Cove Reflections

I travel up and down the coast of Maine looking for undiscovered "treasures" to paint. Undiscovered by me that is! There are so many fingers of land that reach down into the ocean that I don't know if I will ever see all of the coastline of Maine.  

Cove Reflections, oil, 8x16 Buy Here.

I painted this summer with a great group of painters visiting from the southeastern coast of the US. It was on this outing that I painted in Tremont, Maine.

 A small cove was cordoned off with underwater nets to create a lobster pen for holding all the lobsters this fisherman caught. It was a fabulous spot. 

Ready to Go

Cape Porpoise, Maine, is a busy year-round working harbor. That's the nice thing about it. I can head over there any month of the year and find boats and fishermen coming and going. It feels like real Maine. 

Ready to Go, oil, 9x12 Buy Here.

 I painted this scene off-season when the air was chilly and the colors vivid. My favorite time.

Trinity

I had an artist's residency in Ogunquit this summer at the Beachmere Inn on the Marginal Way. It was wonderful. On most sunny or partly sunny days I was over on the beach or the Marginal Way painting. It was great !

Trinity, oil 8x16  Buy here.

I went almost every day to paint on the beach in April. It was often warm and uncrowded. A few walkers and lots of surfers dotted the beach. There is big surf in the spring so boards and wetsuits dotted the waves.

This painting is available at a special price until Monday, December 2nd at my  Online Open Studio.

Early Dusk

In the next few weeks I will share paintings and adventures that I wasn't able to blog about as I was busy out in the field painting - far away from a computer! 

I did take videos of most of these painting trips which I will post. 

Early Dusk, oil, 8x16 Buy Here.
Early Dusk was painted in York Harbor, Maine, on the banks of the York River where it meets the harbor. I set up to paint the sunset light as the glow lit the sky. I wasn't disappointed! Painting available until Monday, Dec 2 at a special price in my
 "Online Open Studio". 

A Day for Reflection

After a day of snow and rain we woke up this Thanksgiving morning to a bright, shiny and very quiet day. No cars on the road. How nice! It reminded me of November days when I was a child. The only sound I heard this morning was crows "cawing" out in the fields.

My favorite place in the world is outside in nature. And my favorite activity is painting. So I couldn't be any happier than when I'm combining my favorite place with my favorite activity! Here are a few of my painting adventures from last winter.  

Winter River, February Afternoon, Oil, 16x20,  Buy Here

I painted "Winter River" on a warm February "thaw" day from the bridge on Card Mill Road, in North Berwick, Maine, looking down at the freshly melted river with its little ice islands. It was very warm compared to the two weeks of sub-zero weather in January when this river was a solid piece of ice. 

And Through the Woods, oil, 4.7 x15. Buy Here.

This view of the snow covered, rolling hills in South Berwick with the afternoon sun lighting them up was a fresh air delight. I was toasty warm standing in the sunlight while painting "…And Through the Woods".  

Shadows and Snow, oil, 9x12. Buy Here. 

I loved painting this stream emerging from the woods in the mountains of New Hampshire. I was in North Conway, NH for the day when I noticed this steadily flowing brook near a ski area. It was a perfect spot, the snow wasn't over the tops of my boots and the sun created nice afternoon pattern of light and shadows!     

A Big Thank You !

 Thank you all for supporting me! I am grateful to know you and have such lovely individuals as collectors and friends. I have noticed that you are thoughtful, intelligent and warm hearted. 

"Soaring" oil 10 x 20 Purchase Here.

To show my gratitude I am making a special offer to you. 

I am presenting here a select group of paintings at a nice deep discount (50% off) until midnight on Monday December 2nd. These paintings are unframed. 

If there is a painting you have been interested in, now is the time to bring it home! 

"Fresh Breeze" oil 8x10 Purchase here

You can purchase paintings online HERE. 

 I will ship the paintings to you.

"Little Island" oil 4.75 x 15 Purchase here 

Some collectors had regrets this past year because when they finally decided to buy a painting it was already sold. 

If you see one here that speaks to you, please do not hesitate. 

I've had a wonderful year! This is my way to say thanks to all of you. 

Thank you! 

Froth & Foam & Lots of Rocks

I recently started posting videos of my painting adventures here on my blog. 

The videos are not showing up in peoples emails, then not showing up on smart phones, then finally showing up on peoples computers... 

I'm trying to get the glitches worked out. From now on I will put a link to the video so at least you can sneak a peek at these great places where I paint! 

Marginal Way Video 

This was a gorgeous day. The sea was a vivid blue and the the waves were crisp, foamy and bright white. 

