“Robert Leedy in Maine: Day Eight”

This was my second visit to Driftin Beach. The first was last week when I had the disastrous day of forgetting brushes, incoming tide, and uncooperative paintings. I had almost given up completely and called it a day. I left Driftin Beach and went down to Marshal Point where I began a painting of the keeper’s house. That day was saved by a good painting near day’s end.

So it was good to come back and tackle the beach I had given up on. The tides were with us – low tide was due at 11:30 a.m. or so. I would have plenty of time to paint.

David Dewey began an interesting painting and was not bothered in the least as a light rain began. Raindrops hit the sky area in his painting and created little stars throughout the painting. It actually added an abstract quality. The finished painting was quite remarkable given the circumstances.

I began my painting in the same spot and wanted to accomplish and interesting sky with granular washes and an overall simplicity that is quite often difficult when painting pure landscapes. Too often you are overwhelmed by what’s in front of you and the editing process is thrown to the wayside.

“Driftin Beach, Port Clyde, Maine”, 2006,
by Robert Leedy,
watercolor on Arches 140 lb hot press paper,
Collection of Kevin & Patricia Burke, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

I was quite happy with this painting in that I was able to keep it simple. Rocks, sand, trees, water and an island on the horizon are all represented in a straight forward manner.

The morning clouds turned to a bright sunny day but I kept on my original course. The painting reads very well and is a fairly good portrait of this little spot of Pennobscot Bay.

The day actually turned out to be quite hot and I was out in the sun as usual. I broke for lunch and went to Port Clyde and had lunch at the Dip Net Cafe, a local favorite. Fried shrimp, lobster bisque and a ginger beer . This refueled me for a second painting down the road at Marshal Point Light House. Our group critique and an afternoon thundershower interrupted progress but I got enough information down to finish at a later point.

Back at the Craignair, I had a bowl of steamed mussels for an appetizer. I have had these for four nights in a row – once at Cafe Miranda (their mussels are not as good as the Craignair’s.) Served with a mustard sauce and course bread, they are really tasty. My entree was Lobster Newberg. Also delicious!