Kids, Covid19, and Legos!

Like many we’ve been stuck at home. Right before the covid19 lockdown we checked out the lego show at the stadium here in Warsaw. Now with the quarantine in effect the kids have been quite prolific with their building and we just finished our mixel collection after getting 41579 in the mail the other day. Below are some of the kids creations and some stop frame animation movies at the end we made.

Lion King Scene from the lego show

3D anaglyph (red / cyan glasses)

Videos are below. You can click on image and load the movie from wordpress.

Hurricane Surf Acadia National Park

This past September I had the chance to get some work done featuring some of the fringe weather and waves conditions from Post-Tropical Storm Hermine. The surf and cloud bands only lasted a couple days around the 5th, but I got lucky and hit a couple great viewing spots for the waves. There was a mix of fog, clouds, and sun. Below is a collection of pictures with comments on location to enjoy. At the end I put a video that might play in your browser, but I would recommend saving it to your local machine for viewing with VLC or similar.

This and the next 10 or so pictures are from Schoodic Point, Maine. This park is part of Acadia, but is East of Mt. Desert Island. It takes just over an hour to drive from Bar Harbor to Schoodic Point.

Parking lot was almost full – still plenty of room on the point.

This gif is the last of the Schoodic Point, Maine set.

Thunder Hole. The lower viewing area was closed for good reason, but oddly the thunder sound from the larger hurricane waves was no better than standard waves at the correct tide position.

Just down from Thunderhole off the Acadia Park Loop.

Bar Harbor didn’t get the big waves, but I guess this is why its a Harbor. Loved the emerald green water here.

Wonderland. This is a park area near the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. If you take that road (102a) east its only a couple minutes away. The hiking part takes about 15 minutes, but features a very diverse range of Maine scenery. Someday I’ll do a post on just Wonderland.

Seawall. Very aptly named area south of Southwest Harbor. Fog here was fantastic – it was staying just off the ground around the rocks and water. When its clear you can see Great Cranberry Island to the East.

Above is the video. Click and save as or view in browser.

Olek is 8 months old

Its been a great 8 months. Olek has recently learned to crawl, sit up, flip, and just got his first tooth. His naps are still erratic and somewhat unpredictable, but at least they are lasting longer than 30 minutes now. I’m starting to get more time for art and website updates too which is nice. Justyna is still at home from work and will be off until December or so. Here is a picture of Olek avoiding bedtime from today.

Olek in crib. Bryan Whitehead second born

New Whitehead in Warsaw

On Thursday October 15th, 2015 little Olek (short for Aleksander) was born. He is my second child/son and he and mom are doing very well. Here is a picture from the hospital just before they let everyone go home.



Details: Aleksander Miles Whitehead; 3.8kg and 55cm long; 8.5lbs and about 21 inches.

Justyna will be off work for most of a year and I’ll get back to painting once we fall into our new schedule.

An auto visionary :)

Some 20 years ago I was freshly out of high school and needing to vent some creativity. I wasn’t painting canvas yet, but did have quite a bit of fun decorating cars that my brother and I owned at various times. Turns out we were having too much fun and the neighbors were getting a tad perturbed. On top of that the police department where I lived was pulling me and anyone who drove the car over on site. After the police towed one of the cars we had enough and called the news. They had to give the car back after deciding it was roadworthy. Good times.

Here is a news bit that is hosted on youtube:

And here are the only other pictures I have of that impala and escort.






That is white latex on the escort there. I was still working through my white phase. I wrecked the car a number of times; I think in the 50s range. Those poles at gas stations always got in the way. Once I got lodged up against the wall in a Wendys drive-thru too – that was particularly embarrassing.

Inspiration Stonington and Deer Isle, Maine

Back in 2002 I made my first professional trip to Maine to paint. It was only for two weeks, but I made daily trips to places between Mt. Desert Island, Camden, Castine, Stonington, Ellsworth, Bluehill, and Brooksville. I stayed at the Oakland House Resort which served as my base and would later serve as my studio.

One of the first places I found tremendous inspiration from was the small fishing town of Stonington which is located on the southern edge of Deer Island in Hancock County, Maine. I won’t go into history or demographics, but from an artist the community and its houses, boats, docks, buildings, and granite abound with creative possibilities. Below are some photos and paintings that I’ve taken and made since 2002 of Stonington and other places on Deer Isle.