Where The Surfers Go ~ Ogunquit Maine

There are all these little pockets of sandy beaches in an area of the Marginal Way in Ogunquit. They are created by the ocean moving sand from the big dune beach across the Ogunquit River down to the Marginal Way. The sand drifts and piles in spots among the rocks making it look like parts of the California coast.  Big ridges of rock  separate the little beaches so it feels cozy and private. All the surfers come to this area. They launch from this beach and swim over toward the big beach where they line up to catch the incoming waves.

This is one of my favorite painting spots on the marginal Way especially when there are big waves.  

Out in the Country ~ Cambridge, Vermont

Wandering in the hills and valleys of northwesternVermont is my idea of a plein air vacation. The land and light are so different from what I see here on the coast. The mountains have this dusky blue hue that reminds me of where I grew up. The clouds are bigger and fluffier inland. And of course the mountains are fabulous. This particular evening we painted in a lovely valley west of Mount Mansfield in Jeffersonville, VT. 

 
Marcus, Andrew and I were painting when Alan stopped by to invite us to paint at his house the next day
.

Mount Agamenticus,From the Mountains to the Sea ~ York, Maine

A wind blew from the west all day . Hawks circled in the sky the whole afternoon, they disappeared as the sun set. The crickets sang and the sun was warm. The rock ledges poked through the bushes and grass. This whole mountain is granite. Its a wild and gorgeous place.

I'm thinking about a title for this one.

Walk on the Beach

I'm posting all my videos on to my blog with a little story about each plein air adventure. So here goes! 

I  spent a day painting in Ogunquit, Maine with some painters from Plein Air Painters of Maine. It was sunny and warm on the back side of the dune along the Ogunquit River. I painted the view looking south toward the village then packed up and headed over to the beach side of the dune. It was like day and night! Heavy thick fog was rolling in from the ocean. A chilly wind was picking up. A path of seaweed stretched off into the distance at the high tide mark. It was gorgeous! I set up right out on the beach as the tide rose. The waves rolled in toward me and I painted as fast as I could. The sun was setting, the fog blowing in off the ocean was blocking out all the lingering light.   

The painting title is "A Walk on the Beach".

Thinking about what I paint and why I paint it.

A few thoughts I really have about what and how I paint.

 But I never actually said these words out loud. Till I was telling the visitors at my reception what I was painting and why I was painting outside.

Artist talk at Beth Ellis Cove Gallery

Shifting Gears

Its been a busy summer. I stayed close to home and painted in my neighborhood.

It was a good decision for my work. I love Maine and I love the area I live in. There is such a variety of subject matter here or a short drive away.

I spent more time painting than driving to get to where I wanted to paint. My husband suggested that I do this and he was right. I'm loving it.

I paint every day in a beautiful place and go home to sleep in my own bed every night! 

Now the seacoast is quieter after a busy summer. The fall visitors are here and I'm shifting gears and preparing for my fall shows.

Painting Demo & Talk, Beth Ellis Cove Gallery, Ogunquit, ME - An invitation

On Saturday October 12th at 5pm I will be giving a painting demonstration at Beth Ellis Cove Gallery, 100 B Perkins Cove Road, Ogunquit, Maine.  I will share stories of my plein air adventures and make a painting using a plein air sketch as my blueprint. 

This is the big autumn event at the gallery in Perkins Cove as we begin our fall season. You are all invited!

Here is a list of parking locations in and near to the Cove. 

Parking locations are:

The town lot at the end of the Cove near Breaking New Grounds

The town lot near the beginning of Marginal Way.

The Oarweed Lot- just before the Oarweed Restaurant

The Cove Lot- on Shore Road before you enter Perkins Cove 
There are also spots in the Cove that become available after the fishermen come in for the day. Check the signs.

  If you would like to receive my latest updates, news and invitations please subscribe in the box below.

Subscribe to my invitation list!

Tea & Plein Air in the Garden, Ogunquit, Maine - OopsI Address correction!

   I have special events coming up very soon! 

I have two painting demonstrations this coming weekend in Ogunquit, Maine. 

On September 28th and 29th I am the artist-in-residence at the 
Hartwell House, 
312 Shore Road in Perkins Cove, 
Ogunquit, Maine. 
I'll be painting in the Hartwell House garden on Saturday, September 28th at 4 PM. Tea will be served.

On Sunday, September 29th at 2pm I'll be painting on Israel's Head near the little light house on the Marginal Way.

You are invited to watch how I make a plein air sketch and ask questions about the process. 

In times past in Ogunquit, it was not uncommon to see artists painting in Perkins Cove and on the Marginal Way. I can't wait!

The Hartwell House has parking available for guests for the Saturday demo. Please stop at the front office and they will direct you. For the Sunday demo there is free parking up along the side of Stearns Road.  

If you would like to receive invitations to all my special events please sign up in the box below.

