November Day

November Day

on Martha's Vineyard painted plein air on Nov 4, 2023, 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.
$150

Marconi Hill Sea See

Marconi Hill Sea See

at the Marconi Wireless Station Site of the first transatlantic wireless message broadcast in 1903 from South Wellfleet, Massachusetts painted plein air on Nov 5, 2023, 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.
$150

Marconi Hill Cape Cod

Marconi Hill Cape Cod

at the Marconi Wireless Station Site of the first transatlantic wireless message broadcast in 1903 from South Wellfleet, Massachusetts painted plein air on Nov 5, 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

Plein air setup at Marconi Hill, Cape Cod...

Sandy Marconi Hill

Sandy Marconi Hill

at the Marconi Wireless Station Site on Cape Cod of the first transatlantic wireless message broadcast in 1903 from South Wellfleet, Massachusetts, painted plein air on Nov 5, 2023, 14" x 11" (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.
$500

Plein air work in progress on Marconi Hill, Cape Cod...

Moss on the Roof

Moss on the Roof 

of the Old Sculpin Gallery, home of the Martha's Vineyard Art Association painted plein air on Nov 3, 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

Edgartown's Old Sculpin Gallery Centered

Edgartown's
Old Sculpin Gallery Centered

Home of the Martha's Vineyard Art Association in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, painted plein air on November 2, 2023, 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.
$150

My plein air setup atop the upper deck of the Edgartown Pier next
to the Chappy Chappaquiddick Ferries, looking back towards Edgartown.

The November afternoon view of the Edgartown Pier, with the
upper deck where I painted plein air.

Behind my plein air setup the Chappaquiddick ferries run their short runs.

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Painting Plein Air
by Bruce McMillan

Wearing my painter hat,
as the sun dropped

I was wrapped up

in the fine art
of being, painting, here.

© 2023 Bruce McMillan
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Aquinnah Cliffs Study 4

Aquinnah Cliffs Study 4

on the west end of the island Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts painted plein air Nov 2, 2023, 14" 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.
$500

Aquinnah Cliffs Study 6

Aquinnah Cliffs Study 6

on the west end of the island Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts painted plein air Nov 2, 2023, 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.
$150

Aquinnah Cliffs Study 1

Aquinnah Cliffs Study 1

on the west end of the island Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts painted plein air Nov 2, 2023, 14" x 11" (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.
$750

Gay Head / Aquinnah Artists Paintings Essay

Gay Head / Aquinnah
on Martha's Vineyard Island
as Seen by Artists from 1894 to 2020
Presented Chronologically...

From 1870 to 1997 it was named Gay Head, a descriptive name referring to the brilliant colors of the clay cliffs, when the town was incorporated in 1870. In 1965 the Gay Head Cliffs were designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. In 1997, by popular vote of 79 to 21, the town changed its name to Aquinnah, Wampanoag for "land under the hill." The Aquinnah area is native to the Wampanoag people, who make up about one-third of the town's 400-450 population and is one of two federally recognized tribes of Wampanoag people in Massachusetts. The native people gained federal recognition as the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head in 1987 and controls sovereign tribal lands within the town boundaries. At the foot of the cliffs is Moshup's Beach, named after an Aquinnah Wampanoag.

1
Gay Head
Nelson Augustus Moore (1824-1902), American
Oil, 1894
Nelson Augustus Moore was born in Kensington, Connecticut, in 1824 and studied portrait painting in New York City 1847 and 1850. He returned to Connecticut in the fall of 1850 and taught drawing at the New Britain Normal School for several years. During this period Moore also learned photography and in 1854 he opened his own successful daguerreotype business in Hartford. He painted landscapes of Connecticut, especially Hartford and his native Kensington, throughout his life.

Despite the interesting and sometimes famous sitters that graced his daguerreotype studio for the next decade, Moore longed to resume his painting full-time, and finally did so around 1864, leaving the shop to his brother and partner Roswell. His daughter Ellen and his son Edwin Augustus Moore also became painters. His great great grandson, Andrew Moore, is a painter today on Martha's Vineyard.

2
Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard
Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922), American
Oil on canvas , 25" x 20" (w x h), 1913
Arthur Wesley Dow was an American painter, printmaker, photographer and arts educator. He first studied art with various artists in his home state of Massachusetts. In 1884 he went to Paris to studying at the Académie Julian. In 1893, Dow was appointed assistant curator of the Japanese collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston where the woodblock prints of Japan which greatly influenced his later works. In 1895 he designed the poster to advertise the Journal of Modern Art.

