It’s all Michael’s fault
It’s all fun and games, until someone doesn’t finish her painting.
Tag Archives: Castine plein air
13 paintings in 7 days
I sang scales—creaky, raspy, cat-howl vocal exercises I learned in my youth. They’re especially entertaining when driving through Camden with the windows down.
Uncle Sam goes wild
Get a grip, Customs and Immigration. Protect us from Nickleback and Celine Dion, not the mild-mannered watercolorists of this world.
No side deals
This is a peculiar life: unpredictable, peripatetic, and often exhausting. Still, it’s a beautiful one, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Same mountain, different viewpoint
A few years ago, painter Tarryl Gabel gave me a tour of her favorite painting spots in the High Peaks region of New York’s Adirondack mountains. Among the places we stopped was a hayfield in either Wilmington or Jay—I can’t remember exactly where. I went back and spent the afternoon with the wild turkeys, watching […]
My pochade box, two years later
Recently I received this email from a reader asking about the cheap, light and easy pochade box I made at the start of my 2014 painting season: I came across your posting describing the making of your lightweight pochade, and would like to make one. I’m not sure how long it’s been since you made yours, […]
I learn how Mainers cook scallops
The last day of a plein air festival always ends in a kerfuffle. “There’s always drama in framing,” said Ted Lameyer of Castine, who went on to tell me how he didn’t have the right mats and had to swap some from other framed paintings. For me, the drama was simpler: a cracked frame. But […]
Painting al fresco
Early yesterday morning I ran out and painted a cute little guest cottage hiding under the skirts of its mother house. Berna Kaiserian had told me about it, and it derailed my carefully-planned day. What a way to go! The owner of the guest cottage is retired New Jersey Superior Court Judge Philip M. Freedman. He […]
OK, so I lied
Remember when I said working artists aren’t party animals? OK, so I lied. Yesterday was the start of the best party of the year, the 2015 Castine Plein Air Festival. The festival opens with an open-air reception on the wraparound porch of the beautiful, historic Castine Inn. Built in 1898, the Inn is a block from […]
The slacker lifestyle of the modern artist
Yesterday I was kicking around the studio in a listless funk. Too many miles, too many long days, too many houseguests. I set out to pay my bills—urgent—and pack a few things for Castine Plein Air, but neither compelled me. At 12:30 I got a call from Bobbi Heath, who was driving from Yarmouth to […]