Subscribe to my invitation list!

How tweeting attracted two artist residencies, a commission and a new gallery

I am an artist.  I don’t enjoy social media. 

This past spring the digital media realm surprised me by introducing me to real 3D people and professional opportunities.  It changed my opinion about social media. I discovered not all social media is equal. Twitter turned out to be the social media that worked for me. 

My husband suggested that I post my photos and videos on twitter. He had read that twitter was the best social media for making real business connections. I figured out how to create a basic post, and upload my videos and jpegs of paintings.  Within a few minutes of uploading people were making remarks or retweeting my post. It was amazing! 

I wanted to meet people who live in my neighborhood. I mentioned my plein air painting locations in every tweet. I posted a 30 second video of me on location which included my finished painting. Within a few days a local twitter “newsfeed” started to retweet all my posts. People following the “newsfeed” retweeted my posts about my plein air outings. I received messages saying how much they liked my paintings.  One tweet came from an ocean-front inn. After painting one day I stopped by to see who was tweeting from the inn. It was the owner, who invited me to be the artist in residence at her inn for the summer. I received free parking and a beautiful open lawn overlooking the ocean, with easy access to the seaside nature trail. My first artist residency of the year arrived through twitter!

Several weeks later while painting at the inn a young couple appeared and the man said; “Mary?” He was the publisher of the “digital newspaper” who first retweeted my posts. He recognized me from my videos on twitter. I told him I was the artist in residence at the inn because of his news feed.

I continued to paint at the inn and on the ocean all summer. Visitors watched me paint every day. After an evening of painting I would go to a local harbor for dinner. One evening my husband suggested I stop in a gallery and say hello. I walked in the door and the woman behind the desk asked “Are you the artist everyone is talking about? Were you painting out on the rocks tonight?” It appears I was noticed as I was painting so frequently in the area. 

Several weeks later I met the gallery director. I sent her one of my daily plein air videos. Two days later the gallery owner called and asked to visit my studio. They left with a van full of paintings and a few weeks later I gave a talk and had a successful opening. 

What else happened because of tweeting? A couple who met me while I was sketching on the nature trail immediately commissioned me to paint a wedding ceremony. My twitter publisher friend arranged a new artist residency later this month with 2 days of plein air demos at an inn in a nearby village. I am doing a second artist talk and a painting demo at my new gallery next month. I have new collectors who have invited me to paint at their historic ocean front home. There is another invitation to paint at a resort on the ocean in a neighboring town. Every time I go out to paint I make sure to post my paintings and daily 30 second plein air video on twitter. And those tweets keep getting retweeted. Its getting better all the time.

I'd Love to See You...

It has been a wild and busy summer! 

I painted in my neighborhood this season instead of traveling far and wide and it has been wonderful! 

I have an artist residency at the Beachmere Inn on the Marginal Way in Ogunquit which is fabulous ! 

And on Saturday evening, September 14th, Beth Ellis Cove Gallery in Perkins Cove, Ogunquit is hosting an opening for me!

You are invited to view my latest paintings this Saturday Sept 14th  5-7pm at Beth Ellis Cove Gallery in Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, ME.

 I'll talk about my plein air painting adventures and music will be provided my dear husband Marcus. 

Please come on by and say hello! 

Castine Plein Air ~ On Maine Summer Day

Castine, Maine is a gorgeous place- an old historic town on the tip of a midcoast Maine peninsula. This past weekend the 2013 Castine Plein Air Festival was held there. 

On Friday painters from all around the US arrived to participate. Saturday morning we woke up to perfect painting weather ! We painted non stop for a whole day. This isn't unusual for me, I often paint for a whole day. The difference on this day was I dropped my framed, finished paintings off to be in a big gala sale!  

I painted 3 paintings in two locations in Castine.  

Sketches of Castine Harbor and Wadsworth Cove.

My first painting on location was on Castine Harbor facing south looking across the bay to Camden.

Castine Harbor, Storm Clearing, oil 8x16

My second painting was on Wadsworth Cove looking west toward Belfast. Maine.

Perfect Summer Day, oil 9x12

My third painting was on the beach at Wadsworth Cove looking northwest at the salt water farm across the cove. 

Wadsworth Cove, Summer Afternoon, oil 8x16

While painting during the day visitors often came to look and ask questions. 

 Here I am painting my second painting while a visiting artist watches my brush strokes closely. 

By the end of the evening I sold all my paintings!  Here is one of my new collectors, Don Tenny, president of the Castine Art Association, the host of the event! What a delight! 

I won First Place for my first painting of the day Castine Harbor, Storm Clearing. What a surprise! 

Castine is one of my new favorite Maine places to paint!

Early Summer Paintings

Summer is here! 

