End of the Season

Bringing the doorstep pumpkin home for the winter. Well, for the compost pile.

When fall arrives, it's time to start thinking about when to close up the house in Maine. Usually, there are spells of weather so good that you keep saying "well, maybe I'll just wait another week". And invariably, immediately afterwards the weather turns bitter and cold, usually with some freezing rain in the mix. Once again, I had planned a long close-up weekend, and then the forecast was for a week of record cold. So I made the one day journey to close up, take home the things that I needed back home, as well as those that should not be left in the cold, cold house.

You'd think after all these years I'd learn my lesson and not keep trying to extend the season.

Like Day and Night

View from Fort Hill Street in Wiscasset

There are scenes that you may walk by frequently, and always "meant to take a photo" or think "that would make a good painting subject". It can take a long time for these inspirations to come to fruition.

The owner of a property near mine in Wiscasset, Maine, has been converting the hillside into an almost vertical landscape. When viewed from my street, you would see very little as it is at the edge of the hill. In addition, a number of trees blocked the view. With the removal of some trees, he now has more light for his yard, and it has opened up the view of that section of the village.

The inspiration for the painting came from seeing this view on a daily basis while out walking the dogs, although it took me a couple of years to get around to it. Looking down on the buildings from this vantage point made it seem more toy-like and whimsical than most of my other scenes. Rather than be technically realistic, I did take some liberties with placement and color to create a fun and colorful view.

Overlooking Wiscasset Village, Acrylic, 24 x 30

Painting finally completed, and won second place at the Artist Guild of Shrewsbury's annual show in November, 2017.

Second Place winner

Looking down from my street to the other side of the village, I was taken by the view of the food shop and bakery on the next street. Yes, while walking the dogs, at night this time.

Bad, fuzzy photo

I did a small watercolor sketch, with the idea of making a more finished painting at some point. Again, a hiatus of  two years before completing the second painting. Again, liberties were taken.

Watercolor, 8 x 10

Baker's Moon, Acrylic, 18 x 24

Big Sale in Wiscasset

The house on Fort Hill Street in Wiscasset, Maine has been used as an antique shop, my workshop/studio, and for the past few years, the "last resort storage depot" for anything we didn't have room for at home. On the first floor there is one large double room that eventually became so filled with furniture, mirrors, boxes etc. that it was impassable. The other first floor rooms were not much better.

Stuff

More stuff

Still more stuff

So, with the prospect of opening an antique shop looking less likely with each passing year, I made a resolution to clean out some of the stuff. This also meant cleaning a room that had not had a good going-over in several years. Many things I just did not need or want, some I was undecided about and felt that offering them for sale would take care of the decision-making, and many things were just fine, but not having an outlet meant they would just sit there.

As I put in the ad:

"We haven’t been open, so it’s not a closing sale. We haven’t died, so it’s not an estate sale. And we may not get around to making tags, so it’s not a tag sale. But we haven’t had the shop open for a few years, stuff is piling up, and it’s time for a dispersal sale."

The sale went very well. It was nice to have old friends and customers stop by, new customers show up, and to have the premises looking presentable once again. And we have another batch of memories.

So, what's next with the Wiscasset location? I have a few ideas for next season.....

Fall Color in Wiscasset

Let's face it - there's nothing to match the fall colors in New England. These were all taken around Wiscasset during the Columbus Day weekend.

The Doors



It seems that in New England, we are known for our difficulty in parting with things that would appear to have outlived their usefulness. And in fact, I (and others) often find inspiration in them. you may remember seeing this scene from one of our painting sessions at a florist's premises, where some of us were more interested in the debris pile than the flowers.

 

 

 I even completed a water color of this scene.

 

 

Then, a few weeks later, I was cleaning out the cellar in Maine, and after hauling these old doors out of the cellar, took some photos to use as a reference for a potential painting project.

 

 

I was planning to take them to the dump, even though it was against my nature, but instead, took them home and painted them so that I can use them as a display backdrop. But when I get a chance, I will still do a painting of them as they looked when first seeing the light of day after years in the cellar.

 

Sometimes you just have to give up

Every time I walked the dogs to the top of the hill near  Castle Tucker in Wiscasset, the village scene below seemed just made for painting. The idea of painting the village in spring had long percolated in my mind, and I would often take photos for reference.

I knew that that the painting I wanted to do would involve a great deal of artistic license, as some of the areas and landmarks I wanted to show cannot be simultaneously seen from a single viewpoint.

After a number of false starts and reworkings, I was forced to re-evaluate where this was going, and the answer was "Nowhere". So, rather than painting myself further into a corner, I admitted temporary defeat, gessoed over this false start (not out of pique, but because I didn't have another canvas that size and I was simultaneously building a frame for that canvas).

