadow light of Iceland.

See Óskar's Art Bog and more of his art HERE

Black Sheep Beep

Black Sheep Beep

alongside the road, Route 50, in Reykholt, Iceland
on July 12, 2015, sketched on July 19, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Lupine Flow to Hvalfjörður...

Lupine Flow to Hvalfjörður, Whale Bay

in Iceland on July 12, 2015, sketched on July 16, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Lupines flowing down
to Hvalfjörður, Whale Bay, Iceland,

July 12, 2015

 

Photo from the car by my friend Fúsi
of me lost photographing in a sea of
lupines flowing down to the bay.

Mount Baula from Farm Country

Mount Baula from Farm Country

in West Iceland on July 12, 2015, sketched on July 14, 2015
18" x 12", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press rough 100% cotton watercolor paper
NFS

Other Artist's Views of Mount Baula

Baula, visible from many areas in the west of Iceland,

has been a magnet for painters over the years.

Here are some artists impressions

from years ago and currently.

Baula's reddish or orange

color is from its rhyolite

rock composition.

1

Baula

Hjörleifur Sigurdsson

Pastel, 67 cm x 56 cm, 1982

Reykjavik Art Museum

2

Baula

Snorri Arinbjorn (1901-1958)

Pencil on paper, 17 cm x 11 cm

3

Baula

Hrólfur Sigurdsson

Oil on canvas, 50.5 cm x 38 cm

Reykjavik Art Museum

4

From Hvalfjörður

John Geir Jónsson (1927-2003)

Oil on canvas, 110 cm x 75 cm, 2001

5

Baula

Gudmundur Einarsson from Miðdalur (1895-1963)

Oil on canvas, 38 cm x 30 cm

6

Baula in Borgarfjörður, west of Iceland

Ragnar Hólm Ragnarsson

Watercolor, 2013

Artist's web site HERE

7

Three Sheep and Dog in Landscape

Louisa Matthíasdóttir

Oil on canvas, 22" x 18", 1990

8

Baula, Hreðavatn

Francis Cunningham

Oil on canvas, 22" x 17", August 1986

Artist's web site HERE

Two Icelandic Horses

Two Icelandic Horses

by the road in Borgarfjörður, Iceland
on July 12, 2015, sketched on July 14, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Skessuhorn Studies

Skessuhorn Study I

seen from the road from Reykholt heading south on Route 50,
Dragavergur, to Hvalfjörður, Whale Bay, in Iceland
on July 12, 2015, sketched on July 13, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Skessuhorn Study II

seen from the road from Reykholt heading south on Route 50,
Dragavergur, to Hvalfjörður, Whale Bay, in Iceland
on July 12, 2015, sketched on July 13, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, wax resist and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
NFS

Skessuhorn, 3173 feet (967 m), is an outstanding peak when viewed from the north. Skessuhorn is located in Borgarfjörður County.

On a personal note: This is the view my friend Vigfús "Fúsi" Vigfússon
had from his agricultural college many years ago; I took the reference 

photo on a stop while we were driving in this area.

Reykjavik Roofs

Reykjavik Roofs

as seen from the viewing deck of Perlan (HERE) in Iceland
on July 11, 2015, sketched on July 12, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, wax resist,
and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Gull Light

Gull Light

A Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) alighting on a street light
by Austurvöllur, the park in front of the Hotel Borg on Pósthússtræti
in Iceland on July 7, 2015, sketched on July 10, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico
cold press fine grain 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00