Dow taught art at a few major American arts training institutions, beginning with the Pratt Institute from 1896 to 1903. He taught at the New York Art Students League, from 1898 to 1903. In 1900, Dow founded and served as the director of the Ipswich Summer School of Art in Ipswich, Massachusetts. From 1904 to 1922, he was a professor of fine arts at Columbia University Teachers College. His ideas were quite revolutionary for the period. Dow taught that rather than copying nature, individuals should create art through elements of the composition, such as line, mass, and color. Among his students was Georgia O'Keeffe and Charles Burchfield. His ideas on art were published in his 1899 book Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers.

3
Aquinnah Cliffs, Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard
Jonas Lie 1880-1940, American
Oil on canvas, 45" x 30" (w x h), circa 1934
Jonas Lie was a Norwegian-born American painter and teacher. From 1897-1906, he studied at the Art Students League of New York. He became known for colorful impressionistic scenes of harbors and coves, painted during the many summers he spent on the coasts of New England and Canada, depicting brilliantly colored images of the rocky coves and harbors that identify the region's dramatic shoreline.
He documented construction of the Panama Canal with thirty canvases, and represented the United States in the 1928 Summer Olympics art competition.

Between 1901 and the memorial exhibition in 1940 his work was shown all over America. In 1932, King Haakon conferred on Lie Norway's highest civilian honor, making him a Knight of the Order of St. Olav. Jonas Lie was a member of art organizations including the Salmagundi Club and was active in the National Academy of Design.

4
Untitled (Martha's Vineyard- Aquinnah Cliffs)
Francis Chapin (1899-1965), American
Oil on canvas, 14" x 16" (w x h), circa 1950
Francis W. Chapin (1899-1965) was an American artist. His works included both watercolors and oil paintings of both landscapes and portraits. He went to the Art Institute of Chicago and later was an instructor there from 1929 to 1947. Chapin was approached by Grant Wood and accepted a faculty position at the Stone City Art Colony, where he taught lithography for two summers. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. From 1951 to 1953, he served as visiting artist at the University of Georgia.

Among Chapin's notable showings were at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. His works are in permanent collections at the Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum (NYC), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Syracuse University, and other museums.

One newspaper article described him as "a colorful figure, nearly 6 feet 6 inches tall, and thin, and usually wearing tweeds." Chapin's papers are held in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

5
Gay Head
Elizabeth Lockhart Taft, American
Oil on wood panel, 40" x 31" (w x h), 2013, $13,000
Elizabeth Lockhart Taft lives on Martha's Vineyard. She has a BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD and an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
Her website is HERE.

6
The Vineyard Awaiting Gretchen
Karen Loftus, American
Oil on canvas, 2014
Karen Loftus lives and paints in Hudson, MA. Her Etsy website is HERE.

7
Martha's Vineyard, Gay Head
Dennis Boyce, American
Acrylic on wood, 26" x 20" (w x h), 2015
Dennis Boyce studied art at Pratt Institute and The Art Students League, New York. His website is HERE.

8
Gay Head 2020 One
Tracy Burtz, American
Oil on Linen, 22" x 19" (w x h), 2020
Tracy Burtz's website is HERE.

9
Aquinnah Beach Sunny Cliff
Marjorie Mason, American
Oil, 2021
Marjorie Mason, born in New York City, grew up in Florida and Massachusetts. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a B.F.A. in 1981. She lives year round on Martha's Vineyard. Her website is HERE.

10
Aquinnah Cliffs
Joyce Zavorskas, American
Oil on linen on birch, 12" x 9" (w x h) 2023
Joyce Zavorskas is a Cape Cod painter, a graduate of Syracuse University and MassArt. She's exhibited in Boston, California, Cape Cod, London, New York, Paris, and Philadelphia. Her web site is HERE.

Aquinnah Cliffs Study 3

Aquinnah Cliffs Study 3

on the west end of the island Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts painted plein air Nov 2, 2023, 12" x 9" (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.
$400

Autumn Color Tide Flats Study 3

Autumn Color
Tide Flats Study 3

at Littlejohn Island, Yarmouth, Maine along Casco Bay on Oct 15, 2023, painted Oct 19, 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

Autumn Color Tide Flats Study 1

Autumn Color
Tide Flats Study 1

at Littlejohn Island, Yarmouth, Maine along Casco Bay on Oct 15, 2023, painted Oct 19, 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

Thom Thomson Autumn Gallery

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Thom Thomson Autumn Gallery

Thom Thomson (1877-1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 1900s. During his short career, he produced about 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His works consist almost entirely of landscapes, depicting trees, skies, lakes, and rivers. He used broad brush strokes and a liberal application of paint to capture the beauty and color of the Ontario landscape. Thomson's accidental death by drowning at 39 shortly before the founding of the Group of Seven is seen as a tragedy for Canadian art.

