Without class

In the Lupines

Original oil painting 14x18"

by Susan Roux

I'm preparing a body of work to be exhibited next summer. I know it sounds far off to be beginning so soon, but the inspiration is alive and current. I feel its the perfect time to dive right in.

The morning I left for Deer Isle, I received an email from my artist friend Sandy. She suggested I go visit Peter at Blue Hill Bay Gallery, located directly in the picturesque town of Blue Hill, Maine. She is represented there and thought Peter might be interested in my art.

Talk about a last minute rush to pack a few finished paintings, grab frames, hardware and tools. No time left to put anything together. We were just about to leave. Running out the door, I remembered to print out a resume only to find it wasn't updated for 2010... Change some dates, pop in resume paper and hit print. In ten minutes, I managed to somewhat prepare for a gallery visit. Phew!

I was hoping to finish some magnificent work on location to totally impress him, but that didn't turn out to be the case. All my works were unfinished and the lupines were fading daily. By Thursday afternoon, I decided to give Peter a call.

This is never the way to approach a gallery, yet here I was doing it...

I like to project an image of class. Unfortunately Peter never saw it. His gallery was closing for the day in two hours and I was thirty minutes away. Throw some unfinished paintings in the car, hair all a mess and still in my painting clothes from a morning at work, yet I was off to Blue Hill.

I can't emphasize enough how it helps to know someone currently in a gallery. I did not enter the gallery with my best work. Luckily he could see through the plein air struggle and saw something he liked. Something that held promise. He delighted that I was so interested in the lupines. To my great surprise, he's taking me on.

We decided it would be best to plan for next year rather than try to rush a body of work instantly. And so here it is. My inspiration to paint lupines and the rocky coast of the Blue Hill Peninsula including Deer Isle and perhaps Acadia is front and foremost at the moment. Posted, In the Lupines, is my first finished painting for next years exhibit.

In the Lupines/detail

Yesterday, after my early morning lupine painting session with fog, I returned to my studio to finish the painting I'd started on the island, in the lupine patch. (They're purple. How can I resist?)

Hope you're immersing yourself in what nature has to offer. Its so beautiful...

(Happy Anniversary Honey!)

Booklets

Do you ever have brochures or booklets just jump out at you?

There they are. Staring you in the face. You can feel them tugging at you. Take me. Take me. Your arm leaps forward. You hesitate. It retracts. Your eye stays glued to the booklet. "Why would you be taking it?" you ask yourself. "These are for tourist." Unable to turn away, you finally pick it up.

Have you had this happen to you? I have. Several times actually.

What happens next is the real story. You spend a few moments wondering why you even grabbed this information and almost convince yourself it wasn't there for you at all. And then it happens... It sends you in a completely different direction altogether.

Your mind wanders and begins to imagine possibilities. New possibilities. Your excited just thinking about them. The first time this happened I was in the grocery store and at the checkout I spotted a Cape Cod art gallery guide. This may not strike you as funny, but I'm in Maine and Cape Cod is not exactly close by. There was just one gallery guide tucked among the TV guides. Looking back now, I'm convinced it arrived here by accident. An accident with my name on it. This happened in 2001 and by 2002, after much research and many art packets later, I got into the Blue Heron Gallery. If I hadn't picked up that booklet, would I be there? Most likely not.

Don't avoid taking chances that can spin you around. Surprises await. New beginnings await. Most times its just a matter of taking that initial step. Picking up that booklet...

So Wednesday while waiting for my son to arrive at the airport, I stumbled across a whole stand of booklets. Yes, they are there for tourist. Well a few jumped out at me and I must say I didn't hesitate as long as I had years ago in the grocery store. One was of Blue Hill, Maine. I've never been and knew nothing about it. I may have heard the name, but one town or another, if you don't know it can mean nothing.

I quickly learned its the jutting chunk of land just south of Acadia where the popular picturesque Bar Harbor sits. Its a wonderful area, so why wouldn't the area south be as pretty? I don't suppose it wouldn't. Photos of lupines run through out the booklet. Next thing I know, I'm all over the internet looking for lodging during lupine season...

Wouldn't it be splendid to go paint the lovely purple spikes with the ocean in the background? Whole houses are for rent by the week for the price of a few nights in an inn. (Ha ha, just like in Ireland!) My first thought of going for a few nights quickly turned into wanting to go paint for the week! My second thought is do I want to invite other artists to come join me? You can get houses with various number of bedrooms...

Well I'm not sure how this will play out at the moment. But I can tell you I wouldn't even be considering this if I hadn't first picked up that booklet. Now I'm tingling with excitement at the thought of going on a painting holiday.

I hope you keep yourself open to new possibilities. Half the fun is never knowing what's waiting around the corner. Just as color can give you surprises on the canvas, a slight change in direction can place surprises in your life. Go surprise yourself!