When is a painting finished?

A few things were troubling me about this award winning watercolor from '04, as seen in the first image below. So, I decided to take it out of its frame and rework the areas that bothered me. I just finished it yesterday and I'm very happy with the result of the changes I made to it. Let's see if you agree.

"Dory", Watercolor, 19.5x29.5 in., 2004, Amee B. Davis Memorial Award for excellence in painting, Rockport Art Association

The image below is the painting as it now appears.

"Dory", Watercolor, 19.5x29.5 in., 2004-11

I'll let the words of a friend and fellow artist describe my changes. This is from an exchange of notes with my friend Margaret: "I think you changed the color of the hull that is in shadow to be slightly darker and warmer in tone - befitting the warm reflected light from the sandy/gravelly surface. It looks like you've made the shadow of the dory blend more with the surface and the rocks in the foreground. While the light conditions of your reference shot may indeed have made the shadow appear as stark as you initially painted it, in terms of composition, all the elements in the foreground are now more harmonious and pleasing to the eye."

She hit the nail on the head with her comments. All of the changes were made to the foreground and the dory itself. I thought the building, pilings and background were fine just the way they were and the changes to the dory and foreground made the entire painting more harmonious and unified. One small detail she missed, because she was looking at small images was that I also used a razor blade to scrape out the edge of the rope lines to better highlight them.

To answer the question posed in the title of this post "When is a painting finished?", perhaps it is only finished once a collector takes possession of it.

Morning Sea Smoke in Castine, 2/4/11

Castine takes on a surreal look as sea smoke engulfs it, briefly, in the early morning.

Glancing out my bedroom window this morning, I noticed a band of sea smoke over the Bagaduce River. I grabbed my camera and headed in town. What a surprise was awaiting me when I reached the top of Windmill Hill. The town was engulfed in a dense fog of sea smoke.

Living on the coast of Maine, sea smoke on cold winter days is not an uncommon phenomenon. What was uncommon about the sea smoke today was that it did not stay over the water, but moved over the entire downtown of Castine, creating a very surreal atmosphere. In the first photo above, the sun is seen dimly through sea smoke as we look toward the post office from Court Street.

Here are a few photos from this morning.

Looking out to the shrouded Bagaduce River, from Water Street

The Town Common and Unitarian Church from School Street as the sea smoke begins to disperse.

Looking toward Green Street from School Street.

Sea Smoke hanging over Hatch's Cove.

The sea smoke left a thick coating of frost or dew on the branches.

Happy New Year!

As the sun sets tonight, there is the promise of a new day and a new year. I wish you all a Happy & Healthy New Year and hope you enjoy this video of Scotland's gem, Eddi Reader singing the traditional end of year song "Auld Lang Syne". Be safe, fill your hearts with love, grow something this coming year, respect and nourish the soil and it will nourish you, reach out to someone in need and pray for peace.

Merry Christmas!

"After the Storm", Gregory Dunham Watercolor, 21x41", 2008, Private Collection

After the Storm, Christmas Day

Out on the river,

snow covers a thin layer of ice.

Clouds lift, skies brighten,

sounds are muffled as day begins,

transformed by a blanket of white.

Even birds are waiting

for the wind to stop,

as small drifts form waves.

The house is like a ship

anchored on a sea of white.

After the storm, the fields

are silent, no footprints yet.

Deer are resting among

islands of hedgerows and fence lines,

landmarks in a sea of white.

Slowly, the house awakens,

warmed by red oak and birch.

Down in the kitchen, coffee is on,

Christmas magic inside and out,

transformed by a blanket of white.

Though I in no way consider myself a poet, I was inspired to write the preceding poem to go along with the mood in my painting.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May you experience the magic of love, the warmth of family & friends, peace both within and without, and a sense of joy, wonder, hope & fulfillment, as the season turns and the light slowly begins its return.

