Diana Ansley News

NEW PAINTING FROM MONHEGAN: RED MIST DESCENDS

2011-11-17T23:16:00.007-05:00

Red Mist Descends

Painting on Monhegan is always moving. This morning was particularly beautiful with this pale-reddish mist moving back and forth through Gull Cove. One minute the view was completely obstructed and the next it was being delicately revealed through this pinky-red mist. Touches of blue sky kept appearing and this became one of my favorite plein air paintings days on Monhegan.

PAINTING ON MONHEGAN 2011

2011-10-02T19:25:00.042-04:00

Gull Cove

We arrived on Monhegan Saturday with a smooth crossing and gorgeous weather. Alex and I are enjoying two new painters in our house this year. Sue Braswell an old painting partner of mine from the Art League in Alexandria and Linda Brandon a fellow portrait painter of Alex’s. Fellow Maine Landscape Guild artists Mary Walsh and Eliza Auth will be coming next week to the island. Nancy Bea Miller has gone off to grad school! Judy Carducci, Greer Jennison, and Carrie Lewis have also joined us and they are staying at the Monhegan House.

Island life of course can be fun. I had totally forgotten that my phone actually goes dead in it quest to search for service. We really feel like official islanders as we have now outlived the propane crunch. It gets down to basics. If we want to cook then we don’t bathe or have heat!

Maine Landscape Guild Members Diana Ansley and Alexandra Tyng with new members

Sue Braswell and Linda Brandon.

This is the View of Manana and the Johnson house where we are staying.

Sue and I got to work painting this scene and then we did the truck below

Light rain today so we have been regrouping, stretching canvas, and finally washed our hair after seven days! Propane arrived last night. We went to the museum and the curator, Jenn Pye, pulled out some wonderful Alice Kent Stoddard portrait paintings for us to see. She Studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts with Thomas Eakins, and William Merritt Chase. Like many of our Maine Landscape Guilder's she was an artist from Pennsylvania and lived on Monhegan as well.

Alex and Linda were so inspired they had a paint off this afternoon in the fog.

Linda Brandon

Alex's Sketch of Linda

Linda Painting Alex

Alex sits for 30 minutes and Linda paints and then Linda sits and Alex paints. Each have very different approaches to capturing the face. It is amazing to see the faces emerge. Painting, a fire, and tea can’t get much better.

Gorgeous day and Sue and I took advantage of weather to paint the expansive view from White Head to Blackhead.

Deep fog this morning lasting most of the day, but we were all anxious to paint. Sue and Alex at their easels.

Alex in Gull Cove

Fog in Gull Cove

Gull Cove where Alex, Sue, and I painted the lovely pool of water, the cliffs, and the rolling surf. The sun broke through in bits and pieces creating these layers of soft hues.

Heavy Rain today and great for a much needed rest. We spent several hours discussing painting and photography with our painting friends Judith Carducci, Greer Jennison, and Carrie Lewis. We also had time to see their plein air work in oil and pastel.

Our painting friends and Alex, Sue and Linda are leaving Monhegan. I am off to the Red House where I will be joined by my friends from Mt. Desert. I swim with a great group of women all summer in a fresh water lake and they have wanted to come and see Monhegan. So we will have four “Swimmahs” from Mt. Desert with a fifth one arriving in a day. There is only one artist, but we have knitters, quilters, cooks, and great communicators!

Trial number five is a sweet little trial. It is very hard to find as it is off the road and begins literally under the low arching branch of a tree. It is lovely with its meandering path and walkways. In the low lying areas there are tree branches tightly strung together like the rungs of a ladder. As you walk across them, the water squishes through the branches in places. The end of the path is full of wild lavender asters and clumps of red Rowan berries.

I needed to finish the rocks in the foreground of my fog scene and began a new painting of the waves crashing below White Head. Mary Walsh a fellow member of the Maine Landscape Guild was painting there as well! The waves were impressive and you could see how one could be swept out to sea in a moment.

Fog has descended

I woke up to a clear sky with stars hanging over the Island Inn. From my room I did sketches and took photos of the Island Inn at night. There were just a few lights and the five stars ascending in an arc from the inn. Can’t wait to work this painting out and if it is clear tomorrow I may just have to get up and do a nocturne! Judy Carducci did a wonderful nocturne of the Monhegan Church in pastel.

Sara Fraley has joined me painting on the rocks at the end of Gull Rock at Burnt Head. Sara is an abstract artist and enjoyed the inspiration of these rocks and the crashing sea.

A cozy little perch!

The rocks and surf at Burnt Head and the end of Gull rock

Kathy, Paula, and I at the Monhegan lighthouse

Nancy Beachcombing

Dinner at the Red House

Last full day on Monhegan and I could see soft pink clouds drifting out my window and the sunrise drew me in. At first I thought I could never get my paints set up and catch the light so I thought I would take pictures and do color notes on canvas. When I checked my pictures, the color was so off from the freshness of the sunrise. So I began to paint and before I new it, I had captured the morning. I must have just woken up the moment the sun rose as I had time to finish the color study.

