Last week I packed up my oil paints and drove up Route 17 to Oquossoc. Along the way is the most charming little fishing spot, Beaver Pond. After driving to the Height of Land, which is a panoramic view of the Richardson Lakes, I turned around and headed south towards Byron to situate myself on the east shore of this little pond as dusk settled in. I met a friendly teen who was fishing with her father there. They were among many who caught their limit of trout after a hard day at work. I just love this spot and probably will return to paint other times of day and seasons.

Maple Sunrise. This is my little sap house where many happy, and often anxious, hours were spent boiling down sap to make sweet maple syrup. There were many state laws to follow, many traditions in methods and many ideas on how to best accomplish the task. The sap house was in operation from about 1980-1986. The building still sits cosily awaiting the bustling of steam rising out of the center vents in the darkness of the crisp, cool night, the heat from the arch keeping a distance, the night lights glowing while the full bulk tank of sap gravitates to the heat. Wondering its fate as the maple orchard is crowded out by softwoods.

Dusk Settling Behind Sugarloaf

This is a view from Ira Mountain. We arrived at the top just about as the sun had settled behind the distant peaks. There was Sugarloaf, distinct and majestic that it is, basking in the soft evening light of late summer. What a wonderful drive up Ira Mountain on a steep, winding road with deep drop-offs. I wouldn't want to do it in the winter, but if I did, I'll bet it would be worth it!

If you are interested in this 16 X 16 oil painting, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com. The price is $289 plus tax for Maine residents.

All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.

Blueberry Barrens

On the other side of the highway along the road to Starbird was this blueberry field looming up in front of me. It was magnificient, just the field I had been hankering in my mind to paint. When we get there in August, there is not generally much color, perhaps a slight blue hue across the field by the second week, so this is typical. The vehicles were coming and going all day along a road near the woods. Old rattley farm trucks with wood sideboards loaded with blueberry crates, beat up old cars and pickup trucks filled with pickers to once again hunch over their work in the hot sun. I cannot wait to return there next year and see it in July. And I do so want to go in September some time when the fields turn red and paint that too.

If you are interested in purchasing this 24 X 16 oil on board, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com The price is $349 plus tax for Maine residents.

All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permisson from the artist.

Hamilton Cove and Grand Manan

This is the other Hamilton Cove painting. I stayed pretty much in the same place as the other one but looked to my left where the boys were playing, throwing rocks, jumping back and forth across the stream. It is a rather small painting as it was getting rather damp and I was tired after standing at my easel all day long. I still had a bit of a hike to get out with all my gear and two wet paintings. Then the fog started coming in, it was beautiful. I love painting fog! But I couldn't stay. So I packed up and started to leave. A woman and her son, who was about 12 or 13, came along and offered to help carry my stuff out. He slung my packed easel over his shoulder, she took my paint box and I carried the wet paintings. It was a nice gesture that I gratefully accepted.
If you are interested in purchasing this 12 X 6 oil painting on board, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com

The price is $179 plus tax for Maine residents.

All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.

Mt Blue from Mosher Hiil, Farmington, Maine

This painting was started on location in a class with Ronal Parlin. I finished it in my studio much later. Mt. Blue is always one of my favorite mountains to paint. I grew up in the morning shadow of Mt. Spec, second highest mountain in Maine, so I suppose, subconsciously, I still search the landscape for beautiful, majestic mountains to paint. Mt. Blue is one I see often in my daily comings and goings and climb whenever I can. It is a fabulous mountain, one that deserves admiration and respect.

If you would like to purchase this 10x8 oil on panel, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com

The price is $179 plus tax for Maine residents.

All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.

Overlooking Machias River

This is my favorite painting from my painting week at Tide Mill Farm this summer. At Kay's recommendation, I was on my way to check out the little coastal town of Starbird and saw this breathtaking overlook showing a bit Machias River, a lovely farm on the distant hill and blueberries in the foreground. I propped up my hatch for shade and my sunbrella and spent most of the day right there. The next day I went back with a friend. She painted this side while I painted the blueberry barrens on the other side, which I'll post later.
If you are interested in purchasing this 16x16 oil painting on panel, please contact me at melanie.farmer@gmail.com. The price is $399 plus tax for Maine residents.
All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.

