Mountain Snow & Roast Lamb at the Hodge Podge Lodge

 There was plenty of snow in the White Mountains when I packed up my gear and loaded it into the car.

The sun drifted in and out of the clouds, making the mountains along the Kangamangus Highway look mysterious . 

Main Street in North Conway, New Hampshire was sunny and warm, the sidewalks were packed with tourists.

The road up to Cranmore Mountain was packed with cars. 

It looked like everyone was on vacation...  

Here's my big painting kit for the day ! A black fine line pen, a Koi 24 color water color kit with a water brush and my 6x8" sketchbook.

I had a real tight schedule. My husband Marcus was performing a concert in the lodge and I had one hour to sketch and paint whatever caught my attention...

Some very nice shapes were formed by the curve of the mountain and the bands of trees as they draped down the slope.  

4x6 pen & watercolor on 90 lb paper

I walked around and looked up the ski trails.

I loved the dramatic views and sweep of the snowy slopes...

4x6 pen & watercolor on 90 lb paper

My car was parked in a spot with great views...so...

I set up and proceeded with the "JaneRamsey " method of watercolor painting in freezing weather...on the heated hood of my car!  Brilliant...it kept everything warm and liquid.    

The sun began to get low in the sky... nice shadows formed...heck it was only 3:30 pm !

Still the light on the trees was hazy and golden.

4x6 pen & watercolor on 90 lb paper

I went up to the bottom of the slope to watch the skiers coming down.

What angles some of these folks formed.

6x8 pen & watercolor on 90 lb paper

Every so often this snow machine towing this sled full of tiny skiers went by with instructors holding on to them tightly so they wouldn't fall off.

The ski "life guards" had the best form.  I could have sketched them all day. Very casual, fast and elegant. They would come swooping down the slope holding both ski poles off to the side in one hand... 

4x6 pen & watercolor on 90 lb paper

The teenage boys were interesting.  They could go fast at an angle but were a bit ragged in their form... 

6x8 pen & watercolor on 90 lb paper

Marcus finished his concert and we packed the car and headed out of town to Beth & Nordel's Hodge Podge Lodge. 

The lodge is the sweetest place you ever saw... after traveling a mile and half into the woods on a snow machine...

...the welcoming fire in the wood stove and the campy feeling were perfect !

Alan, Vitali and Owen were watching dinner as it was cooking... guests were arriving and lamb roasted in the piney woods was on the menu for New Years Eve.  Happy New Year everyone! 

Short Days, Long Nights

I painted outdoors for 5 years. I did not like painting in a studio once I painted en plein air. I knew I'd have to go back inside one day... so in preparation for that day I built a new studio. 

It is painted off white(including the floor) and has banks of 5,000 lumen lights overhead with a mixture of color balanced spot lighting.  These past few weeks I've been in the studio painting...I''m painting large paintings from sketches and field studies; both water color and oil .

I have a practice of doing sketches, watercolors and oils on location. 

Some are very rough.

I stand in one spot and keep recording what I am seeing.

I turn to my left and sketch and paint that view ...

...then turn to my right and do the same...

I will walk around and try to capture enough detail and a feeling of the place for me to be able to remember what was important to me at that time. 

I used the watercolor sketches to put together this oil painting. I'm trying for the essence of the place, the soul of the day...its not quite finished.

I do these very quick value/temperature studies to sample colors and see how much chroma the mood will bear.

I'll do a fast watercolor just to get the feel of the action. These clouds were racing out to sea after a thunder storm cleared out.

A  quick watercolor value study gives me a feel for the simple masses and the shape of things, like wandering with my mind through a place before I decide how I want to depict it. Its very liberating to do this. It helps me to get familiar and comfortable with a place.

   

On location I do rough sketches first, quick watercolors..then I often will do a series of quick 20 minute oil sketches back to back. Why?  I've found that if I paint like this I will often have something good from the lot that I can take home and work with.  I'm a real process painter. I do hundreds of starts, 5x7, 6x8, 8x10's on location.  So now I'm painting in the studio I have no shortage of reference material for these large paintings I'm working on. 

