Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Bailey Island Cliff Walk


After 2 months of rain, summer has finally come to Maine. 
 The evening light brings out the ocean blues and ochre grasses. 
 Waves crash in pure white. Seagulls glow.







Rosehip and poison ivy line the path along the cliffs.



Wildflowers are blooming…



…attracting bumble bees.



At Giant Steps the ocean boils. Listen to the crash of waves.



The sea calls for a palette of blues, greens and purples.



Painting on location, I see beyond what is there.



I found a face cut in stone with a storm brewing.



The island dips her fingers into the water, reaching for the horizon.

28 comments:

Cid said...

I am so sorry we didn't make it back to Maine this summer. Your gorgeous photos will have to suffice for now. Glad summer has reached you finally as well.

Keri Mikulski said...

Wow.. Gorgeous. :)

tina said...

It's so beautiful here. I love that contrast between the ice and summer photo!

Delwyn said...

Hello Sarah

well I am glad that you do get to have some summer. I went back with the frozen sea pool shot and trembled with the cold...

You provided a good contrast...

Happy days

Sarah Laurence said...

Cid, maybe next summer? It is lovely now, but you’d have been disappointed had you come in June or July – unusually wet and grey.

Keri, thanks.

Tina and Delwyn, I was pleased that I remembered the location. It does look different without the ice.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Summer in Maine is what summer should be!! Lovely.

Elizabeth said...

Love how your shots echo one another.
I think in August one falls madly in love with the warmth because we feel it is fleeting.
Your photos of coastal Maine are as wonderful as paintings.
I think my move to Typepad is permanent.
Somehow i like it better but am frightened of losing old friends. Will add your blog to the new side bar.

Sarah Laurence said...

Pamela, I love that we were posting comments simultaneously on each other's blogs – almost like a conversation.

Elizabeth, I actually prefer the cool crispness of fall, but lazy summer days are relaxing. You are right that they pass too quickly. Your true friends will follow you to your new digs. The World Examining Works has already replaced About New York in my sidebar.

Kelly H-Y said...

Not only are the photos stunning, but your painting is gorgeous!!! You are such a talent!!!!

troutbirder said...

What a starkly beautiful place. You've captured it well. We were in Maine last fall for just a few days, doing the New England leaf tour. Were off to VanCouver Island this fall but next year I think a return trip is in order!

Sarah Laurence said...

Kelly, thank you! I’ve only had one day to paint this summer, but I hope to do more.

Troutbirder, Vancouver is gorgeous, but nothing beats Maine in the fall.

Les said...

Beautiful shots, especially the water. I hope your summer gives you more time to walk, and to paint.

♥ Boomer ♥ said...

Your photos absolutely drew me in. We just got back from Galveston -- I love being around water. It is so cleansing. Thank you for sharing all of the beauty!

TBM said...

LOL! I love how we both made it to the shore recently... just thousands of miles away. Next time I go out to Scheveningen on the North Sea, I'll send you a "hello" on the wind :-)

I'm so impressed you can paint out there. Isn't it windy?

Tracy Golightly-Garcia said...

Sarah
Thanks for sharing your pictures and painting. Nature has so much to offer us with all it's beauty and peace. I would love to visit Maine in the fall with all the colorful leaves!!
Tracy :)

SG said...

Such fabulous photos... I can almost hear the waves crashing by the rocks in the pictures.

Sarah Laurence said...

Les, I had another glorious day at Bailey Island enjoying the beach with my son today. I hope to find time on my own to paint soon.

Boomer, I agree – water is so soothing. I’m glad you had a nice vacation too.

JAPRA, or a message in a bottle – it could wash up on my shore. As for painting on location, I hope for enough wind to keep the bugs off but not so much to be distracting. I tape my paper down on a board. Maine’s rocky shore is easier than a sandy beach ( I failed painting in Nantucket Island due to the wind blowing sand and rain this summer.) That stormy painting was imagined. The sea was churned up from an off shore hurricane, but the skies were calm and sunny.

Tracy, Maine is gorgeous with fall foliage – check out my White Mountains post .

Phoenix, thank you!

Mary Ellen said...

Sarah, you make me miss my childhood! I used to love spending lazy summer days, reading, napping or just daydreaming by the ocean. At Pemaquid light, you could find these rocks, carved out by the waves into a perfect seat, and time just stood still. Your beautiful art brings it all back to me - thank you for that!

Rosaria Williams said...

Lovely. Maine is on my list of places to see next year. Your pictures clinch the discussion.

Kathleen said...

Marvelous! Have you been to the Minnesota side of Lake Superior? I think you'd like it!

Cynthia Pittmann said...

Sarah, thank you for the walk down the summer awakened path. Poison Ivy has never looked so good! I love the stone face-revealing painting. It's so enjoyable to see the process of creation. Thank you for sharing your views.

Bee said...

Summer has finally come to Maine? Just this evening, Sig and I took a long walk and noted how the fields are all being plowed or mowed and how the air has the crispness of approaching autumn.

I love your wonderfully evocative picture of the churning sea. I can see the face!

Cheffie-Mom said...

WOW! BEAUTIFUL!

Sarah Laurence said...

ME, what a perfect childhood – the lighthouse, the sea chair and a book.

Lakeviewer, you’ll love Maine.

Kathleen, welcome to my blog! I’ve never been to Minnesota, but I’d love to visit the wilderness and Lake Superior especially. My son was just trying to imagine what it would be like to visit a lake without a visible far shore.

Cynthia, poison ivy is insidious. Add rogue hurricane waves and thunderstorms, and the coast is much less appealing as of late. I’m waiting for calmer seas to return with my paints.

Bee, it was sultry today - hot and humid and now pouring below black skies. Tomorrow is meant to be a perfect beach day. Crisp fall weather is due at the end of the week.

CM, thanks!

LR Photography said...

Great pictures of the sea, congratulations!

Sarah Laurence said...

Thanks, Adrian.

cynthia newberry martin said...

I really feel most comfortable in New England--Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Provincetown. I have a different energy there. I also love Vermont. I used to go to a French camp there--Ecole Champlain. I've never been to Maine, though.

I love your painting.

Sarah Laurence said...

Cynthia, I love those places too so I’m sure you’d like Maine. It’s a bit more rugged and wild. Thanks!