Looking South towards Isle Au Haut from upper Stonington area.



The Stonecutter Statue, by William Muir,



Maine Street at Atlantic Ave. G Watson Gallery is there.



Good Fellows Hall. I’ve always wanted to venture in.



3d Anaglyph view of above picture. The light green house next to the water there has appeared in a number of my paintings.



The next time I’m in Stonington I plan on doing some type of composition with the red house. They always have the flowers and landscaping so nice.



West Stonington – it doesn’t really have a town center, but has quite a bit of inspiration. The working docks, lobster traps, fishing buildings, and boats are wonderful. There is a chocolate Lab that patrols the docks there too.



In order to get to Stonington one will pass some fine clamming areas at the Deer Isle causeway. Stay and enjoy if the tides are on the low side.



North facing side of Causeway



Sunset from Little Deer Island. You drive over this small island on rt15 on your way to Stonington.



My future wife enjoying the causeway beach.



Foggy Stonington Harbor with lobster boats.



Western Stonington Dock with Maine things ripe for painting.



Ames Pond has a fine water lily collection. Its east of the city off Indian Point Road. Also look for newts, turtles, heron, frogs (pictured), and beaver.



More Ames pond



West Stonington Dock things. I watched several hundred lobsters get sorted here.


Public Landing in downtown Stonington.



Near the souvenir and post card shop downtown Stonington.



Lobster Festival.



I think this is the community building, but its located at the top of town on a slab of Maine.



Mid 2000s painting of the blue bench there next to a lawyers office.



Very stylized painting of a home on Highland Ave.



Experimental painting from mid 2000s featuring the green house at night.



My favorite green house at high tide.



Don’t forget to check out all of the side streets for the best gems. There was a goat hanging out next to wear this was painted. He didn’t eat any paint.



Overlooking the Harbor and Main Street.



Granite Rocks West Stonington Beach/Park.



Community building again nearing sunset.



Winter Stonington. This is one of very few winter scenes I’ve done of the area, but one day I’ll get more done.



Same house summer.



One of the easiest things to find inspiration with is Maine architecture.


Thanks for reading. I’ll add more inspiration sets from other parts of Maine. Monhegan, Isle Au Haut, Acadia, Schoodic Point, Flye Point, Brooklin, and Blue hill to name a few. All of the paintings here are in private collections and not available.

July-August trip to Baltic Coast

Our recent trip to the Baltic was too short and the weather variation in the four days we were there was quite dramatic. We stayed at the Marena Wellness and Spa Hotel which it just outside of Miedzywodzie, Poland. This is on the far Western side of the coast nearest Germany. The hotel was good, but we mainly just slept and showered there and spent the rest of the time at the beach or nearby towns. I’ve seen five different spots along the Baltic now and I can honestly say that the beaches all look about the same except for the width (distance between grasses and water). The sand is white and smells clean, water slightly salty and on the cold side, but swim-able in the later parts of the summer. I put together a number of photos from the trip with captions. Image are expanded in a new window if clicked.

 