Just a few of my favorite things!

These are some of the awesome rocks at Pebble Beach on the north end of the island.

Fairy Houses in Cathedral Woods

My last painting from our porch is the view from the Red House to the Island Inn. I have been studying this scene for several days trying to find the best light. The morning light is too cold and midday is too flat and I have finally decided to paint it at 4pm to 5pm when the light is warm and golden.

It was a wild night with waves crashing in the cove beneath my window. The ferry ride will be interesting!! Trap Day is tomorrow and the island is showing forth in a group effort to mass all the traps on the dock to be loaded on the lobster boats. Truck after truck arrived on the dock as we were waiting for the ferry with brightly colored traps with new lines and freshly painted buoys.

A Lobsterman with his traps ready to launch for the season

Unloading traps on the dock for the opening of Lobster season

Traps loaded and ready to be set.

Farewell Monhegan until next year.......

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

2011-07-04T10:43:00.003-04:00

Since I arrived in Maine I have been looking for the eagle’s nest near our point. He has been swooping over me for weeks, but I had not seen his nest. Yesterday, he was perched on a dead tree quite low to the water. I don’t think I have ever seen him that close. He was looking proud and iconic. He must had known the 4^th was approaching!

At one point he took off to another spot. I was amazed to see the size of his wing span. He landed again.

His feathers billowed up as there was a puff of wind.

Above him nestled in the woods I spotted his nest. It was just about a hundred yards from last year's nest.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

PAINTINGS IN GALLERY ON MAIN SOUTHWEST HARBOR, MAINE

2011-06-26T22:48:00.004-04:00

If you are on Mt. Desert this summer come and see my paintings in the "Gallery on Main" in Southwest Harbor. I am so pleased to be in this lovely space again. This painting called Sunset over Eagle Lake is 14 x 32 oil on linen. This spot is one of my favorite places to paint. I head out for Cadillac mountain just after five to set up for the sunset. There are certain days you can just tell the sunset is going to be fabulous. As the sun sets, cloud banks often roll in from the sea and drift across Eagle lake. I love the combination of the clouds catching the light and the sun setting in the distance.

DIANA ANSLEY'S STUDIO

2011-03-06T18:51:00.005-05:00

I really do miss plein air painting in the winter, but I have to admit it is certainly nice to have everything at my fingertips when I need it!! Three easels, lots of brushes, and paint. I have gone back to my larger paintings and have really enjoyed painting Maine all winter. My studio is getting too full and it is time to go north and paint outside!

FRENCHMANS BAY FROM CADILLAC

2011-03-06T14:26:00.008-05:00

Last fall it was a gorgeous day and I knew the sunset would be striking on Cadillac so I headed up to the top. This is just a bit before sunset and the fall colors were emerging. Everything was crisp and glowing. This painting is 18 x 40.

NEW MONHEGAN PAINTING OF THE ISLAND INN

2011-02-15T12:21:00.005-05:00

This view captured me on my trip to Monhegan in 2008. It was the view from Eider Duck where we were staying on our annual painting trip with the Maine Landscape Guild. It was late in the day and the sun was setting illuminating the Island Inn built in 1816. The painting is 24" x 34". Makes me want to be there now!

MONHEGAN, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2010

2010-09-18T21:11:00.024-04:00

View of the Ed Johnson House where we are staying

Ed Johnson, a watercolorist, has a studio next to the house where he shows a nice collection of marine subjects.

Today is our last full day on Monhegan. We were up early painting from the porch and then Alex and I went over to Gull Cove.

When we cross the island we have most of our gear in a backpack. If my canvas is to big, I just carry it or bungee it on my backpack. I like the tray that fits on my easel, but you could buy a small plastic one that would fit in your back pack. I usually put my camera around my waist, backpack on my back, and then I rest my tray with a fully laid out palette on the top of my camera.

Diana and her painting gear ready to go

Day 6 (Notice tired eyes, but still smiling!!)

Take Trail #5 out to Gull Cove. It is a gorgeous view of Gull Rock, the Cove, and Whitehead. To get to the trail go past the grass at the top of Horn Hill follow the road until you see a sign for the Hitchcock house. Turn left at that sign and go a little ways down until you see some rocks laid at the beginning of the path and a tree limb that hangs over the path. On the limb it will say Trail #5. This trail is not too difficult with lovely grasses on either side.

Alex at the head of Trail #5 to Gull Cove

This is generally the way the trails look winding with tall grasses

These are the two views you will have when you get there.

Gull Rock from Gull Cove

Gull Cove

I am obsessed with Dogs and there was the cutest one cooling off

Later on another dog did some fetching in Gull Cove

After Gull Cove we headed into town because today was Lighthouse Day. The lighthouse was open from 11pm to 4pm. There is a really top notch museum, a wonderful art collection, and of course a tour to the top of the lighthouse. I met one woman who said as a child she did not use a flashlight, but just waited until the lighthouse made its rotation to find her way.