1
Twisted Maple
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on wood, 8" x 11" (w x h), 1914
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada

2
In the Northland
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on canvas, 45" x40" (w x h), 1915-16
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

3
Autumn Foliage
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on panel, 11" x 9" (w x h), 1915
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

4
Autumn Foliage
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on wood, 9" x 11" (w x h), 1916
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

5
Autumn Woods
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on plywood, 11" x 9" (w x h), 1915
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada

6
Autumn, Algonquin Park
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on wood, 11" x 9" (w x h), 1916
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

7
Autumn's Garland
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on canvas, 52" x 48" (w x h), 1915-16
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

8
Autumn Foliage
Thom Thompson (1877-1917), Canadian
Oil on panel, 9" x 8" (w x h), 1916
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Fall Up Tide Out

Fall Up Tide Out

at Littlejohn Island, Yarmouth, Maine along Casco Bay on Oct 15, 2023, painted Oct 18, 2023, 14" 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.
$500

Sunset Clouds Float Sun Still in Space

Sunset Clouds Float
Sun Still in Space

on the way home from the grocery store along the Back Road, Shapleigh, ME on Oct 24, 2023, painted Oct 25, 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 300 lbs. Arches cold press 100% cotton watercolor paper, framed.
$300

Seaside Low Tide Aside

Seaside Low Tide Aside

at Timber Point in the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge, Biddeford, Maine painted plein air on Aug 8, 2023, 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.
$150

Plein air work in progress at Timber Point, Biddeford, Maine on August 8, 2023

My plein air setup with a hard-as-a-rock chair.

When painting plein air, I often work on more than one painting, needing some drying time for each work to dry since I layer on color, wet on dry. Other times there's a chance to inspire a new generation of plein air painters.

When a family stops by to chat while I'm painting, it's a fine time to stop and wait for my art to dry for layering. Plus, it's an opportunity for young artists to paint. I always have 5" x 7" watercolor blocks handy. Will and Emma with their parents stopped by chat and see my paintings in progress. Of course I offered Will and Emma the opportunity to paint too, using my brushes and bright color paints to create their own art. I offered them some sparse advice while the painted. I always remember my art classes when in was in the 5th grade with Frank Hamabe at the Bangor Daily News.

Spruced Up by the Sea to See

Spruced Up by the Sea to See

at the historical Ewing House in the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge at Timber Point, Kennebunkport, Maine, painted plein air on August 5, 2023, 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 lbs. Fabriano Artistico cold press rough 100% cotton extra white watercolor paper, framed.
$300

A Fair Weather Day

A Fair Weather Day

at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge at Timber Point, looking across the bay towards Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport, Maine, painted plein air on August 5, 2023, 5" x 7" (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.
$150

The Seaside Rocks...

The Seaside Rocks
at Kennebunkport's
Timber Point

as seen from the historical Ewing House in the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge at Timber Point, Kennebunkport, Maine, painted plein air on August 5, 2023, 9" x 6.5" (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.
$225

Team Builders

Team Builders

Steve and Lisa Ducharme, husband and wife, replaced my door with this window, cedar shingled this area and more, and replaced my deck and rail, while I painted them as a bonus thank you on Oct 12, 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.
NFS, gifted to my team builders, true building professionals

Sun Sets Opposite the See Study 2

Sun Sets Opposite the See Study 2

at the stone beach past Walker's Point on Ocean Drive in Kennebunkport, Maine painted plein air on Aug 20, 2023, 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
$150

Plein air setup at the rock beach past the Walker's Point, Kennebunkport, Maine, on August 20, 2023.

Kennebunkport Rocks Twilight

Kennebunkport Rocks Twilight

at the stone beach past Walker's Point on Ocean Drive in Kennebunkport, Maine painted plein air on Aug 20, 2023, 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.
$150

Plein air setup at the rock beach past the Walker's Point, Kennebunkport, Maine, on August 20, 2023.

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A Sense of History and Place

In 1991 I photographed two pages of my children's book, Beach Ball - Left, Right (Holiday House 1992), at this location in Kennebunkport, Maine.

The late Chris Stavros (1922-2018), American, often painted plein air near Walker's Point in Kennebunkport, Maine. He was always chatting with people passing by more than painting. He was in his eighties, and a perfect subject to include in my book, the flying journey of a beach ball in effect teaching left and right to young readers.

Chris Stavros painted using both oil or watercolor. He wrote on the back of one of his oils: "a stones throw from President George Bush's home at Kennebunkport, Maine." You can see the edge of the Presidential compound on the right in the distance.