MID COAST MAGIC

Great Salt Bay Farm, a one hundred acre farm in midcoast Maine is a treasure! It is located on the shore of the beautiful Great Salt Bay at the head waters of the Damariscotta River. 

There were so many things to paint that I stayed on the farm and painted from early morning until sunset .

Great Salt Bay Pines, 6x8 oil on panel

The old farm house and barn sit high on a hill overlooking an expansive view of rolling fields and the bay.

It is now early August in Maine and the weather on the midcoast is typically sunny and warm. I set up on the farm's back lawn under the apple trees where there were gentle breezes that came up the bay from the ocean. 

I was using my tiny 6x8 inch painting box to see if I could use the minimal amount of gear and still manage to get a painting completed. 

I'm doing a practice run for trips that I am planning which require a lot of hiking.

I sat down to paint as I did not bring an easel with me.  I'll sit on anything available. Often I find a bench, chair, rock or ledge on location.

I was really glad to be at the farm on this warm summer day. The place is magical.

It was totally quiet in the meadows. The farm is about a mile from busy coastal Route 1 and I saw only 6 visitors the entire day.

Three old apple trees are all that remain of the orchard on the hill above the bay. 

I sketched and painted uninterrupted for hours. An occasional car drove by and a tractor mowed hay in a field down the road.

The apple trees cast enough shade so it never got too hot. Little apples intermittently fell from the trees hitting the ground with a soft plop.

The farm feels large and expansive. It has meadows on both sides of the road.  

Late summer flowers were in full bloom.  Queen Anne's 

lace and golden rod filled the unmowed fields. 

Field Flowers, 6x8 oil on panel

 Recently there was a big celebration in a large tent next to the house. 

Late in the day the setting sun and the moist air created great atmosphere and colors.  

The golden fields glowed while the line of trees along the shore turned into dark soft shadows. 

I had to paint fast.  A large bank of clouds in the west was moving in front of the setting sun. 

Thin filmy clouds started to cover the entire sky. 

I wanted to capture the reflection of the setting sun on a large fresh water marsh at the bottom of the sloping meadow. 

The sun's reflection could be seen in the still water for about ten minutes.  

I got it!

 The sun descended, the clouds moved in and the sun was a apricot gold smudge behind pale gray blue curtains.

Great Salt Bay Reflections, 6x8 oil on panel

PAINT EAT SLEEP  news from the road.