"Heading In" oil on panel 17x48" $3,000

Purchase here.

"Working Harbor" oil on panel 9x12" $600

Purchase here.

"Ready and Waiting" oil on panel 8x16" $675

Purchase here.

Winslow Homer Weather

I have a new series of paintings that I'm working on that I started to call Winslow Homer Weather. 

It happened quite by accident. 

I'm outdoors painting in all kinds of weather conditions. I like the drama of big surf and dark clouds raking across blue sky.  Recently I have have been painting a number of these scenes. We've had an unusual patch of dramatic weather for the last few weeks so I'm taking advantage of it ! 

"Storm Froth", Winslow Homer Weather, Oil on panel, 7x20 $675

Purchase Here.

Painting on Ogunquit Beach, Maine

Miles of sand, high tide mark, sea mist, big dunes, chilly air, dreamy, quiet, fog rolls in on little kitten feet...

Painting in the Summer Sun

Its that time of year again.  You can wade in the water and your feet don't turn blue! 

Plein air in the summer time. Maine is in all its glory!

Painting on Marginal Way 

Photo: Marcus Gale

I am offering 2 plein air classes this summer. 

All levels of experience are welcome! 

Please go to my website for the updated class schedule. 

I will be holding all summer classes on Saturday mornings. The first class is starting June 29th.

SUMMER CLASS SCHEDULE:

Link to classes :http://www.marybyrom.com/Classes/Classes.html

RESERVING YOUR SPOT IN THE CLASS:

If you wish to register for the class please mail me a check (details are on the web page). 

If you wish to pay with a credit card please contact me and we can process that over the phone.

NOTE: You need to be registered in the class in order to receive the email for the location of class. The location will change every week.

MATERIALS:

LINK to Materials Lists: http://www.marybyrom.com/Supplies.html

Please look at the materials list for the medium you will be using. ALL MEDIUM SUPPLY LISTS  ARE ON THE ONE PAGE, Scroll down to find yours! 

LOCATIONS:  Everyone must check their email weekly for the class location for the week. We will be moving to a new spot every week!

 If you have questions please contact me. 

Thank you everyone!   Hope to see you soon!

YOU CAN REGISTER WITH A CHARGE CARD IF YOU PREFER:

Maine ~ Painting at the Nubble Lighthouse

Sun, clouds, rocks, surf, island, lighthouse, afternoon on the Nubble, Cape Neddick, Maine!

Painting in Ogunquit, Maine

This is a video that John Ewing from the Portland Press Herald took of me last week for an article written by Bob Keyes. Article " Artist Mary Byrom Captures the Always changing natural world"  Thank you Bob! Thank you John !  

On the Beach in Ogunquit,Maine

For the past few weeks I've been painting very close to the sand and surf.

Walk on the Beach, Oil  9x12  $750

Purchase here

Ogunquit Beach is a beautiful expanse of sand, surf and sea. I've been setting up to paint as close as possible to the waters edge.  

The ocean is very moody. The weather changes in minutes. Lately its been spectacular, sunny with shocking blue skies, big gray fog banks lurking off shore, frothy foamy surf,  cold ocean winds, empty fog shrouded dunes, the works!  

 Low Tide, Oil 8x16 $800

Purchase Here  

This beach is very close to my home. Why not paint in my back yard?  You can find me painting in the marshes at any time of the year, but do I walk over the dunes and paint the ocean? When my family visits they all want to walk on the beach. I walk with them but do I paint on the beach? 

Painting on Ogunquit Beach

Now I am painting on the beach in all types of weather and at all times of day. Stay posted, I'll be painting on the beach at least one day a week all summer!

SPRING

 What a difference a year a makes!  Winter 2012 produced very little snow, but this year it was a bumper crop.

Every week another snow storm blew in. I love painting snow, so I was happy! These past few weeks I've been tracking down the last patches of snow before it all melts. 

Strawberry Banke Spring Snow. Acrylic on paper

Every year I know I only have so many weeks to paint the lovely snow. When the days start to get longer in late January the warm sun melts it fast!

Prescott Park Gardens. oil on linen

Quiet cloudy days with moody skies over white snow-covered ground is my favorite  time to paint. No chasing shadows!  

York River First Signs of Spring.oil on board

Last year was exactly the opposite. Just a few inches of snow every now and then. We barely even had a real winter. 

Spring on Piscataqua Ave. Ink & watercolor on paper

The grass turned green and the trees came out early. It went from winter to summer in a few days. We didn't even have a real spring!

Kittery Point Almost Spring. Ink & watercolor on paper

I missed that good old fashioned New England winter. Summer was too early. It was much hotter than usual, even up here in Maine. This year will be a refreshing change!

Boat in Pigeon Cove. Ink & watercolor pencil on paper