Waiting for... the Birds and the Bees

Waiting for...
the Birds and the Bees

at Maine Audubon's Gilsland Preserve, Falmouth, Maine, painted Sept 25, 2023, 13.5" x 10.5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$600

Gilsland Summer Sunrise

Gilsland Summer Sunrise

at Maine Audubon's Gilsland Preserve, Falmouth, Maine for Maine Audubon's juried show, Brush with Nature. Painted on Sept 26-28, 2023, 19.5" x 15.5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence, and paraffin wax resist on 140 lbs. Arches rough 100% cotton watercolor paper, framed.
$900

The opening / artists reception Thursday, October 5, 2023, 5:30-7:30 pm with the art on sale at Maine Audubon, 20 Gilsland Farm Road, Falmouth, ME 04105 and online beginning that evening and continuing until the show's conclusion on November 12, 2023.

At Low Tide Strawberry Island Rocks

At Low Tide
Strawberry Island Rocks

in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 15, 2023, painted plein air 13.5" x 11.5" (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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$600

High Sky Strawberry Island Tides Low Pool

High Sky Strawberry Island
Tides Low Pool

in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 14, 2023, painted plein air 13.5" x 11.5" (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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$600

Hanging Out at Picnic Rock

Hanging Out at Picnic Rock

at the Butler Preserve in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 17, 2023, painted plein air 11.5" x 13.5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence, and graphite on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$600

Hanging Out West of Butler

Hanging Out West of Butler

at the Butler Preserve in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 17, 2023, painted plein air 11.5" x 8.5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence, and graphite on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$350

Rocking on Strawberry Island

Rocking on Strawberry Island

in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 14, 2023, painted plein air 7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$160, SOLD

Strawberry Island No Straw No Berries

Strawberry Island
No Straw No Berries

in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 15, 2023, painted plein air 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$160, SOLD

Upriver Tide Past Picnic Rock

Upriver Tide Past Picnic Rock

at the Butler Preserve in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 17, 2023, painted plein air 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$160, SOLD

Three Birches No Picnic Rocks

Three Birches
No Picnic Rocks

at the Butler Preserve in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 17, 2023, painted plein air 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$160, SOLD

Flowing to a Picnic Rocks

Flowing to a Picnic Rocks

at the Butler Preserve in Kennebunk, Maine on Sept 17, 2023, painted plein air 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$160, SOLD

Up in an Organic Farm's House

Up in an Organic Farm's House

in the shadows at Two Cove Farm in Harpswell, Maine on September 22, 2023, 8.5" x 11" (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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed, at the News England Watercolor Society / Plein Air Painters of Maine Brushes with Nature painting event.
$500 - SOLD

The plein air setup behind the farm house

Shadowed Barn in Organic Greens

Shadowed Barn in Organic Greens

in the shadow at Two Cove Farm in Harpswell, Maine on September 22, 2023, 8" x 10" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence, and graphite on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed, at the News England Watercolor Society / Plein Air Painters of Maine Brushes with Nature painting event.
$300

On Facebook Jill Shaw commented: "I don't know how to describe your painting, but I love it."

Tree Shadows on the Front of the House Barn

Two Coves Farm Barn in Shadows

Two Coves Farm Barn in Shadows

on the back in Harpswell, Maine on September 22, 2023, 7" x 5" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence, and graphite on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$150

Two Coves Farm with Barn

Two Coves Farm with Barn

at Two Cove Farm in Harpswell, Maine on September 22, 2023, 10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence, and graphite on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed, ...at the News England Watercolor Society / Plein Air Painters of Maine Brushes with Nature painting event.
$300

A Plein Air Chicken Ran By

A Plein Air Chicken Ran By

at Two Cove Farm in Harpswell, Maine on September 22, 2023, 10" x 8" (w x h), Daniel Smith, Schmincke Horadam, and Winsor & Newton watercolors, selected for light fastness and permanence, and graphite on 140 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$300

Actually more than one ran by...

