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.

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.