Hamilton Beach, Maine

Hamilton Cove is a lovely cove, just a short hike off the highway near Cutler. There are nature trails that lead along the coastline to the east. But I was content to plunk myself there, backing up to the bank in the back to get a bit of shade from the burning sun. It was a lovely day but the weather on the sea was unsettled. I watched the fog gradually move across the island in the distance, managing to capture about half of it before it was totally lost in fog. A couple of pre-teen boys were playing near the brook around the beach to my left. Although I could hear their voices, and except for a word or two here and there, I could not make out what they were saying. I was fascinated that two young boys could spend all day just throwing rocks into a brook. What fabulous summer memories they will have of Hamilton Cove in their adult years!
If you are interested in purchasing this framed 12x9 oil painting on board, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com. The price is $189 plus 5% tax for Maine residents.
All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the artist.

Quoddy Lighthouse Beach and Grand Manan

This was painted on location on the east side of Quoddy Lighthouse. There is a nice little beach way down there and so totally inaccessible. If one were to find their way there, they would have to leave before high tide! It is a lovely view, looking towards Campobello.
If you are interested in purchasing thie 8X8 oil on panel, framed, please contact me.  SOLD.
All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without permission from the artist.

Clouds Across the Bay (Looking across to Campobello)

It was fun parking along side the narrow road to Quoddy State Park, looking across the road where pink fireweed was prolific against the dreary fog and clouds beyond it. The scene looks across the bay to Campobello. To the left was Lubec, but that is a whole other painting. My friend did a little pastel from the back of the Jeep, while I sat on a rock painting in oil. We did not return during our week there, but it will definately be on my list for next year.

If you are interested in purchasing this little scene, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com

It is 10 X 8 oil on panel.   SOLD!

Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

Evening at Tide Mill Farm

The evening light is simply awesome at Tide Mill Farm but it changes rapidly. The trick is to work fast. The more plein air painting I do the more able I am to capture the moment. This makes for a more impressionist painting, but to me, that is what it is all about. The moment, the mood, the lingering shadows, the softness of colors. It is about making you imagine that you are there or bringing forth a memory for you of such a time that you also spent an evening beside the tidal bay waters.

I have only just left there and already am eager to return and paint more. We had a grand time painting, exploring, visiting. What more could anyone ask?

If you are interested in this 10 X 8 oil on panel, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com It is $169 framed or $149 unframed.

Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

In the afternoon as the clouds settled over Grand Manan, I noticed some great reflections in the waters from Sail Rock, reported to be the easternmost point of land in the United States. It looks like a little sail sticking up there, but depending on how high the tide is, it could be a submarine.
So I painted this little scene, fascinated by the length and strength of the island of Grand Manan which lies in the distance.
Tomorrow I will post a third study from this rocky perch.
If you are interested in purchasing this little 7X2.5 study in oil on mounted canvas for $39 unframed, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com

Appreciate your comments.
Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

Quoddy Light House - East Side

On our second day at the Lubec Artists' Retreat, my friend Tammy and I went to Quoddy State Park. We had seen a photograph of the lighthouse taken from the east side and wanted to catch the morning light on it. So we asked the Park Ranger, who has a very delightful dry sense of humor, how to get down there. He told us of the path known only by a few but did not say we could not go there. However he did not think there was much space on the cliff rocks for a couple of artists to set up. His motto was "let responsible people be responsible". I love it!
We wallowed thru tall thick grass and bushes to scout it out, and quickly returned to the Jeep for our supplies. Tammy, who is also adventurous, ordinarily would have joined me on the cliff rocks below, but she is suffering with hip and leg problems, so she settled in up on the grassy top, where she did a very fine, detailed watercolor. I climbed down below with my paint box and beach chair and didn't move until lunchtime.


