Kim Gagne

I never know what the painting will look like until the end of this process and I am always surprised.  I take away from this experience a painting and a memory of the day, of the heat, and the two friends who I painted with. The blues, greens, purples, yellows of the sky and grasses. The water and the distance across the rolling land.  How far away from me this small section of landscape is.  This process creates in me a feeling of joy. To move the oil paint across the canvas with a brush is joy. The colors of nature…composing the image. I look at the paintings whether years, months or days after with a longing to be back in that moment.

This painting proved to be a difficult task today.  So green because of the summer season….the house was raised up on high land which gave it a monumental presence.

The shadow the building cast on the grass was interesting to me….it was a very bright day and the wind made it cold.  I enjoyed the soft blue sky and it’s airiness against the solid shape of the building and shadow.

Standing high above North Truro painting. My heart is fully invested in this moment. I am moved by the beauty of the land as always and also the significance of the row of cottages. So much variety in the land….with the grasses, roads, water, sky and the light changing.  This moment was poetry.

My focus is closer to the immediate road near me and the trees and grass along it.  The dirt road actually is a sandy and rocky road.  A mad dash of light and shadows and always the sky…..not so airy here…… a heavy dense blue that rests on the jaggedness of the landscape.

This was a hot summer day and the colors of the dunes were rich. I love being outside surrounded by the beautiful earth. Using a smaller brush to draw the direction.

We had been out all day and this was my third painting.  The sun was setting and I could not tell what the colors of the land were. All I could see was the color of the light from the setting sun.  I had to get it all down quickly before it became too dark.

This painting came about only after I labored over this view on another canvas for a long time. After awhile I took a break and wiped the canvas clean. Picked up a new prepared piece of paper and with the colors already mixed quickly painted what you see here.  The blues and greys in nature that day were unsettling to me because there was not much of any other color in sight.  Each of the 3 Quabbin paintings on this site reflect the blue, blue day.

I felt very small while standing in the dunes here. There was so much vegetation, hills and valleys.  Just trying to make sense of it with paint.