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....

The house of dreams

This quick painting is an interpretation of how I feel right now. No need for further explanation..

Busy

I have not been finishing my paintings recently! I start them and then stop, then they go into the portfolios waiting to be brought out again! On top of working as a physician with long hours, this summer I have been busy with my rose garden..That's a little bouquet I collected few months ago...Also, I have Gabe and Jude to run after..

Machias Cow

This is from a picture taken 3 years ago in Down East Maine. It was a sunny summer day. Some grass was green, and some has turned into hay. I printed the photo in black and white so I could achieve good tonal values. I tried to be impulsive and creative with my color application.

Lobster Fishermen

I discovered the town landing in Falmouth. I took some pictures of the boats and the lobstermen at work. I was attracted to the orange colors. I did several sketches and tried to arrange the 3 of them in an interesting composition. I used thick opaque colors, with an almost like oil paint consistency. It is a nice sketch. I hope I could get some time to do a good painting out of this.

Sheep2

This another quick interpretation of the sheep at Bucks Harbor..The real painting is more colorful.

Sheep

This is from where I used to live in Down East Maine. This is right on the ocean at Bucks Harbor. It was very sunny that day. I tried to portray that using dark shadows. I tried to be a little abstract and free as far as the sheep go. The blue in the grass is from the shadow of the tree to the left.

Sheep herder from Turkey

I haven't done any serious paintings over the past several months. However; I have done a few sketches and doodles..This is a watercolor sketch in preparation for a big painting..I did this loosely and quickly..I feel light and shadow values came out well. I enjoyed doing this.
Sorry, for not posting for so long!!

Eastport snow

This is another painting from one of my friend's photos (her blog is linked on the side). I am not sure why I paint those photos, may be I am nostalgic to that desolate part of the world.

1 month without painting

Wow! It has been a month since I painted! A lot is happening in my life right now. The artist inside me is frustrated but at the same time helpless! He wants to get out of his prison and dive into the world of color and dreams. Unfortunately, reality is harsh right now, and the artist has to stay locked in. I miss him and he misses his freedom. Oh well, I hope he understands it is only temporary. I hope he doesn't wither away and disappear!

Jude Alexander

This is my son Jude. The painting started with carefully studied washes along the background, using viridian green and rose madder. Then I put a base wash over the carpet made of warmer colors, cadmium red and aureolin. The face started with rigid strokes with a small brush. After an hour of painting, I started feeling lethargic and hungry. I felt I was working and not having fun, so I took a large brush and started throwing colors fast, splashing reds and blues. The hands disappeared all of a sudden, but I didn't care as the focus needed to be on the face. I think having a good composition and color scheme eventually dominated the angry anxious brush strokes. At some point I wanted to throw the painting away. I took a break, ate some breakfast, then when I came back, I was surprised that I actually did a good painting. It does look like him too!!

Eastport

This is from a photo one my artist friends took from Eastport. There were some buildings in the background that I have eliminated. I wanted to convey a sense of cold and isolation. Still I wanted to have some color. I think I did a good job with this one.

Another snow interpretation

This is the same house from last post, but I decided to create a whole new painting without limiting myself to the photo. Which one is better? Could you see the snow flakes?

More snow paintings

These are 2 quick paintings 14X11. Each probably took about 30min to an hour. I am not sure if I would call them paintings or studies.