Hello everyone! I am starting a blog that I am going to try my very best to consistently use. To kick it off, I wanted to tell you about my recent trip to Maine!
My husband Matt and I visited Maine to celebrate our second wedding anniversary, and we just got back a couple weeks ago. We were there for five days and had an amazing time. The weather was perfectly cool (a much needed break from 95 degree SC heat) and the rain held off while we were outside. We stayed in Portland and also drove up to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park where we stayed one night. We ate so much good food and stayed in some really cool Airbnbs!!
Maine was absolutely beautiful so of course I had to paint while I was there!! It took a little prep work to get all of my supplies airline travel ready--which I will dedicate another blog post to talking about. But it was so worth it! Taking the time to stop and paint was the perfect way to enjoy the landscape. While I was painting, Matt was enjoying napping in the grass or reading a book. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I was able to paint four paintings total, and I wanted to share them with you here first so I can tell you the story behind each one too! Without further ado, I'll go through them one by one with you:
Painting 1 - East Promenade Trail
When we got into Maine we flew into Portland and stayed the first couple of nights in the West End of the city. The city was so walk-able, and you could basically walk the whole coastline of the city. We explored the West End the first day and so the second day we went to explore the East End. This side was bustling with a large park, beach, beautiful coast views, and boats anchored in the water.
We started at the top of the East End and worked our way down towards the piers. We searched for a nice shady spot for me to set up and paint, and it was hard to choose because everything was so beautiful! I eventually found a scene that spoke to me--one that would capture the soft grass we sat on and feature some neat trees that framed distant bright white boats on the water. I got all of my supplies set up and got to work. There was a warm breeze in the air that felt amazing, and my painting developed quickly.
Here is a close up pic of the finished piece!
Click here to purchase this painting.
Painting 2 - Fort Williams Park
On day 3 in Maine we grabbed a rental car so we could head up to Acadia National Park. Before we left, we stopped by Fort Williams Park to see the iconic "Portland Head Light"lighthouse. It was a gorgeous park and the lighthouse was so picturesque against the ocean and rocky landscape.
I brought my backpack of painting supplies and thought I was going to paint the lighthouse. However, I spent a long time searching around for the perfect viewpoint to paint the lighthouse and just wasn't satisfied with any of the angles or locations. After an embarrassingly long amount of time being indecisive, I settled on a spot that featured the "Ram Island Ledge Light Station". This is a different lighthouse that was out in the water and that you could see from the park. I liked how in this spot I could capture a lot of different things that made for a very dynamic composition: the green grass, a cool tree, the ocean, the sky, and the lighthouse. The scene felt more dimensional to me. Okay anddd I liked that it was further away from the other tourists and that there was a bench I could sit on while I worked. :)
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Painting 3 - Long Pond
On day 4 we woke up at our gorgeous and cozy next Airbnb. It was a secluded cabin on Long Pond that had huge windows with a beautiful view of the trees and pond. In the backyard there was a dock that went out over the water where you could see a mountain reflecting into the pond. The owner also had a rescue bunny farm in the front yard!! I saw one big bunny hopping around in the fence.
It was drizzling just a bit that morning but I was determined to paint on the dock. I donned a big poncho and set up my supplies on the dock. Luckily water doesn't mix with oil paints! There was the perfect amount of chilliness in the air and it was so quiet and still except for the sound of the rain lightly dropping onto the water. There was fog coming off the surface of the water and obscured some of the mountain. It was so peaceful and wonderful.
Click here to purchase this painting.
Painting 4 - Acadia National Park
On that same day (day 4) after painting we went and got lunch. I had lobster mac and cheese (yum!!). We then ventured into Acadia National Park. We drove around the perimeter of the park on the "Park Loop", stopping at every overlook to check out the view. The park was stunning. We took our time driving around. I scouted out each overlook to see if any would be a good stop for painting.
After we finished driving the loop, we made a second pass through where I chose a spot on the cliff side rocks to paint. I set up my supplies and had hands down the most gorgeous view of the whole trip. Matt made himself comfortable reclining between a couple of rocks.
The view of the landscape did the hard work for me--creating a dynamic and interesting composition. All I had to do was copy it! This painting came together so fast and easy, and I'm so happy with how it turned out.
Click here to purchase this painting.
If you're still here, thanks for reading my first blog post! We had a wonderful trip and I'm glad I could share it with all of you. If you're going to Maine soon and need any recommendations, definitely hit me up!