Group Show at Yarmouth Frame Shop and Gallery

Just wanted to get this out that the Yarmouth Frame Shop and Gallery (720 Route 1, Yarmouth, Me. 04096 207-846-7777) is having a reception (yep, it's still on, blizzard or not) this Saturday 4-7pm  for a group show in which I have several pieces of art, both paintings and sculptures.  "From the Heart" features 25 year round artists of the gallery and goes to Feb. 28.  In keeping with the theme and upcoming Valentine's Day, here are a couple of my sculptures I refer to as my Shrines of the Heart.

Painted Heart

Blue and Orange Hearts

CFD- tragedy and triumph

I think I've come down with a serious case of CFD...Cabin Fever Disease!  I love painting plein air, but when the temps get below 40 degrees outside my acrylic paints start to act funny.  Funny, like in getting thick and gooey. Great for impasto work, but not for my style of painting.  So my solution has always been to spend the winter in my studio, which in the past has worked pretty good.  However this year has been different.  I still want to paint outside. So, I'm trying out "plein l'automobile" painting (excuse my French).  That's right...painting from my car. But instead of acrylics, I'm switching to watercolors. I may try small acrylic paintings if this works out with the w/c.

 

Here are a few examples of what I've done so far from the driver's seat and a shot of my set up.  I cut an old rubber backed door mat to put over my lap to protect my clothes and the seats of  our car.  The last shot is of my "painting buddy" Rusty, who is only interested in anything that involves FOOD. Otherwise his attitude is "wake me when you've got something tasty for me". Anyone out there have any success with this kind of painting setup? 

 

Please feel free to send any tips or comments. 

Joy of Art

Wetlands Gold

 

The annual art exhibit, The Joy of Art, put on by the Friends of theTopsham Library will be kicked off this Saturday at the reception from 1-3pm at the library on Foreside Road.  As a participating artist, I plan to attend .

300 Piece Group Show in Yarmouth, Maine

"Coke, Ice and Pumpkin Pie"

Acrylic  10x10"

 

Yarmouth Frame Shop and Gallery and Artisans Collective is hosting a group show featuring 300 works of art at the Yarmouth Frame Shop and Gallery location. I'm please to say that several of my pieces will be in included.  Hope to see you at the reception.

 

"Small Works Holiday Show"

720 Route 1, Yarmouth, Me, 04096 207-846-7777

Saturday, December 8th, 4 to 7

Opening Reception

Show runs through January.

 



 

Plein Air Exhibit-Boothbay Harbor

The Boothbay Region Art Foundation (BRAF) is hosting a show by the Plein Air Painters of Maine (PAPME) both of which I hold membership in and am happy to say I have 3 paintings in this non-juried show. You can see this exhibit of 118 plein air works by 42 painters until November 17th at 1 Townsend Avenue Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538 (207) 633-2703. Below is one of my works in the show.

Cove Road

Acrylic 8x8" $450

Precious Things

My wife, Gloria, and I attended and had a wonderful time at the opening reception at the Lyceum Gallery in Lewiston, ME Friday night for the newest group show titled "Precious Things". I think it's another outstanding show that curator and owner Tammie Grieshaber has amassed. Kudos to Ray Michaud, also, for his efforts in hanging it. I'm pleased to say that 4 of my small format acrylic paintings were selected for the show. If any of you get a chance to make it to the exhibit, I assure you, you won't be disappointed by the quality and variety of works on display. Details can be had at http://www.lyceumgallery.com/. Below are a couple of my paintings in the show.

Neighbors

 

End of ME 123

Wicked Busy...

"Cozy Shack" 

Acrylic  8x10"

It's been a little (?) while since I posted anything new so I thought I should let my reader know what I've been up to recently.  Actually, someone asked me that exact question recently when they said, "Hi Bill.  What are you up to these days?" and I replied, "Oh, about five feet nine inches." I know... old joke. Bad joke.  Old, bad joke.  Well, at least now if you've read this far, I've got your attention. 

This has been a very busy year for me so far.  I am happy to say that my art work is now in five galleries in Maine from Yarmouth to Friendship. 

First of all I am still with the Boothbay Region Art Foundation (BRAF) Art Gallery http://www.boothbayartists.org/.  Each month of the season I have two diffferent paintings at BRAF.

I'm also very pleased that the Yarmouth Frame Shop and Gallery http://www.yarmouthframeshopandgallery.com/ has taken me on board as a gallery artists and has a bunch of my paintings and some of my sculpture at their fine gallery on Route One in Yarmouth. 

