Maine Winter

My last New Year's resolution fell short..I wanted to do 52 paintings! I had a lot of dramatic changes in my life this year, that I am surprised I am still painting! When I was a boy, my dad always told me, "Don't try to defy the sea! The sea is always stronger than you!" I grew up on the mediterranean, and I started going swimming there since I was 10. I always swam in the wild waves, and got crashed on the rocks now and then..Maine's sea shore is very similar to where I grew up..I wouldn't dare to swim in this weather though! The painting reveals a cold snowy day, but you still see color between the gray! This is where Winslow Homer used to paint, and I do feel that I have some of his influence in this painting!

Storm

I was driving back from Lake Erie in 2005..It was a major storm and my Wrangler was about to be blown away! This painting has a lot of powerful meanings to me..

Cows

This is from a photo I took from Westbrook road (I think)..The sun was trying to shine between the dark clouds..The cows seem cold..One of them was looking at me as I took the photo.. I had to eliminate some trees and cows for compositional reasons..

Down East Maine

Back to Landscape painting..The real painting is more wide..Taking photos is always tough..The colors are vibrant..I wanted to convey a sense of fresh late summer day..I remember it was always cold on those rocks even in the summer!!!

Behind Those Eyes 2

Another quick painting..I am starting to enjoy this..

Behind Those Eyes

I want to do a series called Behind Those Eyes..This is the first experiment..I did this very quickly, and without planning..Not sure if I like it!

Rugosa by the sea

This is from Portland Headlight..The rugosas are hardy roses..This one is surviving the salt and the icy winds..Amazing!

Quick sketch in color..

Van Gogh

Trying some acrylics for a change..

Bee Hives

I used to drive my wrangler on those dirt roads in Down East Maine...The bee hives are brought in every year to pollinate the blueberry barrens.. The colors on those barrens are strikingly rich and change year round, from dark marroon in the fall to greens and yellows in the spring, to pinks and reds in the summer!! Not sure if the sequence is right..!! This was a misty day after it had rained..

Trail's End 3

I have done this painting in two different interpretations if you go back to 2007 or 2008 0n my blog..This is a completely different composition..

Maine Landscape

I finished this tonight..I would say it took me a total of 2 hours..It is a simple but effective style..I chose not to work on the details on the front but rather keep them "out of focus", to draw the eye to the house and barn...The painting is out of my imagination, but after I finished, I thought I recognized the background..It is from the Kennebec road in Machiasport!!! The brain is an amazing thing!!! You could never tell the power of the unconscious mind!!

A Syrian

It is strange how artists go through dull period, but then bounce back as if they just painted yesterday..I bought this new easel so I could try bigger oil paintings at some point...However, I saw some photos online and I got inspired about painting people and traditions that I grew up with as a child..These traditions are fading away in the face of Globalization... Clothes are being substituted for Jeans and T-shirts, and food for McDonald!! I did this painting vertically on my new easel. Painting vertically is exciting but very difficult and challenging!!..I liked how the paint dribbles down...I tried to convey a picture in the most simple and free way...The trick is not to overwork it..I like it... Original Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fogline/5064819763/in/set-72157624102337504

New Sketch

I did this quick sketch on hot pressed paper, painting on a vertical easel: Extremely dangerous, not for the faint hearted..I had some drips that I tried to wipe, but alas..The hand behind the back looks awkward, but I felt that the sketch was crying for me to stop, so I did..It was fun, and a nice welcome back to the artist in me!!! This is the link for the original photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fogline/7586707292/in/photostream

Machias Farm Land

Okbari

I did this painting quickly today. It is of one of my friends who is a great Oud player. I tried to capture the light which was yellow with hints of red. I also had to capture his personality with the shoulder shrug. Not bad for not painting for a while, and for two boys running around and kicking the easle!!

Barn

This is from one of my travels across farmland in Southern Indiana..

Gaby and Jude

Lighthouse

I did this today..When I sketched this, it looked almost cartoonish..I didn't care about proprtions or perspective..I like the end result..

Hmmmm

Another painting on hot pressed paper..I am slowly adapting to the effects..Definitely no smooth transition between the brush strokes. Interesting!

