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COBALT FINE ART
En plein air 2003
Fine art by Nina Gomez Gordon, thematic group presentations and alternative space
553 STATE ROAD IN WEST TISBURY, MARTHA’S VINEYARD www.CobaltFineArt.com
After the roughest two years of my life, I’m back to the basics – go for a drive around this beautiful island, find one of my favorite spots, and paint it… It’s been fast and fresh and joyful even on cloudy days… Thanks, Bill McLane for getting me on the brush again. - Nina
Please contact Nina if you would like larger images e-mailed for your consideration. Commissions accepted for paintings based on these images. All rights reserved.
Edgartown * Oak Bluffs * Vineyard Haven * West Tisbury * Chilmark * Menemsha * Aquinnah
5/19/03 – 5/24/03
“Mares’ Tails” 20 inches by 16 inches oil on canvas
Bill McLane invited me to go painting with him and Allen Whiting on the farm at Herring Creek. Though creating art is often wonderfully solitary and introspective, sometimes the camaraderie and inspiration from other artists can invigorate the senses and enhance technique, feeding from each other’s energy, perspective, and knowledge. This experience is something I really needed since I had unfortunately been over half a year from the canvas. Bill has extended many invitations to artists to paint with them outside – I think he believes that all painters should be painting all the time, at least for our own sakes. Or maybe I believe that. Allen once quipped that if every artist whom Bill has invited came along, we’d need to hire a bus like Camp Jabberwocky.
I said I’d meet them in Edgartown, and they were late. That’s OK, as it was a sunny late-May day, with the chickens hiding under the bushes. Besides, they paint faster than I do (the artists, not the chickens). I sat by the fence sketching the chickens rushing to greet me in order to absorb the scents and feelings of the farm. Quickly the chickens realized that I had no corn, and retreated to the shade. After a little while longer, I decided to walk down the road and find myself a view to paint.
There’s something about the might and grandeur of horses – their size, strength, speed, and beauty. But they were no better than the chickens, checking to see if I proffered a carrot. A couple feisty draft horses got loose and thundered across some fields. I could feel the vibration from my feet up, emphasizing our connectedness with the land. Eating, breathing, activity, and rest are the basics of living, and I can’t think of any better example of how humans and creatures great and small work in symbiosis with the land, honoring the cycle of life to acquire these basics, than on an organic farm.
As I was painting from the side of the road, Bill and Allen drove up. They went on to see the cows, and eventually checked back with me. Allen, as both farmer and artist, was looking far-off, concerned about a cow having a difficult delivery as Bill and I chatted. He went on to assist. After they left, I finished for the day as I began, alone with my thoughts, but with a feeling of the joy of life that I hope comes through in my work. That day is a gift given to me by my brief time at Herring Creek Farm.
This painting is featured for the month of September in the Vineyard Artists Paint the Farm 2004 calendar, a fundraiser for The FARM Institute, in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard. Prominent Vineyard artists included are Christine Alesch, Ray Ellis, Gretchen Feldman, John Lees, Marjorie Mason, Ellen McCluskey, Kara Taylor, David Wallis, and Allen Whiting. A limited number of calendars signed by all the artists may still be available. Please contact FARM to purchase both signed and unsigned copies.
Left: Edgartown
Lighthouse, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Right: Water’s Edge, 8”x12” oil on canvas
Left: Edgartown Wharf
at Night, 8”x10” oil on paper
Right: Black Backs, 4”x4” oil on canvas
Far left: Brine’s Pond, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Center: Mytoi Lily, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Right: Poucha Pond, 20”x16” oil on canvas
Left: Herring Creek
Horses, 10”x14” oil on canvas
Right: Trotting, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Left: Eastville Point,
8”x10” oil on canvas
Right: East Chop Beach House, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Left: Ocean Park
Benches, 8”x12” oil on paper
Right: Ferry Slip, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Left: Eastville
Point Beach Dusk, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Right: Oak Bluffs at Night, 8”x12” oil on paper
Left: Owen Park Fog, 16”x20” oil on canvas
Right: Boats at Anchor, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Left: Cygnet, 16”x16” oil on canvas
Right: Skiffs, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Left: Looking out to
West Chop, 8”x12” oil on paper
Right: Tisbury Wharf, 10”x14” oil on canvas
Left: Waterworks,
16”x24” oil on canvas
Right: Swimming Spot, 4”x4” oil on canvas
Above left: Shenandoah,
8”x10” oil on canvas
Above right: Owen Park Boats, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Left: Harbor from Eastville, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Left: Crows
in Bamboo, 8”x12” oil on paper
Right: Arrowhead Farm Horses, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Below left: Beach at Cedar Tree Neck, 10”x14” oil on canvas
Below center: Berry Beach, 10”x14” oil on canvas
Below right: Dune, 14”x18” oil on canvas
Left: Field of Lace,
9”x12” oil on canvas
Right: Five Birds, 16”x20” oil on canvas
Left: Cedars,
9”x12” oil on canvas
Right: Road through Field, 14”x18” oil on canvas
The Humphrey’s Tree, 14”x18” oil on canvas
Fall, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Left: Allen Farm Sheep, 10”x14” oil on canvas
Center: Grazing Allen Farm, 16”x20” oil on canvas
Right: Keith Farm, 16”x20” oil on canvas
Left: Drive to Lucy Vincent, 14”x18” oil on canvas
Center: Path to Beach, 14”x18” oil on canvas
Right: Lucy Vincent Cliffs, 14”x18” oil on canvas
Left: Stonewall Beach, 16”x20” oil on canvas
Center: Squibnocket, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Right: The Reef, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Left: Dutcher Dock, 8”x12” oil on paper
Center: Menemsha Beach, 8”x10” oil on canvas
Right: Menemsha Jetty, 8”x12” oil on paper
Left: Impressionist
Sunset, 10”x14” oil on canvas
Right: Menemsha Sunset, 11.5”x15.5” oil on paper
Gull
on Duty,
4”x4” oil on canvas
Left: Harpooners,
12”x9” oil on canvas
Right: Unicorn, 4”x4” oil on canvas
Left: Aquinnah
Path, 9”x12” oil on canvas
Right: Dark Sunset, 4”x4” oil on canvas
Left: Casablanca,
8”x10” oil on canvas
Right: Daylilies, 8”x12” oil on paper
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