Driving to Damariscotta

Thin sheet ice at the harbor in Baltimore, MD. (Photo courtesy of Emerson Champion.)

Thin sheet ice at the harbor in Baltimore, MD, where it has actually snowed this year. (Photo courtesy of Emerson Champion.)

There are three winter formations that I love and was hoping to paint this year. The frozen seeps on rocky escarpments are groundwater’s motion suspended and exaggerated. The cracked sheets of thick ice in tidal marshes are the tide’s motion caught in time. And the thin sheets of ice that form on the edges of open water track the daily movement of the sun.

Except that we haven’t had any of the above. Not that I’m complaining, but winter has been noticeably absent so far this year. Yesterday I saw a man at the dump in a wife-beater and sweatpants.

Seep ice just starting to form near Camden, ME this season. It didn't get very far.

Seep ice just starting to form near Camden, ME this season. It didn’t get very far.

It figures that it’s snowing this morning. My plans for driving to Damariscotta might be undone by a winter storm. Even though I—born in Buffalo, NY—can drive in anything, I can’t guarantee that the people I’m supposed to meet will feel the same way.

As part of the inventory process I wrote about yesterday, I’m collecting paintings at two galleries. I’m also meeting with author Van Reid and then having a late lunch with painter Bobbi Heath. It can all be rescheduled, but will it ever fit together so neatly?

Flow ice near Brooksville, ME, a few seasons ago.

Flow ice near Brooksville, ME, a few seasons ago.

On the subject of inventory, I heard several ideas from readers. Bobbi Heath uses the architecture of her computer to track the whereabouts of her paintings. “I put a space before the name of the ‘Current Shows’ folder so that it shows up at the top of my folders in the relevant year. Then I move them to the ‘Past Shows’ folder as they finish.” I like this system because all the relevant documents are right there with the images.

Using the computer's own structure to make an inventory list.

Using the computer’s own structure to make an inventory list.

Barbara Carr uses a system similar to mine, but in the form of a Word table. “I, too, put a thumbnail in the first column. The almost-last column has notes about where paintings and prints have gone. Each painting has an assigned number, part of which is the year it was painted. That makes it easier to find.”

How you track inventory isn’t as important as that you set up some kind of system and maintain it regularly, including entering new paintings as they are framed.

Carol Douglas

About Carol Douglas

Carol L. Douglas is a painter who lives, works and teaches in Rockport, ME. Her annual workshop will again be held on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park, from August 6-11, 2017. Visit www.watch-me-paint.com/ for more information.