Grand Manan Island – Day Three!

It was low tide when we arrived at Seal Cove this morning. The fog was fairly dense, as well, but visibility was fine for sketching and painting. The old smoke sheds of Seal Cove offer quite a challenge to the artist. I started the day with a discussion about perspective and showed the students how to use a measuring stick to check angles accurately.

Seal Cove is usually the most popular of our painting sites. The weathered textures and subtle colours are very appealing. Even the avifauna get in on the act! This Herring Gull is perched on a red shingle roof and the rosy hue is reflected onto its’ white underside.

We broke around midday and had a delicious lunch at the McLaughlin’s Wharf Inn. After that, it was back to work.

We had our critique at the Marathon Inn. Most of the group are guests of the Inn and we commandeered a common room for a little while.

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Grand Manan Island – Day Two!

Seal Cove is a special place. Smoked herring was a thriving industry years ago and many of the smokehouses still stand. It was overcast this morning but turned out to be a lovely day.

I did a watercolour sketch as a demonstration. I didn’t use any pencil before painting. That can lead to some odd proportions and skewed perspective but it allows the brush to dance a bit.

While painting, I discussed the decisions I made, the colours I chose and just about anything else that seemed relevant. Quite a few of the group tried my approach, at least for the morning.

We had two local choices for lunch. Some of the artists ate at the McLaughlin’s Wharf Inn. It’s a gorgeous place and it was a great lunch. We were also very grateful to the Inn for allowing us the use of their washroom during the day.

Others grabbed a yummy cheeseburger or sausage on a bun at The Beach Dog, a new, friendly and welcoming BBQ place in an old smokeshed. Brian wasn’t just doing the cooking; in about twenty minutes he actually made a quite serviceable wooden easel for our painter who’d been using a chair yesterday. Brian also owns Captain’s Jewel, a spacious rental cottage in Seal Cove.Alas, the time always comes to pack up for the day. We gathered for our critique and enjoyed viewing and discussing some exciting watercolours and drawings.

 

Grand Manan Island – Last Day!

It was a cool and foggy morning and we started the day in Seal Cove, amongst the herring smokesheds. My watercolour demonstration was of the ‘shape-reading’ approach; no pencil drawing was done prior to painting. Also, I left a little bit of the dry paper between the shapes in order to prevent everything from running together in the damp conditions.

We warmed up with coffee at the charming McLaughlin’s Wharf Inn (506-662-8760) for a while but the damp mist prevailed and we decided to check out some other sites around the island. As it happened, the weather had improved in the North Head area so we settled in for the rest of the day.

At the end of the day, we gathered behind the Marathon Inn for our critique.

Friday Critique

Our Farewell Dinner took place at the Marathon in the evening and it was lobster with melted butter all around. Not to mention the fresh potato salad and my all-time favourite Caesar salad (apparently the secret has to do with anchovies).

We followed dinner with our Final Critique, a chance to review the week and enjoy the paintings and sketches one more time. David and Joyce Ogilvie, who have been to Lucca and Puglia with us in the past, dropped by with their daughter, Alison. Alison is a long-time workshop regular on Grand Manan and she’ll be joining us in Newfoundland next week. David is a fine photographer and he took our group photo. I’ll send it out as soon as he forwards it to me.

That’s it for the Group of Seven, Grand Manan style. The artists all deserve a thank you for contributing to a rewarding, creative experience. I’m glad you’ve been following us and appreciate your comments. Why don’t you mark July 28 – August 3, 2013 in your calendars and treat yourself to this gem of an island?