I’m a sucker for art of all types which includes large landmark sized religious symbols. Here is the Christ the King statue in Swiebodzin Poland. While visiting a friend we drove past it. Its 108 ft. tall and was completed in 2010.
We got a chilly sunset our first night after we arrived just before dinner. Wiktor was all about getting right into the sand.
The rain and winds started and while the rain let up after a bit the winds were brutal for the rest of 1.5 days. We did get out to see some of the surrounding towns and tourist areas. Here is an old fence that ran next to the path to the beach. I only brought my 18-55mm lens.
The Baltic pine trees tend to grow fast and straight when small, but at some point they start to twist and gnarl.
Small pines next to the sea.
four year olds and sand. Wiktor getting into the cold sand.
Wiktor was on vacation mode and was skipping meals and going right for the treats like waffles, ice creams, pretzels, etc..
The wind on the pier in Miedzyzdroje was brutal. My camera was okay, but I had to keep a good hand on the lens cap. Wiktor was enjoying feeling like a kite and getting tossed around.
The pier had shops at each segment which blocked the winds.
two handed selfie
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I loved this picture of the surf so I cropped it a bit and cleaned in up. If you want a bigger size let me know.
Justyna and Wiktor enjoying the water art in Miedzyzdroje. There were a number of these water walls as well as some other creative benches and well maintained gardens. This town was a little too touristy for my taste, but they did have a super playground for Wiktor and there was the normal wax museum, ice cream shops, junk vendors, etc.
large Polish ice creams. I think one of the flavors here was Prince-Polo.
The heavy winds made the beach look like a martian surface.
Kamien Pomorski marina. There was a bridge that went over a shallow area where some people were fishing. We actually saw one guy catch a minnow sized fish – the first fish I’ve seen anyone catch in Poland.
Kamien Pomorski square. I didn’t do my research about this town, but there is some on wikipedia
Any good photo has something star wars related in it to Wiktor.
Here is a church across from the cathedral in Kamien. It looks almost like an old synagogue, but I didn’t see any extra information about this.
We announce to facebook world that Justyna is pregnant with this picture.
More goofing around in Kamien.
Back to the beach for a sunset and the winds have quieted down a bit.
Baltic Birds were rather friendly and only Wiktor got pooped on once. Normally I take a load or two 🙂
Building sand castles
Volley Ball as a spectator sport in Poland is huge. Not as big as soccer, but close. My favorite player is Marcin Mozdzonek of course.
Here is one of the better shots of the sunset. Often times the best part of a sunset is the opposite.
More birds.
I love taking pictures and working with stuff like these trees and grasses. The blues were grand.
Artist Bryan S. Whitehead about to dive into the Baltic.
Wiktor and I waiting for a wave to crash up against the freshly made castle. It took another 3 minutes.
Why text at home or in the car when you can at the beach.
beached Coelenterate and walker.
Some walking
Since I first was here in 2006 with my short style swim trunks there has been a steady decline of speedo type swim trunks with the men. I take all credit for this change in trends.
nature walk. These dung beetles are fairly common all over Poland in areas that people walk with pets.
Finished our short hike to this Baltic overlook.
other side of overlook.
Driving home saw this truck with a windmill part. I have not seen how they get these up there, but it must be quite a show.

I did a little bit of work while there, but don’t have any paintings done or planned as of yet.

Jewish Quarter in Krakow

I’ve been working on a 40x50cm oil painting of Krakow, Poland the past couple weeks. At first I wanted to do a demo video, but I soon realized that it would be too long and not as effective as process digitals at key points in construction. For this painting I’ve opted to use a multiple layer underpainting with a heavily altered palette.rn


Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
Rough warm underpainting using: Cad Yellow, Burnt Umber, Cad Orange, Cad Red, and Naples Yellow.rn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
Roughing in Forms with Burnt Umberrn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
More forms in and subtracting paint from halftones with thinner on brush and paper towel.rn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
With very thin paint building some overlaying color. I washed and dribbled thinner on this and that during this process to created a deep and interesting underpainting.rn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
Some more washing in of color. Notice I lost some of the chair and shadow forms – I’ll clean this up later. I did it this way as I had to get the chair forms in to be able to build correct values in and out of the major forms.rn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
Added a mid value color and starting to build some details. With the overall painting I want to have details in the bike, street sign, plant, a couple chairs, table top, umbrella, and a couple cracks on the ground. rn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Maine Artist Bryan Whitehead
Some slight color in the plant forms, chairs in background area, and strong bike details done.rnrnStay tuned for the next half over the next couple weeks.

Combined post: (second part below)


It took another couple days of solid work, but I’ve finished this Polish urban scene I’ve been wanting to get out ever since visiting Cracow in September of 2010. On this trip in 2010 we decided to check out the old Jewish quarter (Kazimierz) and visit some the the Synagogues, Cemeteries, and old town areas. Kazimierz is located on the south side of Crakow and its Jewish roots go back to the 13th century. After WWII the area was left unkempt, but in the past 25 years or so there has been a solid movement to revive the religion, culture, and architecture. This painting is my experience from that trip. The last digital below can be clicked to expand for better detail.rn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
Major forms get their final paint, details decided on and painted, small corrections done to help composition
rn
Oil painting demo of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, Poland by Bryan Whitehead
The painting is finished here; its 40x50cm and is titled, Cafe in the Jewish Quarter of Krakow (2014). It is for sale at the Argosy Gallery in Bar Harbor Maine.