Quick painting

This is a quickie on hot press paper..This paper is very dangerous!!!If you're a watercolorist, you'll know what I mean..

West Quoddy

I did this very quickly today..Not sure if I like it

Barrens

This another painting of the blueberry barrens between Cherryfield and Harrington..I really cannot describe those barrens in words...When you're upthere, you feel like you're in a desert of red..The earth meets the sky and there is nothing else around except occasionally a lonely tree..If you try to paint over there, you have to hide in your car as the wind would blow your easel away, as I had discovered before!!

I used to drive along this windy road along the ocean when I lived in Machiasport..Every morning the scene changes, but still amazes..It is so beautiful over there..Too bad you had to drive 2 hours to buy socks!!! Any way, I treated this with mostly muted colors but for some reason decided to do a bold blue shadow..I was going to leave the snow completely white, but I always give in to the urge of painting every bit of white space!!!I think it looks fine...

Mountain

I did this painting very quickly today, but still I had fun..I hate my camera..I cannot get good pictures...Whatever, may be I should go spend some money on a good one!!

Bucks Harbor House

I really love this house. This is the same house in the painting with the sheep from few months ago...I tried to do a more accurate description of the house, the rest is abstract...The camera is cheap so the colors are not accurate...But any way, I like this painting a lot...

The fire

I was browsing on facebook and found this photo..I am not sure what attracted me to the picture..Is it loneliness, sadness, or desperation...Not sure, but the fire is warm and bright red..Is it a time for reflection? I don't know..Sometimes you do a painting and you hate it, but for some reason you are still attracted to it...Do I make any sense?!!!

Along the Airline

I painted with my boys today. I did a painting of the blueberry fields along the Airline (Route 9). The house is probably 150 years old but still standing..I want to do another one of the house itself, like Andrew Wyeth says, "A house Portrait".. However, I just wanted to do a quick one today and post it.. The boys painted transformers!!

Chimneys

I was struck by those odd chimneys in the early morning..I did a very quick sketch..Looking back at that building in the front, those chimneys are all different in real life, which seems strange, but yet makes it unique.....Do you know where this building is?

Blueberry fields

The first time I came to Maine was in 2006..I drove from Bangor to Machias for an interview with the hospital. I couldn't understand why those fields were red..I had never seen anything like it before. Then they told me: Blueberry fields..Since then, I have been all over Down East Maine, and I fell in love with them..I always wanted to paint them, but honestly, they are very hard to paint..I used to go up to the barrens in Harrington and get lost in the desert of red. If you ever been there, you'd know what I mean..

This is from a photo of one of my facebook friends. I liked the islands in the distance..I started with a quiet and calm sky. The islands recede peacefully into the distance. However, as I started working on the foreground, I went wild..The grass, the hints of bushes, and the reds all express anxiety, impatience, anger, but most of all a sense of being alive and ready to burst into action.....

This is from a photo of a friend's Grandfather..Something about the man inspired me, not sure what it is. Again I did this very quickly and loosely..I tried to use muted colors to represent old age, but I felt some brightness and youth in his soul, so I threw in some bright greens..I hope you like it..Forgive me Wissam, the resemblence is only slight, but it was the spirit I was trying to convey...

East Machias House

I took the photo for this picture in 2008. I was on my way to Cutler for a hiking trip..I stopped to get some gas in East Machias..I was struck by this weathered house and the overgrown grass and bushes. It was a nice summer day, and I am trying to convey all of this in this painting. I did exagerate some of the proportions and distorted the perspective a bit..I did not spend more than 2 hours on this painting, as I wanted to finish it, and I also wanted to be free and impulsive.. I like it..

Rte 182?

My new year resolution is to do at least 52 paintings this year, regardless if they are good or bad. I am going to paint for fun and exercise. I will chose different subjects randomly and do them. This is from a picture I took this summer heading towards Paula's House on Black Woods road, or Rte 182..The drawing took me 2 minutes, the painting took less than an hour. I tried to convey a sense of summer with bright greens and dark shadows. I used mainly 4 or 5 colors..51 more paintings to go....