...at the News England Watercolor Society / Plein Air Painters of Maine Brushes with Nature painting event on Sept 22, 2023

Marginal Way Way Away

Marginal Way Way Away

Painted during the Perkins Cove Plein Air Event on Sept 9, 2023, 13.5" x 10.5" (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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$500

Photo by Sara Gray, who was painting below, on September 9, 2023 at the Perkins Cove Plein Air along Marginal Way, Ogunquit, Maine.

The painting on the right by Helene Mazur won two honors, the painter below is Sara Gray, who sold her painting, and the painter in the cap is me, Bruce McMillan, painting the watercolor above, Marginal Way Way Away. See this photo and many more from this event on the Ogunquit Barometer HERE.

Full of Perkins Cove

Full of Perkins Cove

Painted during the Perkins Cove Plein Air Event on July 9, 2023, 13.5" x 10.5" (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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$600

Over a hundred plein air painters descended on tiny Ogunquit, Maine for the Third Annual Perkins Cove Plein Air Event on Saturday September 9, 2023. See it in the TV News HERE. See a video of the event by Eric Taubert on YouTube HERE.

The Perkins Cove Plein Air painters and paintings lined up gallery at 4:00 pm goes far beyond into the distance. In the bottom left if you spot a tan baseball cap, blue-gingham-shirt, red-suspended artist sitting in a bench, you've found Bruce.

Perkins Cove Plein Air Artist Friends... Left to Right, Debbie Mueller, Bruce McMillan, and Sara Gray. Commonality: With a 30 year career as an Obstetrician, Debbie pursues a second career as an artist (web site HERE). After a 49-books career as an author-photo illustrator, Bruce pursues a second career as an artist, After more than twenty years career as a professional photographer, Sara pursues a second career as an artist (web site HERE). And we've all been intrigued by Edward Hopper's art, painting scenes where he painted in Maine.

Essay - Watercolor Art of Maine Coastal Coves

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Watercolor Art of Maine Coastal Coves Essay

Watercolors from 1912-1978 by noted artists Maurice Prendergast, John Marin, Lois Dodd, Edward Christiana, Frederick Childe Hassam, and Charles Herbert Woodbury

1
The Cove
Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924), American
Watercolor on paper, 14" x 10" (w x h), circa 1913-1915
Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME

From 1913 to 1915, Maurice Prendergast of Massachusetts painted in Maine, some of his paintings titled Summer Hotel, Maine (circa 1914-1915), Hay Harvesting, Maine, (circa 1913-1915), though it's now clear which Maine cove that The Cove (circa 1913-1915) depicts, it's a Maine cove. He spent the 1913 summer in Brooksville, Maine and in August 1915 to visit Walt Kuhn in Ogunquit and York, Maine.

At 14-years-old he went to work in a Boston dry goods store as a package wrapper. From the start he was influenced by the brightly colored, flat patterning effects that characterized his mature work. He was also inspired by the example of Boston Impressionist Childe Hassam. He studied in Paris and was one of the first Americans to espouse the work of Paul Cézanne. Important collectors like Albert Barnes and Ferdinand Howald became his patrons. A true independent, Prendergast fits into no particular category of modern American art. He had an elaborate highly personal style, with boldly contrasting, jewel-like colors, and flattened, pattern-like forms rhythmically arranged.

2
Sea and Rocks, Small Point, Maine
John Marin (1870-1953) American
Watercolor on paper, 16" x 20: (w x h), 1917
Grogan and Company, Boston 2019 auction sold $32,500 USD

Marin spent his first summer in Maine in 1914. He was 44 years old. The rocky coast here became one of his favorite subjects. He was among the first American artists to make abstract paintings. The largest collection of Marin's paintings, watercolors, drawings, etchings, and photographs are at the Colby College Museum of Art. In 1950, he was honored by the University of Maine and Yale University with honorary degrees of Doctor of Fine Arts. His 1952 painting The Circus No. 1 hangs in the Green Room of The White House, Washington, D.C.