The current lighthouse was built in 1850. It is 48 feet tall and built to last of granite. In 2009 the lighthouse was completely restored. There were so many coats of paint they could not tell the steps had a lattice pattern until the scraping began.

Lighthouse Stairs

In 1995 solar power was installed and the lighthouse is still active. I was fascinated by all this as a ship built by my great grandfather was wrecked in Lobster Cove. The museum's curator kindly did a little research for me on the schooner "John Somes". It was built in Mt. Desert I am assuming by my great grandfather Thaddeus Shepley Somes who had a shipbuilding operation in Somesville at the Mill Pond. The article that Jennifer Pye copied for me was titled "Schooner Goes to Pieces" According to the article it went ashore on the southern end of Monhegan Island. It was a total loss. In another account, it told of the crew looking for land and traveling for seven to ten miles before reaching shore. The men rowed entirely around the islands of Monhegan and Manana (Mena). I first saw a picture of the wreck in a book about Samuel Triscott's photographs and paintings. In my early career I worked at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History and from what I can see there is a high level of professionalism in the Monhegan Museum!!

View from the Lighthouse Tower

After the lighthouse we painted on Fish beach. So much fun.....had to move twice for the tide coming in. Dinner at the Monhegan House. Really Yummy!!!!

One final dog..........Bubba is too cute!!!

Monhegan really pulls at my heart. It is beyond special. Today we looked up and saw a large bubble just floating high over our heads. It seemed miraculous just like Monhegan.

MONHEGAN FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

2010-09-17T09:53:00.013-04:00

The Maine Landscape Guild 2010

Mary Walsh, Elaine Lisle, Diana Ansley, Alexandra Tyng, Nancy Bea Miller, Eliza Auth

Cold, Rainy, and Windy this morning.....

Down to the Business of Painting

Diane Tesler one of my favorite teachers has such great sayings. I have often thought of doing a lexicon of her sayings. One of them is to keep the paint on the business end of the brush. This is sometimes hard to remember in the moment of plein-air painting. We are often working very quickly to capture a light or just beat the looming storm. Yesterday, I settled behind a house already boarded up for the season. The next time I looked up the sun was gone, it was cold, and the day had ended. I had my camera, but the battery was dead. Admittedly I was tired, but when painting I think you have to be intelligent. There is great emotion in painting as you try to capture the feeling of a place, but keep in mind where you are and where you want to go with the painting. You cannot lapse into “licking” the canvas.

To fight this off, I often reread all my notes on painting over the years to get myself centered to paint. The MLGuilders thought carrying postcards of artist’s that inspire us would be helpful when we are waffling. This might be better than notes as we are all very visual!

It is a must to have all your equipment in working order. I usually carry extra bolts and screws to repair my easel when it loses one. A list of supplies helps one to remember what they should be bringing. This is my list from a plein-air workshop I run with Alexandra Tyng.

Checklist

Plein-Air Painting Supplies

Diana’s Portable plein-air necessities

Backpack to store everything

silocoil jar for solvent (Extra Solvent in case of a spill)

brushes and palette knives in a lightweight plastic jar like a thin Skippy peanut butter container/I also have a small plastic tube that I Velcro to the leg of my easel for wet paint brushes

palette (wooden preferred) paper does not work well on a windy day and glass is too heavy

if you are climbing a mountain!

Plastic or wooden cutlery box- Buy or make a box and drill holes in the bottom. Then run wire through the holes and attach it to the triangular sections of the stanrite easel. Cover the bottom of the box with paper towels to wipe your brushes as you paint. Then use one slot to hold your brushes and medium. Take out two sections for cutlery to have a place for the silocoil jar and paper towels.

paints in a large Ziploc bag or sorted by color in small Ziploc bags (best thing I have done is this so you don’t spend minutes looking for a certain color)

paper towels- brawny or those blue shop towels

tall kitchen trash bag with handles so you can tie it to your easel

stanrite backpack easel SR 100 which will be bungeed to the backpack

2 Small thin bungee cords / Metal clips to clip backpack or camera to center of stanrite easel for weight when windy

Small sketchbook, Pencils, and Erasers

Canvas or panels-toned with a wash of burnt umber or raw sienna

Small level- this is great when you are on uneven ground

View Finder

Visor/Hat

Sunscreen

Insect repellent

Water and Snacks

Camera and extra batteries!

Windbreaker

We are off to paint on the other side of the island the sun has broken through for the moment. We took trail #4 off to Gull Cove we turned left when we came to the cliffs and went a little ways to Gull Cove. When you look to the right you can see Gull Rock and to the left is Gull cove and Whitehead. Both of them are stunning views.
View of Gull Cove

View of Gull Rock
My easel is all set up for the day. Note the tray that is wired to the Stanrite easel.

We had four artists over tonight for drinks which was lots of fun. Three of them were from New Hampshire and Maine. One of them was a long time resident of Monhegan and Port Clyde

News Flash ...........MLGuilder Nancy Bea Miller takes the prize at Monhegan night Bingo. Yes, it is true she has done it!! She returned with the coveted lime green lunch box decorated by the Monhegan students. This was a great event to raise money for the school and thanks Nancy Bea for being there!!!

