Blog

 Monhegan has long been a destination for artists and art lovers. It has been twenty five years since I first painted on Monhegan.

Last week I traveled to the Island with a friend and fellow artist Stephen LaPierre a Rocky Neck artist. We met up and stayed with Caleb Stone, a Rockport artist and longtime painter on Monhegan Island. 

The season was very much over when we arrived however the weather was great for painting.

I brought a few different easels to paint with. The Island can be rugged so traveling simpler and lighter is a good idea. 

In the mornings we took the golf cart up the hill with all our gear to make it easier to transport. In the Afternoon we used our backpack and traveled by foot. 

I found that canvas paper taped to a board was the best way to painting and  light enough to travel for me.When I return home I can mount them to a board before framing .

Steve and Caleb painted larger in the mornings and used their Anderson Easle to work from.

Caleb's view overlooking the town.

Because Caleb knew the Island so well he was able to bring us to different locations so that there was a variety of painting choices.

This is one of my favorite views of Monhegan Island .

Pochade boxes are used to make painting outdoors more convenient and to organize your equipment into a compact box for traveling.

 The use of a pochade box is very Helpful for getting around the Island. Usually the painter sits and the box is placed in the painters lap.

The pochade box may have a small handheld palette . 

Overall it was a great week and getting to paint with good painters is challenging and rewarding. I learned a lot from the experience. Getting a chance to paint different landscapes teaches you to get out of your comfort zone and makes you more inspired when returning to your own town.