A future post will show the (happier) outcome of this experiment.

Painting Floors

Even thought this weekend in Wiscasset was beautiful (and probably the last nice weekend of the season), indoor work was on the schedule. The floors of a bedroom and hallway were due for a new paint job. Only good part is you don't need to be on a ladder to paint floors.

Another Snowball Project

A few weeks ago, we stopped at a yard sale and, and after some dithering, bought a molded ceiling medallion, with the idea of using it in the Wiscasset house. Simple enough, but of course, it became another "snowball" project. After painting it, and then taking it to Maine, realized that the reason for the nice depth was that it was intended for a ceiling fan, rather than a light fixture. Ok, so we'll just make an adjustment.

 

I had some extra lamp rod, and cut a new piece, but forgot to allow for the canopy, and didn't want a piece that just barely made it. So, off to the hardware store, where I also found a new hanging bracket that would make life easier, and I didn't even need to pick up extra nuts, as they were included with the bracket. Back to the house, where I realized that someone must have returned the bracket to the store, and I hadn't noticed the package had been opened and the nuts removed.

 

So, back to the hardware store, where I laid in a good supply of lamp and wiring supplies as a hedge for future projects. Finally installed, it makes a nice addition to the front hall. On to the next project!

 

 

 

Peeling Brick

I was sitting on the deck, looking at the buildings across the street from us in Wiscasset, and noticed something odd. Apparently, this damage occured during the storm a week ago (and it seems to have progressed further). Look out below!

Summer Hats (and frames)

Labor day weekend is over. The summer hats will be put away until next year (unless we make a trip south this winter).

New House in Wiscasset

I had posted before about a house that disappeared (well, got torn down) - http://forthillstudios.blogspot.com/2011/09/wasnt-there-house-here.html. I suspected someone either wanted their view improved, or a new house. It looks like they may now have both.

On our first visit back to Wiscasset this season, a new house is almost complete, and is a nice fit into the streetscape.

Watercolor Garden

Our spring like weather (in February!) has perhaps inspired me to finish up some of the painting projects. This is a watercolor of the garden next door in Wiscasset.

Wasn't there a house here?

As I guessed in an earlier post (http://forthillstudios.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-was-that-address-again.html) , the house on Middle Street in Wiscasset is gone. Anxious to see what, if anything is going in. I figured a new house on the water view lot, but maybe the owner of the house across the street just wanted to improve the view.

Art weekend in Wiscasset

I had reconnected with a former schoolmate, Beverly Clark, when I joined a local artists group. This weekend she came to Maine with us, and as she is a plein air painter, went out each morning to paint. Afternoons we drove over the mid-coast area, taking lots of photos for reference in the studio later. Although I didn't paint as much, it was a motivation for me to get back to work.

What was that address again?

Could the owner of this house be having trouble with UPS deliveries? I suspect that since the wires have been disconnected, and the asbestos shingles removed, that this house in Wiscasset is slated for demo (the house was just sold, and didn't seem that appealing, but the lot does have a water view).

Wonder what I will find when I go back up this weekend.

Wiscasset Psychic

I have been working on a series of paintings of a storefront - formerly a succession of antique shops - now a psychic's establishment. I was attracted by the night-time view, which seemed like a perfect subject for Edward Hopper. What gives this a twist is that the proprietress is now involved in a case of elderly endangerment - police claim she left an elderly woman in a motel cabin without adequate care; the psychic claims that is not true, and that the woman is a family friend. The unfolding story will perhaps motivate me to work on this series some more.

House Painting Again

You have to keep up with the paint work on an old house. Spent this weekend rebuilding a rotted threshold, and starting the season's exterior paint work. We try to do about 25% each year. Ah yes; summer in Maine.

Eastern Maine Rail in Wiscasset

The railroad runs excursions during the tourist season, from Brunswick to Rockland, with a stop in Wiscasset. The mid-20th century locomotive and passenger cars have a great retro look; you expect the Andrews Sisters to get off when the train stops.

I was out with the dogs, and had my camera handy; not used to using it for video, and someone was pulling on the leash a bit too hard at the end of this clip.

Spring Comes to Wiscasset

We spent a few days in Wiscasset, Maine, opening up the house for the season. It always seems to be a miracle, that just as spring always returns, the house survives another Maine winter.

So now water is turned on, plumbing and heating work, and we began cleanup outside (for such a tiny in-town lot, it does take a while to do the yard work).

More about our house in Wiscasset at www.forthillstudios.com/Wiscasset/Wiscasset.htm.