Goodnight from Monhegan

MONHEGAN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

2010-09-16T20:11:00.021-04:00

Today has been a full day of painting. I began at seven again working on the view to the right of the house. The light comes on the houses around 7:15 and then it crosses them and leaves them in shadow in about an hour and forty-five minutes! Not a very long time to work. This a dear little scene with the houses half in shadow and light and lots of angles.

At nine I stopped and headed to Lobster Cove. I thought I would show all the sights of this beautiful walk to the cove. As I came down Horn Hill, the electric company was working on the lines. This young lady was confident in her job.

At the Monhegan House the knitters were in full swing. Monhegan is full of artists, knitters, birders, hikers, and day trippers. The knitters have a full agenda. They begin with a superb breakfast at the Monhegan House. This is followed by a hike, knitting, yoga and then lunch. In the afternoon there is more knitting and I think they said more yoga. These women are having fun, laughing, learning and building memories.

This morning I spotted a truck hauling something in off the ferry. Later I saw that it was a new washing machine left smack in the middle of someone’s doorway on the porch. At the same house, they are getting ready for winter as well. A young man was hauling in about thirty bags of coal into a cellar. Stacked on the porch and lawn were new cords of wood.

Bikes and Trykes of Monhegan

The Trailing Yew is just up on the right which is quite popular and serves home style dinners.

There are a variety of dogs and a met two cute ones Bess and Riley. My camera was on the fritz so my apologies to Bess, but I had to put it in any way.

I met Donna Cundy who has two beautiful dogs Schooner and Scout and a cat Lola. They were getting groomed. Schooner has a Facebook page! He is a rough collie with a blue merle coat. I was wild about both of them as I am missing my border collie, Tucker. Scout is just eight months old and has an adorable face as you can see. Donna’s house came down to her from the English artist Samuel Triscott.

Lola

Scout and Schooner

Scout

This boat was keeping watch on the path to Lobster Cove.

Trap Day preparations are in full swing as I found two men painting buoys and stringing traps.

The red house with the picket fence is a favorite of mine complete with an anchor in they yard, roses, and a view of the lighthouse.

Just as you come in the cove, Jamie Wyeth’s house sits on a high rock bound shore. There were easels set up on the porch and movement in the house. So inspiring for us artists. Lobster Cove was just brimming with excitement.

There was a birder looking at Merlins which are a type of Peregrine Falcon. Knitters were there setting up a photo shot of their newly knitted sweaters. One woman was combing the beach for ocean tumbled sea glass. There were artist’s painting the wreck of the D. T. Sheridan. The Sheridan ran aground in 1948. I decided to paint Alex painting the D. T. Sheridan with other flotsam and jetsam from the Sheridan in the foreground. There were luscious grasses at the shoreline and even a green garter snake. I find it amazing to have such an interesting variety of people, architechture, animals, and boats on such a humble road.

Tonight is pouring on Monhegan and it is a lovely sound in the house.

MONHEGAN Wednesday, September 15, 2010

2010-09-15T15:51:00.015-04:00

Winter winds almost seem to be whipping across the island. They have continued through the night with our doors rattling. I put a pillow in my door at 4:30am. The whistling wind blew through the window frames last night. We were up at 6:00am and painting by 7:00am. I had two sweaters, a windbreaker, gloves, and a fleece head bead and I needed every bit of it. Mary and I painted the cluster of houses just to the side of ours just as light was coming on the buildings. Alex did the view of Mannana and the shoreline just as light broke on the island. By nine the light had changed so we all headed in various directions for our next paintings of the lighthouse, the back porch, and marsh.

Wash in the Wind -This dog is everywhere!!

This is not really for the faint-hearted painter as we take advantage of the early morning light and late daylight when the shadows are long and the light golden. A blustery day can present many problems besides the cold. Easels get blown over and paintings sail away. Eleven to three seems to be our down time as the sun is directly above and does not tend to make interesting light. You have to be flexible when doing this as light, weather, and conditions change often. You have to have good light equipment as most times we are doing a hike before we paint.

Alex and Nancy Bea windblown from the Lighthouse

Speaking of conditions, when renting on an off island be careful where you go! This year our house is very nice, but not without surprises. We apparently share a bathroom with the owner!! He has not been here yet, but that could be interesting. You can’t flush toilet paper and we must either take our trash to the mainland or pay a fee. We were told we should not paint inside the house. This last request is a problem as many of us tone and block in the night before we paint. When renting be sure and ask many questions.

View from our Bathtub

Our Royal Blue Baby Tub

We do have a sweet, royal blue, baby claw foot tub that makes washing hair interesting. The water is the color of tea, but hot! This house is well stocked with spices, flour, sugar, and other condiments, but other years there was nothing. Wine and Beer are easy to find, but not spirits. This has become a problem and we are only day three! As far as shopping on Monhegan, there is a fine selection of cheeses, wine, fish, and vegetables. For the uninitiated, you should know that one must shop early in the day because quantities are limited.