You can see a larger image of the above watercolor at my web site: Gregory Dunham Watercolors a Christmas Card

The Story of a Drawing and the Passing of Time: from the Real, to a Drawing, to the Real

The Story of a Drawing and a Knitted Hat

The Hat, 1976, Graphite Drawing by Gregory Dunham, Private Collection

Paris 1970

Nearly 41 years ago, on an extended stay in Paris during the winter of 1970, besides the outdoor produce markets, one of my favorite spots to visit was the Jardin du Luxembourg. I loved to watch the children sailing their pond boats, the kids on the carousel reaching for the ring with their sticks, old gentlemen playing boules, young mothers and nannies pushing strollers, lovers walking arm in arm and the many people on benches watching, reading or eating. They were all a wealth of material for future paintings. On one such excursion I noticed a young boy riding a pedal cart, wearing a knit cap and scarf with an elephant design.

Little Boy in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris 1970, Gregory Dunham photograph

I took a photo of him and stored the memory away in my mind, till six years later, in 1976, when I did a graphite drawing and a watercolor of the little boy in his hat. Both the drawing and the watercolor sold from a show I had that year at the Guild of Boston Artists.

Now the most interesting part of the story begins. Ten years later in 1986, we learned we were about to have a son, whom we would name Stow after my friend and mentor Stow Wengenroth. Giving thought to a birth announcement, I suggested we use my drawing of the young boy from ten years earlier. Unfortunately, I had no photographic record of the drawing or the watercolor, but I was able to contact the buyer of the drawing and she agreed to let me borrow it back for the announcement. Sadly, I was unable to keep track of the collector who purchased the watercolor and as a result do not know its whereabouts.

As the story continues, two years later, after the arrival of our daughter Abby some friends held a baby shower for us. One of our friends had had a hat, similar to the one on the announcement, originally worn by the little boy in Paris, knit as a gift for Stow. When we placed it on his head we were struck by the resemblance to my drawing and to the Parisian boy from nineteen years earlier.

Stow in "The Hat", 1989, Gregory Dunham Photo

Detail: Little Boy in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris 1970, Gregory Dunham photograph

I'll end my story of the passage of time from the real, to a drawing, to the real here. Stow turned 24 this year. The drawing is 34 years old and the little Parisian boy is probably about 43 by now and for all I know may have a little boy of his own wearing a similar hat.

Remembrance Day (UK) and Veterans Day (USA) A personal story of remembrance and thanks.

Shortly before 11 AM, whilst strolling about Brixham in Devon, UK, on November 11th 1999 with Pat, Stow & Abby,

Brixham, Devon, UK, 1999

church bells began to toll and shops and offices emptied as people began to gather at various points around the city and at exactly 11AM on the 11th day of the 11th month, the entire town fell silent. We stood among them in silence, men, women and children, keenly aware of the solemnity of the moment. No cars moved, no boats in the harbor moved, no sounds at all, but for that of our breathing. Most eyes were moist with tears as they remembered those lost in war. The observance lasted, perhaps, 15 minutes with prayers and a hymn after the silence. It was a very moving experience for us.

Today, 11 years later on 11/11 at 11 am, I observe a few moments of silence in honor of Veterans Day (USA) and Remembrance Day (UK) to serve as a reminder that our freedom is not free. In particular I remember my father William James Dunham,
who served in the Atlantic and my stepfather Chester Otis Kingsbury who served in the Pacific, both of whom survived the war.

God bless those that gave their lives, so that we may live in freedom and those that are serving today around the world, so we may continue to enjoy the precious gift of freedom.

Corea Harbor, Maine - Graphite Drawing: When the Past Becomes a Ghost or Let's Keep Our Working Waterfronts - Working

Corea Harbor, graphite, 15x22, 1982, Private Collection

I did the above drawing of Corea Harbor, Maine in 1982, years before the gentrification of the waterfront. It always puzzles me why people are attracted to an area by its rustic and picturesque beauty and then proceed to "improve" what attracted them in the first place. Maine is losing far too many of its harbor fronts to gentrification. Unfortunately, when I returned to this location, I was saddened to see, it is no longer worth a second look. It has been "improved" to all of our loss.