Also, I am proud to announce that, in the Spring, I was juried into a local artists cooperative of 20 artists called the Sebascodegan Artists in Harpswell http://www.sebascodeganartists.com/.  The gallery is located in the old former Gunpoint Church on Route 24 heading towards Orr's Island. We are now into our second and final show of the season which will last until September 2, 2012.

And the last, but not least, a new gallery that has recently taken me on as a guest artist, is Kat Logan's Maine Coast Artist Gallery http://www.mainecoastartist.com/ located in Friendship, ME.  The grand opening is scheduled for Friday, August 10th from 4-8 pm.  I'm sad to say I won't be able to attend it due to a prior commitment to the 2nd Friday ArtWalk in Brunswick.  I'll be set up there with other "Pop Up Artists" at 98 Maine Street upstairs on August 10th from 5 to 8pm. Stop by if you  can make it.

"Autumn Afternoon"

Acrylic 8x10"

A Tweak Here and a Tweak There...

I've been playing with the "look" of this blog.  Basically, I've come to feel that the overall design was a bit too much, so I've applied the principle of design that you can't go wrong with...K I S S.  That's right-Keep It Simple Sunshine.  My main goal in the redesign is to create a more reader friendly blog that will appear more unified with better readability.  I will appreciate any feedback as to whether or not it's working for you.  Please leave a comment or email me. Thanks much.  If you've sent me a comment in the past and haven't seen it, I apologize as it may be something I've screwed up.

The ArtinMe show

Two of my paintings were juried into the current show at Boothbay Region Art Foundation (BRAF) Art Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. They are both done in acrylics, which is my main medium.The title of the show is ArtinME. The show runs until  November 19.  If you're in Boothbay Harbor I hope you'll check out ArtinME as there are many great pieces of artwork by some outstanding artists.  I am both pleased and honored to be part of this show.

Journey No. 11 is part of  my "Journey Series" of nonrepresentational (abstract) paintings that I began a few years ago.

Mackerel Cove Pick Up was done plein air on Bailey Island, Harpswell, ME earlier this year. Actually, the original truck was a new, bright red one, but I couldn't resist changing it to something I thought was more interesting, like a late '40s model. I leave the exact year and model up to viewers. I love the power of "Artistic License!"

Journey No. 11
24"x20"
Acrylic on birch panel

Mackerel Cove Pick Up
8" x 8"
Acrylic on birch panel
painted plein air at Mackerel Cove
on Bailey Island, Maine
SOLD

Journeys in paint

As many artists do, I titled many of my early nonrepresentational paintings "Untitled" with the thought that, by not putting a title on the work, I avoided imposing my concept or "meaning" behind the work on the veiwer. The veiwer was then free to interpret the painting as he/she saw fit. After a few paintings however, I decided I wasn't satisfied with the common "Untitled" title and changed instead to "Journey". That is because, I realized taking a journey is what these paintings are all about, to me.  I now have a relatively new series of  "Jouneys" in paint.  Actually, I view all of my paintings, both nonrepresentational and representational, as journeys.  The difference, to me, is that with my representational or "realist" paintings I already know what the destination is as soon as I select the subject matter whether it is a plein air landscape or a still life done in the studio.  With an abstract I start out with (excuse the pun) a truly blank canvas, both literally and figuratively.  That is, I start without a preconceived idea of what I want to end up with, preferring to let the painting take me where it will.  Thus, unlike the realist painting, my destination in the abstract journey is completely unknown until I finally arrive. The common wisdom is that nonrepresentational art is "easier" to do than representational. Actually, at least for me, the opposite is true more often than not. And the time spent on nonrepresentational paintings is usually longer.

Examples of some of my paintings

I  plan to post images of my work on future blogs but for now, for anyone interested in seeing some examples of my paintings you can presently visit two sites.  They are:

• http://www.allendavidgallery.com/artist-html-pages/Bill%20Tomsa/homepage-bt.html
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/stbartholomews/collections/72157627753721840/

And the journey begins...

Art is, in my opinion,  so much about taking a journey each time I pick up a brush to start a new painting.  Now, with the beginning of this blog, I embark on a new kind of journey.  It's a journey of words, mostly, with some images of my art posted to support or add to those words. 
My goal for this blog is to share with you, my readers, my journey as an artist and things I've learned that I hope may help others.  I also look forward to learning from you  as well through your comments. With the help of my wife, Gloria, as my proof reader and "editor", I will do my best to create a blog worthy of your continued interest, following and participation.  Please don't hesitate to let me know how you feel. 


So, it is with these wise words from one of baseball's finest, I will close out my first, and hopefully not last, blog:
"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." - Yogi Berra