Island life obviously has its drawbacks. One young man has posted a sign that he will only answer island questions at one dollar a pop. He is readying himself for the upcoming lobster season. It is nearing Trap Day when the islanders are free to begin lobstering off Monhegan. Many of the lobstermen are repairing their traps for the season. Boats named “Barbara Jean”, “Pandora”, and the “Alice B” are painting their traps, checking, and coiling up the lines. This celebration, which happens October 1st, is when everyone helps load and prepare the traps for the upcoming season. Apparently, if one lobsterman cannot attend then it is postponed until all can attend. Monhegan has a protected area where only Monhegan lobstermen may fish. It extends two miles from the shores of Monhegan to the north, east, and west. To the south they may fish three miles out to sea. Talk about having an interesting workplace!

Mary made a very fresh dinner of haddock tacos with salsa. We all feel exhausted from fighting the wind. I thought I had it under control and my painting and hat flew away today!! I tried to capture the wind in these to painting which still need much work!

These are the beginnings of my first two paintings

SEND CALM SKIES!!!

MONHEGAN Tuesday!! September 14, 2010

2010-09-14T18:04:00.011-04:00

I just love all the trucks of many colors on Monhegan!!!

Sleep would not come easily last night so I noticed a few things. I could see all the stars out of my window not just the normal ones, but so many minor stars that I have not seen. The depth of the blackness here is incredible. I was lucky enough to be invited to this evening under the stars at my friend Becky’s on Mt. Desert. Her house is on an untouched part of the seawall directly on the wall.

An amateur astronomer came to tell us about the night sky. We could see the Milky Way, nebulae, and a ring cluster which is a tiny cluster of moving stars. The telescope let us view a hazy orange ring around Jupiter and four moons on Saturn. The moons kept moving out of our view as we are actually really moving as well on this earth. So amazing and we even saw the Milky Way reflected in the ocean it was so bright that night. This was all a preview to the Night Sky Festival on Acadia, which features lectures, boat rides, and two parties. There is one on Cadillac with the rangers and another one at Seawall all to honor the stars. Peter Lord spoke to us about preserving the night sky. Some communities on Mt. Desert have passed ordinances to reduce the light pollution to save the dark skies of Mt. Desert.

Nan Lincoln of “The Islander” covered the party and I was lucky enough to get some coverage, but not on my shoulders!! Nan wrote, “I met some new people that night. In particular I enjoyed talking to the very cheerful Diana Cobb Ansley, a landscape and portrait artist who is under-standably captivated by the view. Despite the chilly winds Diana was wearing a rather gauzy gown with exposed shoulders and I caught occasional glimpses of her standing on the rocky shore with the wind whipping her dress and Pashmina shawl around and looking very roman- tic in a “French Lieutenant’s Woman”sort of way. ”

So as a cloudbank enveloped the night sky, I realized the glow on frame of my window was actually the lighthouse making its turn around the island. In one quiet moment, I realized modern technology had joined with the lighthouse as my Mac sleepily pulsed three times to the one rotation of the Monhegan lighthouse. Sun just broke momentarily across Monhegan to cheers across the marsh. It was fleeting as thunderclouds rumble off the mainland. Mt. Battie sits low and blue on the horizon.

Mary Painting Whitehead

Alex arrived today. I went to the ferry to meet her and we began an afternoon painting of the Island Inn. Tonight will be a gorgeous sunset as there are many unusual formations of clouds as we hear Igor is off shore somewhere? I am the cook tonight continuing our Silver Palette love from last year with Chicken Marbella. I made Steve’s Mexican Chocolate cake with a new twist -organic ginger crystal from Monhegan. So it is officially a chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, ginger cake!! Turned into a glorious day. Mary, Eliza, and Nancy Bea painted away from the house and Mary is about to embark on a sunset painting. Put this place on your bucket list!!!! Sunset is just setting outside my window.

MONHEGAN 2010 WITH THE MAINE LANDSCAPE GUILD

2010-09-13T16:03:00.017-04:00

Monhegan finally!!! We left Sunday from Port Clyde on the ever reliable Elizabeth Ann owned by the Monhegan Boat Line. I just love the familiar sounds of the engine and know it means we will be there soon. Eliza Auth, Nancy Bea Miller and Mary Walsh and I are making the crossing. Alex Tyng will be coming later as she is in a show and new to our group is Elaine Lisle!! A nice crossing just a few rolls at the end. We are 12 miles out to sea on an island roughly a mile and a half by three quarters of of a mile. Monhegan comes from the Algonquian word Monchiggon which means "out to sea island". It is amazing to think that Samual de Champlain and Capt. John Smith all visited here along with the many artists who first popularized the island as an artist community.

Arrival at Johnson Cottage

We are staying on top of Horn Hill in the Johnson Cottage on the left. It is that sweet little cottage that is in every view from Horn Hill. We are really living well this year with our own rooms and no water leaking through the ceiling!! My room has a sweeping view of the Island Inn on one side and the marsh on the other. What has struck me the most this year is the sound of life of Monhegan. Children back to school, padlock discussions, and fire powered hot tubs being opened for the season.

