Bar Harbor Misty Point

At Bar Harbor the rocks that tumble into the ocean are so dramatic and powerful for me.  Every few steps there seems to be another opportunity for a painting.  This painting shows one of my favorite views in part because even today, the place is so strong with its sense of active nature and ancient power that it still feels almost primordial to me.

As a painting, the depth created by the simplification of using atmosphere to blend and simplify distant shapes, gives the place that slightly muffled quality that you find at northern Maine seashores often broken only by the squabbling cry of the gulls.

For me, this painting really wraps together the beauty of the small hard edged shapes with the color palette, composition and tone of the early 20th century landscape painters.  I have used this painting as the background for my blog because it feels like it can represent this body of work.

The birds were interestingly the key to bringing the composition to life.  I painted and painted and repainted them to get a flock that felt natural and that had the flow I was looking for.

Bar Harbor Misty Point