The Maine Coast

I live in the Catskill Mountains, which are home to rivers and waterfalls, expansive mountains and farm fields, quaint houses, and foliage galore. Every year, I am thrilled to visit the shores of Maine and experience the sparse landscape, epic rocks, and intense surf. The movement between these two spaces creates a yin/yang effect, adding balance within my being and my painting practice.

This year, I traveled to Acadia to experience those elemental forces that poetically speak to my soul. What lies within finds its image in the visual dynamic between rock and sea. It is an eternal struggle between earth and water, each attempting to shape the other into new forms. It is also the most challenging to capture. Although the waves have an identifiable shape and repeated movement, it is constantly in flux. Each wave is similar yet totally different, elusive, subtle, and temporary. Every day, the surf is experienced anew. The wind is coming from a new direction, and the tide is off by another hour, while the direction of the sun remains the same. One needs to be constantly alert and attentive, attempting to combine all the variations within the scene into a single image without presenting a false note.

The rocks, on the other hand, are stability and certainty—substantial forms that hold their place amidst the constant bombardment of the sea. In many ways, they reflect the human element that stands and faces the external forces of nature or, poetically, of our whole experience of living as humans in the world. I identify with these jagged rocks attempting to hold their place amidst the elements of change.

This year, the weather was foggy, misty, and overcast most of the days. The atmosphere was full of vapor- beautiful and elusive- to see and not to see- forms emerging out of the fog, coming into focus, and then retreating again into the mist. Mysterious and poetic – a perfect meditation for a painter. I constantly reflected on ‘le envelope’- the French painter’s term for that all-encompassing atmosphere in which forms are immersed.

I experimented with this idea of ‘le envelope.’ I created a set of complementary lighteners that I used to tie the painting together. Lighteners are light tones that are nearly white or slightly darker and are used to replace raw white on the palette. One adds this lightener to a mix to raise the value rather than using raw white. I began experimenting with these complementary lighteners this summer and used a YG-VR set in my Catskill landscapes. On the coast of Maine, I had many more choices because of the neutrality of the rocky coast. I determined the color of the atmosphere and my light source and then made my selection as to which complementary pair I should use. Combinations I chose: B-O; GB-RO; BV-OY. I also used some more subtle combinations of B hue (V+G)- O Bi (VR+OY), the combination of which gave a beautiful grey.

The key to using the lighteners successfully is to mix a cool tone with the warmer lightener and a warm tone with the cool lightener. This way, you unify the color in the composition by adding a touch of neutrality to the mixes- the complements appearing in the opposing mixture. It is similar to the analogy: A:B as B:C. The color B ties A and C together.

Secondly, I discovered that the white foam of the waves could be accented with the warmer complementary lightener. For example, when I used the GB—RO set, I found that the RO+white was the perfect warm to accent certain parts of the waveforms or the reflected lights on the sea. Just looking at the scene, it would be hard to identify which warm light to use. However, setting the complements GB-RO prior to painting the scene allowed me to understand how to create a heightened feeling of color interaction through the lighteners that I had already established. And it worked- It was a total surprise that I didn’t expect.

Here is a selection of my paintings from my journey to Maine. All paintings are for sale and can be purchased framed or unframed. The 12″ x 16″ and the 9″ x 12″ paintings are on board. The 16″ x 22″ paintings are on linen canvas. Prices range from $300-$2100 plus shipping. All work was produced via plein air on site—this includes the bugs! For all inquiries, please use the contact form or comments, and I will get back to you promptly.