3
Cove, Maine
Lois Dodd (1927- ), American
Watercolor and graphite on paper, 1964

This cove is in Midcoast Maine, near Lincolnville, possibly Cushing. Lois Dodd paints around her homes in New York city, New Jersey, and Lincolnville, Maine. She was born in 1927 in Montclair, NJ and studied at Cooper Union before starting a gallery and co-op space called Tanager Gallery which ran from 1952-1962. In 2012, she was the subject of a retrospective, Catching the Light, that traveled from the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City to the Portland Museum of Art in Maine. Her art is in many museums and she is the recipient of many awards, including the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters 1991 Purchase Prize.

4
Lobster Cove (Monhegan)
Edward Christiana (1912-1992), American
Watercolor on paper, 24" x 18" (w x h), 1978
$1,200 USD, Detour Gallery, Red Bank, NY

Edward Christiana graduated from Pratt Institute, then a fellowship recipient at the newly established School of Related Arts and Sciences, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute. He was invited to join the MWP School of Art faculty in 1943 and taught there until 1982. His primary subject matter was landscape in Utica, the Mohawk Valley, and notably in Maine, where he spent his summers, painting his emotional responses using expressive color and textures, and bold forms.

5
Broad Cove, Appledore (Isle of Shoals, Kittery, Maine)
Frederick Childe Hassam (1859-1935), American
Watercolor on paper, 20" x 14" (w x h), 1912
The Columbus Museum, Columbus, OH

In 1886, Childe Hassam made his first of many trips to Appledore Island off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. During his visit in 1912, he worked almost entirely in watercolor to capture the island's ledges and coves as well as the grand flower gardens of his friend and poet Cecilia Thaxter. His watercolors showed daring brushwork and color.

Broad Cove, then Babb's Cove, is an inlet of Appledore Island that was often used as a swimming hole. In this painting, it's low tide with the curved rock in the background. Working quickly in choppy strokes, Hassam drew the seaweed on the shore, the line of plants on top of the rocks and the clouds in the sky.

6
High Tide, Narrow Cove. Ogunquit, Maine
Charles Herbert Woodbury (1864-1940), American
Watercolor and graphite on paper, 22" x 15" (w x h), 1930

Charles Herbert Woodbury of Boston was an American marine painter, draftsman and printmaker. While studying engineering at MIT in 1882, he took drawing lessons from Ross Sterling Turner and the very same year exhibited a painting in the Boston Art Club's inaugural exhibition in the new clubhouse. Only fifteen years old at the time, Woodbury had the distinction of being one of the youngest exhibitors of the Boston Art Club and continued to contribute his watercolor and oil paintings there until 1915.

In 1928, Woodbury, along with Gertrude Fiske and a group of other local artists, founded the Ogunquit Art Association. He taught classes in Ogunquit during the summers, his bold painterly marine visions influenced his students. Woodbury was one of the most sought-after teachers of his generation, having begun teaching on a regular basis while a freshman at M.I.T. Ironically, he had little formal training himself other than a few months of classes at the Academy Julian in Paris. He was president of the Boston Watercolor Society.

I Like the Red One

I Like the Red One

based on Perkin's Cove Ogunquit, Maine dinghies, painted on August 29, 2023, 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$150

Summer Homes by the Cove

Summer Homes by the Cove

at Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine, plein air on July 22, 2023, 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$175

Shoreline Cove Anchorage

Shoreline Cove Anchorage

at Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine, plein air on July 22, 2023, 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$300

Two in Perkins Cove

Two in Perkins Cove

Ogunquit, Maine, plein air on July 22, 2023, 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$500

A Coveside Shoreline Rocks

A Coveside Shoreline Rocks

at Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine painted plein air on July 22, 2023, 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$150