The Artwork of Brian Kliewer

"Promontory, Bass Harbor Light"  24"x36" oil on canvas © Brian Kliewer

In my previous post I might have sounded like I was 'going after' other atsists for the way they portray our grand old State of Maine.  Nothing like that was meant.  A lot of the work I see does pretty well depict Maine, even if typical.  And if I were an artist from out of state with only  a few days to get what I could on canvas, I'd probably go for that look as well.  It is a beautiful place!  Sometimes I do go for that look.  Sometimes it's just the thing to do.

But like any place it has its own 'character' that isn't typically seen.   This is what I was getting at.  Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse (above) is often portrayed in both photographs  and paintings in full sunlight.  Sometimes you see it in fog.  I liked this view.  The day I was there it was overcast as I've painted it.  It has to be one of the most photographed lighthouses of all them in the state.  In my 'not so typical' view, I elected to go with almost no water in sight.   Sometimes it just gets too pretty here.  This is one reason I like to look for a different approach.  

"Off Season" 24"x36" oil on canvas © Brian Kliewer

"Off Season" was done with this in mind.    However, I'm constantly aware that I can also become cliche  even in my own work.  This is something I try to avoid.  But I don't necessarily try to buck trends just to be different.  It's really about what best expresses both my mood and the scene itself.  While I want to have my own signature style, I would never want to be a 'if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all' kind of painter. 

Being aware of these things can hold you back.  No...being an artist isn't "easy"...anywhere!  

A better title for this post might have been "Artist Or Travel Agent?"  Being an artist in Maine isn't easy.  I know many think it is.  Being an artist isn't really "easy" anywhere but I've often heard, "How lucky you are to live in such a beautfiul place!"  Well, that's true but I don't really want to work for the Maine Department of Tourism.  That's not what painting is about to me. There's a 'truth of life' that I'm after even if the scene is "pretty," and much of that scenery here in Maine is.  It's a constant struggle.  I've seen many, many landscapes and seascapes depicting the postcard nature of the state in idealized splendor.    A great many artists come here from other locales just to capture beauteous snapshots.  But I live here and have all my life.  So I know there is much, much more to it than just that.  This is what I try to put in my artwork.  The "romanticized" view isn't for me.  Even if it is a "pretty" scene, I prefer a harder edge and strive for that.

Have you ever stopped and looked at a scene, I mean really looked at it?  Watching a sloop pass by a pretty cove is one thing.  But what of the clammer who had been there at low tide in the hot noonday sun, breaking his back to dig those clams?  He was there before everything got all nice and cozy with the setting sun.  No, not a "pretty" scene but one I've come to know well over the years. 

Or what about  the beauty one sees while looking through a frost covered window?

"Ten Degrees" 4"x4" oil on linen © 2008 Brian Kliewer

The harsh, cold reality of winter doesn't always bring with it beautiful, sweeping, blue shadows over a field of sparkling snow.  But the "beauty" is still there...if you want to look.  Beauty is where you find it.  You just have to look!

Well that's my "artful thought" for the day. 

Keep painting!