View from my Room

It was a grey day yesterday and I blocked in the view from our porch. A word to all artists- I left for two minutes and noticed a seagull out my window. When I returned he had just enough time to peck through my windsor green. So if you see a green beaked gull then you know where he has been. Poor baby!

Today grey cast on Monhegan, but I hiked to Burnt Head and painted Gull Rock. I am always awed by the mammoth size of the rock. We took a boat around the island and I saw there were large crevasses on the side of Gull Rock. Hoping for sun!

Painting Gull Rock

PLEIN AIR PAINTING WITH ALEXANDRA TYNG

2010-03-03T19:09:00.007-05:00

Plein-Air Painting with Alexandra Tyng

Mt. Desert Island, Maine June 27 – July 3, 2010

Overview

Thomas Cole and Frederic Church first popularized Mt. Desert in the mid-1800’s. Artists will be painting outside in a group for approximately 3-6 hours a day. This year we will focus on the quality of light as seen in the landscape and architecture of Mt. Desert. For those new to Plein Air, the basics of how to have a successful experience painting will be covered. Participants will stay in the Abraham Somes house built in 1800. Daily critiques & discussions will be provided. The group will be led by Alexandra Tyng and Diana Ansley.

Tuition: $600

Lodging & Fees: $ 675

For further information on the lodging, travel arrangements, and the daily schedule or to enroll contact organizer Diana Ansley at DianaAnsley@aol.com

The Leaders

Alexandra Tyng and Diana Cobb Ansley are plein air painting partners on Mount Desert and on Monhegan with the Maine Landscape Guild. Philadelphia-based artist Alexandra Tyng has been painting the Maine Landscape for over thirty years. Her work is currently shown at the Fischbach Gallery in New York City, the Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia, and Dowling Walsh and gWatson Galleries in Maine. Alexandra is also an accomplished portrait and figure painter. She has won numerous national awards including several from the Portrait Society of America. Alexandra teaches portraiture and landscape at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA. Diana Ansley is an artist in Alexandria, VA, and the organizer of the workshop. Diana will be providing a list of painting supplies and lightweight painting gear to facilitate a successful outdoor painting experience.

**We will be climbing a few steep hills to get vistas over the island. Participants should be physically able to carry their supplies and easels to painting sites.

Accommodations

Artists will stay in a classic New England Greek revival home in the center of historic Somesville. “Willowbrook” the Abraham Somes III house is listed on the National register of Historic Homes and has one of the prime views on the island.

View from Willowbrook

Built in Somesville in the 1800’s with a view of the Mill Pond, Somes Cove, and the Mountains. Charming interiors with painted wide plank floors and colorful rooms. First floor has an entrance hall with staircase, one bedroom with a queen, another with a full bed and a bathroom with a 6 foot claw tub. There is a library, living room, dining room, kitchen, and back staircase as well. Upstairs the left wing has 2 bedrooms with full size beds and a bathroom with a shower. The right wing has a large bedroom with 2 single beds and another bedroom with 2 single beds. There is a bathroom with a shower. All bedrooms have a shared bath except the 6th bedroom which has a staircase to the kitchen, a double bed and bathroom with a tub. Walk to the grocery, library, museum, church, theater, and swim in nearby Somes Pond. This is a historic home with clean 1920’s bathrooms. All sinks have separate hot and cold spouts!

Costs

The price for the workshop is $600. Accommodations and Lunches are $675. One breakfast and all lunches are included. Dinners are not included. We have scheduled 3 dinners together where participants pay their individual dinner bills and the rest of the evenings you are on your own. Mt. Desert has a multitude of wonderful restaurants.

Sargent and The Sea Exhibit

2010-01-02T19:53:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is the last day of the Sargent exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery. My two painting friends Alexandra Tyng and Sue Braswell joined me to see the exhibit today. It was very interesting to see Sargent's early sketches. He completed 13 sketchbooks by the age of eighteen!! A little disappointing if you are looking for a large collection of his oil seascapes. The main focus was the painting "En Route pour la peche". They had his preliminary drawings and oil sketches. What was most fascinating was his smaller sketch for the painting. In many ways it was more successful than the finished painting. The gestures, contrast, and reflections really pulled me in to the painting!!

2009-09-28T18:29:00.017-04:00

MONHEGAN ISLAND PLEIN AIR PAINTING TRIP SEPTEMBER 2009

Maine Landscape Guild Member Nancy Bea and the Red House

We arrived yesterday around 11:30 from New Harbor aboard Hardy Boat lines. It was a rolling trip with large whitecaps and a deep dark sea. Monhegan was crystal clear with wonderful light. It was such a joy to be back at this special place. This year we are staying at the Red House, which is charming with a dark red stairway with curved seats around the bottom of it. Great improvement in the amenities dishwasher, washer, and dryer, but I still have fond memories of Eider duck with its views, musical instruments, collection of hats, bottles, and even a bongo drum.

