Nantucket ... the last week of August

Joe Milligan

Sep 2

2 min read

Sure, I’m in. Hosted by the Artists Association of Nantucket (AAN), the week’s agenda: a Monday evening painting demo and talk at the Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery, Tuesday-Wednesday Studio Workshop, Thursday-Friday Plein Air Workshop. A beautiful historic island, painting subjects around every corner, boats, lighthouses, beaches and magnificent “cottages”. The Monday painting demo was interesting… I asked the audience for suggestions for the sky over a lightning rod atop a barn. Their idea, stormy sky after the rain with the sun starting to break through. The completed painting is below “After the Storm – Nantucket”.

The Studio Workshop was fun, experienced artists looking to improve their watercolor technique. The biggest challenge is convincing artists that every painting may not be a masterpiece, especially in a workshop. Classes are for learning… from the successes and the failures. After a “Don’t Look Paint with Abandon Exercise” we made that breakthrough. The brushstrokes loosened, color values emerged, laughs started and the AHA moments popped. Looking at my teaching pieces after two days… certainly no masterpieces but many excellent passages within each painting where things came together. I believe the other artists’ experience was the same.

Unfortunately, the Plein Air Workshop was cancelled but it gave Laurie and I a chance to explore Nantucket. A trek on Sconset’s ‘Bluff Walk,’ lunch from Claudette’s Sandwich Shop, a hike down Jetty Beach and stops in between were excellent under sunny skies and ocean breezes. Lots of reference photos and sketches for future paintings. I filled some free time with a private four-hour lesson where the focus was on composition, controlling the water and being patient with watercolor.

If you have the chance, visit this beautiful island, paint in its magical locals, enjoy the wonderful restaurants, and meet up with the outgoing artists who call AAN and Nantucket home.

The painting “After the Storm – Nantucket” from the Monday night “Art Talk” has been donated to AAN for their annual fundraising auction.

Oh ... save the dates for the Artists' Guild of the Cape Studio Tour ... I hope you can stop by my Cape May Studio on October 10th or 11th. Sweetest Song Pottery and HKM Jewelry will be joining me again.