Mother nature inspires dramatic differences for two artists

For two artists from the Pemaquid Group of Artists, Bob Vaughan and Bill Curtis, plein-air painting is a vital inspiration for their work, Vaughan’s in watercolor and Curtis’ in oil. Both work outdoors whenever the weather allows and complete paintings in the studio or create larger work in the studio from initial outdoor sketches. With the physical space of the Pemaquid Gallery closed this season due to Covid-19 precautions, the group is featuring member artists online at pemaquidartgallery.com.

Bill Curtis grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, inspired and instructed by his father and uncle, well-known New England artists, and he fondly remembers family plein-air painting excursions with them and his brothers. He continued learning as an otherwise self-taught painter through private study with various artists and has painted landscapes for more than 40 years. He has been a member of the PGA for four years and recently moved to midcoast Maine full time to take advantage of “Mother Nature at her very best,” as he puts it. He will often do small oil sketches outdoors and develop them into much larger oil paintings inside the studio. He finds the outdoor experience essential for learning to “really see,” for example, what sunlight does on surfaces. He may return to one subject for several days in a row to capture fleeting visual effects. He has received awards and recognition for his work, which is in many private collections and has been shown locally and also at the Rockport (Massachusetts) Art Association.

His most recent work involves developing small, oil, plein-air sketches of the sea into larger format pieces. His style is powerfully impressionistic, revealing a great understanding of the play of light on waves, water and clouds. His depiction of the rich white surf of the local waters catching the light from a dramatic sky is both realistic and suggestive of the grandeur and powerful forces of nature. It is highly compelling, reminiscent of earlier masters in the richness of his style and his mastery of the oil technique.

Bob Vaughan decided to pursue his lifelong interest in art after a career teaching math and science, most recently in an independent boarding high school in Massachusetts. After retirement and moving to Maine, he began taking watercolor lessons from Damariscotta artist Jan Kilburn in 2010 and has continued on his learning path by taking workshops and studying books. Like Curtis, his love of the natural world and the beauty around him in Maine has been the main inspiration for his work, but he also is greatly attracted by Maine’s iconic historic houses and villages, favorite themes of his work. The watercolor medium, with its spontaneity and luminosity, has appealed to him most. He paints plein air with groups in the summer and is the president of the Pemaquid Group of Artists. His art has been on view in many local venues in recent years.

His depictions of the Maine scenes around him, both the natural world and the manmade, present fascinating contrasts with that of Curtis’. Vaughan paints a quiet, calm and peaceful world with light, luminous colors and with great enjoyment of the unexpected effects of watercolors and with great skill at delicate watercolor washes and elegant edges of forms. His use of color is subtle but highly varied and he experiments regularly with new hues and new layering combinations to achieve a broad range of effects. The play of light across surfaces and how that light shifts the neighboring color relationships are important focuses. Vaughan usually paints in a medium-sized format, requiring the viewer to take the time to stop for a while to slowly contemplate and appreciate the subtle effects of his gentle painting style.