Sunday we woke around 6:00 to the morning glow on Manana. Alex was already up and painting the light. It is colder than it has been other years and it is hard to stay warm. We finally after many deliberations settled on painting the view to the lighthouse from the porch at Red House. Rusty who had a booming business of making door mats, leashes, and baskets out of leftover lobster line was running people out in his dory to Mananna. Mananna is the island that sits in front of Monhegan. It seems magical with its gnarly headed cliffs in deep blues and purples. It was once home to the coast guard station, a private home, and a hermit named Ray Phillips who lived on Manana for fifty years with his goose and sheep.

Cold, Cold. Cold-it was hard to even think. I moved to the rear and painted the Red House in the morning light. Mary and Nancy Bea headed to Deadman’s Cove. It is a challenge to keep warm and keep you energy up between standing up, carrying your backpack and supplies and hiking the island!! I took a quick nap so I could paint from Horn hill in the afternoon.

View from Horn Hill

I painted till 5:40 and then back to Red House for dinner. At least I have a good start on three paintings. It is funny how we are all settled in with our wine and cheese and then we see a photo op as the evening light descends.

We seem to be very gourmet this year favoring the Silver Palette. Last night was shrimp wrapped in lemon and prosciutto and tonight was their famous Chicken Marbella. The island markets have an inspired selection of all our favorites and it seems the islanders have very sophisticated palettes. We have our chore charts and each take a night for dinner and then have two nights of dish duty.

Everything is so splendid and it feels like we never left. Early to bed tonight to catch the morning light. Hoping for 70’s tomorrow!!!

Up at 5:45 to catch the morning sun. Painted the view of Manana from Red House. The water is so rich with deep oranges and pale blues. It is supposed to be warmer today, but the cold just cuts through me and I am now warming up in bed!! Had a nice start to my Manana painting and hope I can warm up for my porch view of the lighthouse. Much less wind today. Quiet calm day on Monhegan.

Before lunch Alex and I worked on the view to the lighthouse from the Red House. Mary and Nancy Bea went to Deadman’s Cove and lighthouse hill. I have to tell my swimming group that a woman was swimming at the beach next to our house. The ocean must be in the 50’s! We were getting a little nippy swimming at Long Pond and Echo Lake on Mt. Desert!

Painted till the last light on Horn Hill. Such a beautiful and complicated view to paint. Tuesday we woke up to rain so we have just been regrouping. We checked out the galleries and took a hike to the other side to scope out painting sites for tomorrow. We followed the White Head trail to the other side and then took the Long Swamp Trial to join the Cathedral Woods trail. Cathedral woods is home to many little “Fairy houses” built by island children and adults over the years. They are made up of twigs, bark, pinecones and an occasional shell or worn piece of colored glass.

Fairy Houses

'The fog has really rolled in and we could hardly see down the coast!! I blocked in a painting of the lighthouse, but there was no light to finish my Horn Hill painting. We checked out some other houses "Treetops" and"Ice Pond." Very different, but not enough of a view for me!

We had an evening critique of all our work!

Critique

Unfortunately, Eliza has been sick and Mary and Nancy Bea are taking her home today. It will just be Alex and I now. We headed off to the other side of the island. We took the Cathedral Woods trail out to the ocean. We found this immense cliff which I began to paint and Alex was drawn to an interesting tree toppled over in a ravine. We were entranced in our paintings and headed home for a very late lunch just as the sun went behind the clouds.

Between White Head and Little White Head

We took a late hike about 5:50 to Calf Cove, but the trail was disappearing and the sun was low so we turned back.

All in all it has been a great trip and I feel like I accomplished some of the work I had planned to do. I just wish there was more time. A year is too long before I can get back here!!! Woke up to a wonderful day, but no glow on Manana….next year!

PLEIN AIR PAINTING WORKSHOP ON MT. DESERT ISLAND, MAINE

2009-09-28T16:43:00.016-04:00

Alex at the Easel

In July Alexandra Tyng and I had a great time running a plein air painting workshop on Mt. Desert. The first night we had a little get together party at “Willowbrook” in Somesville where we were staying.We had Maine crab, Seal Cove farm goat cheese, and mozzarella and tomato canapés made from our very special Beech Hill organic market.

Monday the workshop began with a demo by Alex showing participants her palette and painting theories. This was followed by my demo on how to set up for an effective plein air painting day. The weather was not cooperating, but fortunately Alex and I know all the good places to paint. My swimming friend, Becky, offered us her wonderful covered porch overlooking the natural sea wall in Southwest Harbor. It was a lovely foggy day and everyone was inspired. That night we began our gastronomic tour of Mt. Desert's restaurants. We began with McKay’s, Jordan Pond House, Cleonice, and even went to Jordan Pond twice by popular demand.

Mary in the shade at Thunder Hole

Tuesday was a full day beginning at nine we headed to Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park to paint near thunder hole. We had lunch on the rocks from “Mother’s Kitchen” in Town Hill.

