Wednesday, September 28, 2011

10X10 Art Show in Brunswick, Maine

Reid State Park, watercolor by Sarah Laurence

Autumn’s crisp light makes this season my favorite time to paint. For this watercolor, I drove 40 minutes to Reid State Park in Georgetown, Maine. I had the picnic area to myself as the tide was turning. After sketching the main elements, I stepped back to examine my compositing before adding paint. The landscape on paper appeared too still for a windy day. A dynamic element was needed. By luck, just then a sailboat passed by. I sketched it in seconds. By the time I’d blocked out the colors, the sailboat was a memory on the horizon.

My watercolor will be part of the 10X10 Art Show in Brunswick, Maine. The proceeds from the sale will bring artists into our elementary schools to work with children. Local businesses have donated food and drinks. Come join us Friday night!

10X10 Benefit Art Exhibit and Sale
Curtis Memorial Library and
St. Paul’s Church Community Hall (my venue)
Preview: Sept 29 5-8pm / Sept 30 12-3pm
Reception and Sale: Sept 30 5-8pm
All 10 inch by 10 inch works are framed and $200

Online Preview

L'Shana Tova! Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown.

20 comments:

Amanda Summer said...

stunning composition, sarah. i loved hearing the story of its creation and hope it sells for a lot of money towards such a good cause.

happy new year to you as well~

Tracy Golightly-Garcia said...

Hello Sarah

Lovely! I wish you much luck with the show and a very happy new year too.

Best
Tracy

A Cuban In London said...

Love it, love it, love it. And you know what? I tried picturing it without the boat and you're right. It would have looked quiet. Mind you, the waves give the game away. I've probably mentioned this before, but I love the intensity of your paintings, even when you use very light colours. I remember the first time I visited your blog it was yoru visuals that impressed me first. Good luck with the show and autumn... what can I say? One of my favourite seasons and I can see why it suits your painting so much.

Greetings from London.

tina said...

You are SO talented!

Cid said...

Beautiful. Wish that I could be in Maine for the show and for the fall. My favourite time of year especially there.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Such a beautiful watercolour, Sarah! I wish I could jump right in the middle of it, the way Mary Poppins did with Bert's pavement painting.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

You are so talented. I always "feel" the places in your work.

Bee said...

Reading about this art show makes me really conscious of the years rolling by. I think this is probably your third show since we started corresponding.

Best of luck with sales!

Sarah Laurence said...

Amanda and Tracy, thank you! My husband is making us a traditional chicken stew and I got Challah bread at our bakery. Add farm picked apples and local honey and we are set.

ACIL, it’s fun to hear your first impressions after all this time of being blog buddies. Thanks for sharing and your encouragements! Yesterday I found myself adding red to my tree palette even if it still feels summery.

Tina, Cid, Tricia, thank you! It’s easy to paint pretty watercolors in such a gorgeous location.

Pamela, I love that Mary Poppins moment too.

Bee, I just counted back and discovered that this is my 4th year participating in this show. The show has grown a lot since its inaugural year. Time does fly.

☆sapphire said...

Your painting is really really beautiful! I love it. Your blue has always fascinated me. I wish I could see the Art Show in person!

Sarah Laurence said...

Sappire, I wish you could come too. The blues are: cerulean, Antwerp, Prussian, turquoise and Indigo.

troutbirder said...

Very well done, Sarah. I do like the energenic serinity. How's that for an oxymoron? It all adds up to the fact that spouse and I need to carve out some off season time to revisit Maine. Acadia National Park at the height of the tourist season was not a pleasant experience....

Rose said...

I always enjoy hearing about what the artist was thinking during the creative process, like why you added the sailboat. I hope the school's sale is a big success!

Just admired all the photos on your last post--with such beautiful scenery, no wonder you are inspired to paint.

cynthia said...

I agree. I love the painting and knowing your process for creating it. The texture of the waves and the clouds drew my attention at first, but there's something I particularly love about the trees on the right--just like the ones in your blog header painting. Hope the show was a success.

Stunning sunset photos below. And adorable new Scout!

SG said...

Beautiful watercolor! A treat to the eye!

Keri Mikulski said...

Wow. You are so talented. Best of luck. :)

Anonymous said...

Sarah, What a beautiful painting!!! You are very talented in many ways. Fall is such a beautiful time of year, especially near the ocean where you live.
As Avery is sending out college applications, I have been reflecting on his childhood. You and Colin remain a large part of that childhood. Miss you all. Julia

Sarah Laurence said...

All, the show was a big success with 86 pieces sold! Oddly enough, my painting didn’t sell this year. I like it better than the pieces of mine that sold other years. I’ll be adding it to my website gallery.

Troutbirder – I love oxymorons, especially that one. Acadia is much nicer off-season. Harpswell is nice even on season since it’s more off the beaten track.

Rose, the landscape led me to landscape painting.

Cynthia, good eye! I actually painted the banner watercolor just a few miles down the coast from this one. That is the landscape southwest of Reid State Park.

SG and Keri, thanks!

Julia, best of luck to Avery! We miss you too. I shall email soon.

Donna said...

This is a beautiful painting! You are very talented.

Carol said...

The sailboat was perfect! I love the movement in the land and water. Beautiful Sarah! Best of luck in raising funds for a good cause. It is so wonderful to see the sun again and your blues are heavenly. Happy Yom Kippur!