“All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.” —Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

    Long Cove, Maine. Oil on Panel. Painting by Daniel Ambrose

Long Cove, Oil on Panel. Painting by Daniel Ambrose

Last Friday I delivered several paintings to friends who own True North Gallery in Kennebunkport, Maine. Fortunately they winter in Flagler Beach just up the coast from me making it a twenty minute trip instead of a two day journey.

Long Cove is one of the paintings on its way back to Maine. I say back because this painting began its life from the view point overlooking the purple loosestrife flowers.

When I look at this image of the painting, I’m transported back to the morning Mary and I first saw the scene. Always drawn to the water and the vanishing ways of making a living from it, I sought vantage points to capture this unique lifestyle.

I made a rough charcoal sketch of it to work out composition ideas and discern features that excited me. It didn’t take long and I knew I had a great painting idea. Tossing the pad in the car trunk I grabbed a new gessoed panel and eagerly went to work with oil paint.

A quiet stillness pervaded the air while I painted. Bees hovered among the flowers, sailboats moved along the distant horizon and suddenly a red fox dashed across the road disappearing in the grasses under my easel.

Quite cool!

More details on Long Cove, Maine painting available here.

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