Deena, Alex, and Joe

Afterwards we headed up to the summit of Cadillac for an afternoon paint. The weather was gorgeous and we had to take advantage of it.

The next day we had one of those milk toast skies which is perfect to do the views from Somesville. We ended the day at the Beaver Pond and finished just as it started to rain! What timing!!

Thursday we had a porch critique and painted at Eagle lake in Acadia National Park.

The final day we painted at the historic Claremont Hotel in Southwest Harbor. This site is one of my favorites as Fitz Henry Lane painted this view as well in 1852. For lunch we went to the Claremont Boat house for salads and tea. In the afternoon everyone had individual critiques of their work by Alex. We ended the day with a return trip to Jordan Pond with many indulging in three popovers! All in all, it was a great week for us and we know everyone enjoyed the house, the wonderful views, and attentive instruction! Thanks to our participants you made it such a pleasant week!

PLEIN AIR PAINTING WORKSHOP ON MT. DESERT ISLAND, MAINE

2009-05-04T22:55:00.013-04:00

View from "Willowbrook" where artists will be staying

Alexandra Tyng

Plein Air Painting with Alexandra Tyng

Mt. Desert Island, Maine

July 26 - August 1, 2009

Thomas Cole and Frederic Church first popularized Mt. Desert in the mid-1800s. Their works inspired families from New York and Philadelphia to make the journey by steamer to “rusticate” and enjoy the untouched beauty on Mt. Desert. Artists will be painting outside in a group for approximately 3-5 hours a day. Sites will vary from the spectacular summit of Cadillac Mountain, to the rugged shores, and quiet lakes and ponds of Acadia National Park. The group will focus on plein-air painting techniques and strategies. Participants will stay in the Abraham Somes III house built in 1800. Daily critiques, individual instruction, and demonstrations will be provided. Alexandra Tyng and Diana Ansley will lead the group.

TUITION IS $500

LODGING & LUNCH $575

For further information on the lodging, travel arrangements, and the daily schedule or to enroll contact organizer Diana Ansley at 703-960-0612 or at DianaAnsley@aol.com

PLEIN AIR PAINTINGS FROM SHOW WITH THE ST. PAUL'S ARTISTS

2009-05-04T14:47:00.008-04:00

Fog and Sunset, Eagle Lake Mt. Desert

Burnt Head, Monhegan

Jagged Rocks, Ocean Drive Mt. Desert

The Ripples at Peace Mt Desert

The Ripples Mt Desert

Mt. Desert Island Summer 2008 Paintings!!

2008-08-25T18:43:00.008-04:00

I am thrilled to be back painting after our recent move. This summer has been great despite a few weeks of rain in Maine. I have painted every possible moment it seems. You just have to go when the weather is right. Yesterday it was lovely and then the clouds rolled up Somes Sound and then spilled over Beach and the Western Mountain range. So you have a blue sky with these wispy grey clouds with patches of bright sun as well. I have been waiting for this day to paint from my friend Nan's house. I left about 6:45 AM and took my outboard to her house which is only accessible by a hike or boat. I had such a great morning trying to capture her view before it changed. I have done one painting from her house before and everyone is always drawn to the view. As a bonus Nan made me a crepe filled with blackberrry jam. What a treat it was. Her jam is like no other with blackberries, a few blueberries and she sometimes mixes in some of her strawberrry jam to get just the right taste. Here is my view of Beech Mountain from Nan's.

This summer I have done fourteen plein-air paintings. I began by myself and then my childhood friend Alexandra Tyng ( Alex) joined me for three weeks of painting. So far we have done two paintings on Ocean Drive of Otter Cliffs, two paintings of Long Pond from the Ripples Road, two paintings from Cadillac Mountain, one from Loapus Point, a street scene in Southwest Harbor and a view from Eagle Lake. We have fought off the bugs, wind, and elements!!! My easel and backpack have worked really well and we are all ready to go to Monhegan to paint for a week. What I really love about my setup is that my easel can be bungeed on my backpack, and my gamsol, brushes, and paper towels can be placed in a wooden silverware box on my easel. I drilled holes in the box and used picture wire to tie it to the center of my easel in three places. It has withstood huge winds on the top of Cadillac! I used my camera and backpack to weight my easel and it was great.

Welcome to My Blog and Website www.DianaAnsley.com

2007-11-09T16:31:00.000-05:00

Wow!! I have to thank an interesting man and his wife who I met on a train to Philadelphia. I first noticed him on the platform when his panama hat blew off his head. Then as he meandered down the car, he greeted people as he went. I was headed on the first leg of my trip to Monhegan, Maine for a long awaited painting trip with my childhood friend Alexandra Tyng and Philadelphia artists Eliza Auth and Nancy Bea Miller. My painting supplies were in my lime green backpack with my four foot metal easel bungeed to the back of it and I was pulling my daughter’s hot pink rolling suitcase. I must have been a sight!! We struck up a conversation and I mentioned that if I got a website up, I would send them the address. The man looked at me and said “Well if is a pretty big word.” I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it “stuck” in me and gnawed at me until I was determined it would happen. So welcome!