Water colors ~ 6x8's, 90 lb. sketch paper 6x10, 90 lb. sketch paper  8x12  300 lb. Arches rough 

Oils ~ 8x10 linen on panel, canvas on  panel

PAINT EAT SLEEP for more views of paintings.

Plein Air in Canterbury, NH

New Hampshire is gorgeous in the summer!  I live near the ocean in Southern Maine but...a short drive from my house takes me into the foothills of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

We headed up to Canterbury, NH for the afternoon. 

Marcus decided to come along with me to do some sketching.

Here's the view of the top of the meadow where we parked the car. 

I started to set up and Marcus got down to work a right away.  He's working on perspective and sight measuring.

He decided to sketch my pochade box all set up and ready to go. He is experiencing the difficulty of designing the landscape to make it interesting and hold your eye.  All that editing.  Much harder than a still life or person.  So at this stage in his plein air experience he picks a specific object or person to sketch and is doing really well.  

Of course here we have 2 sketch books with totally different focuses and purposes. 

 I'm well into the my first field sketch.  I'm painting with my back to the scene to keep the moving dappled sunlight off my canvas and palette.

Here's the 12x12 , oil on panel. 

The big cross road behind me had a road sign for every destination these roads will take you to - yes, it goes to 

 Boston!  Note the granite post. Up in these hills we see pasture fence posts made out of granite.

A granite watering trough is near the sign. This is a spot to stop and water your horses. The road was once a highway(1700's?). Its now a country road.   

Here I am taking that step back to see if the design is making sense on my second start.

Here is the cross road behind me that goes to Lake Winnipesaki.

I'm laying in some paint fast on the 16x20 panel. The light is changing, the clouds are flying and  I'm moving fast!  

 As we packed up to head back to the coast heavier clouds moved in over the meadow.  What a great day!  

Antique Cars in Plein Air at Par Sem

I was invited to be the artist-in-residence at an antique car show for a museum in Maine. What a delight!  The Parsonsfield Seminary Museum is a treasure.   The place is sublime.

The museum grounds were packed.  It was a perfect summer day. 

Antique cars arrived from everywhere.

The lawns filled with all kinds of cars...

And trucks!

The deep cool shade of the old maples was fully appreciated by the visitors.

The cars of the sixties are very popular among collectors now. 

Hot rods were fancy and in wild colors.

There were over 150 cars all parked in groups of ten year spans. 

This was a new plein air experience for me.  Wow! I'd never see so many antique cars in one place before.  Which ones to sketch?  It was overwhelming.  How to choose? So many great models . So little time! 

This convertible sparkled in the sunshine.  Did I forget to mention these cars are so clean and shiny they look like mirrors?

Here was the first sketch of the day .  I did it in ink and watercolor.  Fast.  Good lesson, I  knew I needed to the do the next ones in pencil so I could correct lines if needed as I was having to move fast and wasn't familiar with the different lines and shapes.  Plus onlookers gathered fast, even before I could get started. They were interested and excited.  

Next, I decided to just stop, "park" myself in the shade and get going.  Here's the setup.  The antique cars had complex shapes and curves. 

Here's the little 1930's car I sketched. 

I was sketching just across from  the gazebo where a great band was playing. Live music all day!  Imagine an artist in plein air serenaded all day- it was delightful. 

I sketched this car after the owner came and visited with me while I was painting the sleek convertible on the other side of the campus.  What a sweet car! Such personality. 

I stayed in one spot, just kept turning my chair and sketched next car.

 

Everyone began to gather for the awards ceremony.  

This car won a blue ribbon! The husband of Wendy Newcomb  is the owner, what a blast!  He knew what I was dealing with painting en plein air.

This was the oldest car at the show.  A 1917 Model T.

In late afternoon the museum campus sits with a few cars left after everyone else has headed home.  The only hint of the big event were a few tire tracks left on the grass.