Well, the sun did not co-operate for lighting up the east side for us, but it finally came out a bit before noon. I was happy just to be there and get this neat angle of the lighthouse and the keeper's house (now a museum) and not have it raining for a change! The results are this tiny oil on canvas. 2.5" X 7". Too small really to frame without a mat but it is a nice one for a study. I do want to go back next year and do a larger one. Or perhaps this winter in studio and work from my photos and memory.


If you are interested in purchasing this little study for $39 unframed, please email me. melaniefarmer@gmail.com

Tommorrow I will post another painting I did while down there. It is looking out over the bay with Sail Rock and Grand Manan. What a magnificient view all around!

Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

Coos Canyon, Byron, Maine

In spring, the melting snow from the mountains fills the Western Maine streams with rushing water. Coos Canyon in Byron is a popluar place to go and watch the water rush over the rocks. This year, the heavy rains in June kept the waters high as it continues now. If you get a chance to go and have a picnic there, do it. It will be a wonderful memory. If you would like to purchase this painting to remind you of a special time there, please contact me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com. It is an oil on panel, 8X10. Just as my usual method, it is painted with a pallet knife.
SOLD!
Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

Evening Light on Bigelow Range

The first evening at Cathedral Pines Campground in Eustis, Maine, was warm and lovely. I wasted no time setting up my easel at the edge of the Dead River with part of the Bigelow Mountains in the background. The sun was setting low in behind me, creating a nice warm glow on the edge of the shore, the tree trunks and mountains. What a fabulous moment in time, a beaver swam by, a couple of ducks passed by looking for their supper and fish were jumping.

If you are interested in purchasing this lovely little nature scene, 8x6 oil on panel, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com SOLD.

Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

Tyler Cove, Umbagog Lake, Upton, Maine

Upon a return visit to the little town where I grew up, I wanted to do some painting around the lake, where I have some fond memories. Not many, though, as we lived on the other side of town and didn't get to the lake very often. Hiking in for school picnics or late night family smelting parties are about the only reasons, as I recall, for going to Tyler Cove on Umbagog Lake. Better to have a few fun memories of a place rather than a lot that don't mean anything, I suppose.
Since the water was high with spring rains, which left little beach and few rocks to sit on, I had to prop myself up in the bushes. The black flies were fierce, so I worked fast and hiked back out to my jeep without much delay. I had hoped for a better light but settled for the overcast sky with the sun popping out just enough to tease.
If you are interested in purchasing this 8X6 oil on panel, please email me. melanie.farmer@gmail.com. It is $149 framed.
Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

Western Maine Mountain Range

Here is a painting I did from near the top of Ira Mountain in Kingfield, Maine. What breathtaking views all the way up and all the way down! I don't know all the mountains and bodies of water that I could see, but they are all put together in such a magnificent way.

If you are interested in purchasing this original 8 x 6 oil painting on panel, please email me at melanie.farmer@gmail.com. SOLD.

Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted. Do not reproduce in any form without written permission.

Rangeley Lake, Rangeley, Maine

Here is a much photographed and painted view of Rangeley Lake. It is a very popular summer place where a lot of people have taken up living there year 'round in their retirement years.

This painting is an original oil on 10 X 6 panel. If you are interested in purchasing it, please email me. SOLD! melanie.farmer@gmail.com

All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.

A Clearwater Day, Farmington, Maine

Here is another little painting I did on location at Clearwater Lake in Farmington. I went with a painting class. It was fun but not enough time to do more than a little 7 X 5 on panel. It does capture the spirit of the moment and that is what counts in paintings.

If you are interested in purchasing this 7 X 5 original oil on panel, please email me. Framed in a 2" gold frame (plus shipping and, if in Maine, sales tax) melanie.farmer@ gmail.com. SOLD

All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.

Flint Woods, Farmington, Maine

Flint Woods is a public park in Farmington. It's a lovely, magical place. I went painting there with many other artists and we all got lost in our own little areas. This is a little pool of water that is probably only there during a wet summer or for a week or two after a rain.

If you are interested in purchasing this 8 X 10 original oil painting framed in a 2" gold frame, please email me. $169 (plus shipping and, if in Maine, sales tax) melanie.farmer@gmail.com.

All Melanie Farmer paintings are internationally copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the artist.