<![CDATA[C.V.SmithARTWORKS

<![CDATA[C.V.SmithARTWORKS - Blog]]>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 03:26:31 -0800Weebly<![CDATA["Drifter" - A Fish Story ... Bronze on Bamboo]]>Sat, 14 Feb 2026 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/drifter-a-fish-story-bronze-on-bamboo

Have been busy getting some new pieces finished for the upcoming show season at Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor. As has been my habit of late, I pulled out a few items that I had stashed away for use at a future date. Turned out that now was the 'future date' for a bronze fish ( an unused "extra" from an earlier bronze piece), 2 small pieces of driftwood, and the backing of a dismembered bamboo knife rack.
First I had to determine where I would place the driftwood on the bamboo and then the fish on top of the driftwood. Next I tackled the challenge of how I would attach these elements to the bamboo backing. I started by adding small wooden pegs on the bottom side of each piece of driftwood that would eventually be inserted into corresponding holes in the bamboo. I then added a short length of threaded rod to the back of the fish and drilled a hole through the section of driftwood where the fish was going to be positioned (and through the bamboo beneath).

...last of the bronze fish

...small driftwood pieces

...bamboo knife rack backing

... drilled and pegged driftwood

...creating Wenge fish

Additional elements would be needed to enhance and complete this relief composition, and I decided on making several smaller fish that would be "swimming" in the opposite direction. I cut out and shaped 4 much smaller fish (about 3 1/2" long) from a 3/16" thick strip of Wenge wood. The dark color of the smaller fish created a great contrast to the light color of the bamboo, the bronze fish, and the driftwood. Before attaching the relief elements, I added hanging wire & eyelets on the backside, and a wooden "bumper" along the lower strip of bamboo to help the piece hang flat against the wall.

...backing holes drilled & Wenge fish attached

...driftwood attached

I started the final assembly by gluing the 4 smaller fish to the bamboo and, once they were secure, I glued the 2 driftwood pieces into position. The last step was to place the bronze fish into place with its threaded rod through the driftwood and bamboo, then tighten the nut and washer. Voila! The piece was complete! On to the next...

" Drifter" - completed (14" x 5 1/2" x 3/4")

]]><![CDATA[Croquet Anyone? ... Sculptural "Simplicity" in Wood]]>Sat, 12 Jul 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/croquet-anyone-sculptural-simplicity-in-wood

As I have continued to try to explore and organize the myriad of "must save" treasures squirreled away in my studio, I again came across some items that I thought "belonged together"....two antique croquet balls and the other half of a wooden bowl blank remnant that I used in a much earlier piece (see my blog post for 9-28-13). I envisioned the 2 wooden spheres suspended over the center of the inverted arch of the blank. In order to execute my vision I was going to have to refine & refinish the eventual wooden base for the sculpture and then determine how I would suspend the spheres over the inverted wooden arch.
The bowl blank remnant is made of cherry wood and has a strip of maple and Padauk halfway up on

Bowl blank remnant trimmed & sanded

Holes drilled & mahogany board glued & screwed

Croquet balls' bottoms sanded & centers drilled

each end. My first task was to remove the uneven ends of the various glued sections and the glue residue so that all of its sides were flat, and then I thoroughly sanded all surfaces. I decided to use a 1/2" oak wooden dowel to support the wooden spheres. This meant that I had to drill holes at the same height through both vertical ends of the arch (a challenge!). In order to strengthen the thinnest part of the arch I attached a 1/2" thick 5"x15 /34" mahogany board to bottom of the the base. The next step was to drill holes in the spheres so that I could

Assembled with dowel & coated with butcher's wax

eventually be able to thread the wooden dowel through their centers. First I had to sand one end of each sphere so that I could center the drilled holes and the balls could be lined up together more accurately. After gluing the two balls together, I re-drilled the holes and checked to make sure that the dowel would pass through both smoothly. The final step was to position and glue the 2 spheres at the center of the rod, glue the rod in place over the arch, and finish the piece with a coat to liquid butchers wax. Very happy with the result. As I envisioned it!

"Simplicity"

]]><![CDATA[Saltwater Artists Gallery ... Open for the 2025 Season]]>Fri, 23 May 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/saltwater-artists-gallery-open-for-the-2025-season

I've transported my artwork to our gallery in New Harbor and arranged my display area. I alway try to bring a variety of pieces, both in-the-round and in relief, in different mediums ... bronze, stone, wood, plaster and mixed media.
The start of the 2025 season at Saltwater is finally here. We've had our pre-season clean-up day and member meeting, and all of our gallery members have set up their display areas. Saltwater's membership creates artwork done utilizing a broad spectrum of mediums and techniques including oil, acrylic, watercolor, and encaustic painting, mosaics, fiber arts, photography, sculpture, glass art and stained glass, woodturning, and jewelry.
The gallery will be open Friday to Monday (10am-5pm) from May 23rd through June 9th,

and then, starting June 13th we will be open 7 days a week until the end of the season on Friday, October 17th. Saltwater has undergone some major transformations over the off-season that we hope will give our visitors an enhanced viewing experience. We have also added a number of special events to in addition to our annual Plein Air Day on Pemaquid Point. For more event information go to www.saltwaterartists.com and check out our "2025 Calendar" section. Hope to see you!

My display area set-up for the 2025 season

]]><![CDATA[Relief in Wood ... "What the Moon Said"]]>Thu, 15 May 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/relief-in-wood-what-the-moon-said I finished up another relief that I will be hanging for the upcoming show season at Saltwater Artists Gallery. As I prowled through a myriad of long neglected boxes and containers of "mystery contents" in an effort to free up some needed room in my studio work space I came across a raised wooden disc that I carved (as a "moon face") in preparation for a bronze sandcasting class a number of years ago. That discovery brought to mind an interesting piece of wood that I also had put aside "for a rainy day". It was comprised of a series 8 narrow strips of wood that had been glued together to form one plank, with two strips of yellowheart flanking 6 strips of padauk.

Shaped pine disc

Yellowheart & Padauk wood backboard

Arrangement with wooden door pulls

I began by playing with possible placements of the "moon face", settling on having it at the top of the plank with left and right edges hanging about 3/4" over the edges of the plank and the top curve just barely over the top edge of the plank. In the space below the moon I then made an arrangement of 3 wooden door pulls in an arc. Before doing finishwork on each individual parts, I made narrow strip of padauk that I could put across the back of the plank to give me more depth to add eyelet hangers as the plank itself was only about 1/4" thick. I also made a smaller piece of pad auk to put at the lower part of the back of the flank to make sure the piece would hang evenly.
After sanding all of the parts and coating them with liquid butchers wax (my new favorite finish!), I proceeded to assemble the piece.The final piece measures 8 1/2" in width, 12 3/4" tall, and 2" deep. I titled this piece "What the Moon Said"...interpretations, as always, are up to the viewer!

Back side

"What the Moon Said" - front side

]]><![CDATA[New Relief Artwork ... Saltwater Artists Gallery '25]]>Thu, 01 May 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/new-relief-artwork-saltwater-artists-gallery-25

I have been busy finishing off several relief pieces that I will be showing at Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor this summer. One of them is a wood relief that I began quite some time ago and never got around to finishing. I needed to do some clean-up of details and sanding of the surfaces. After sealing the piece with Butcher's Wax, I added a frame with walnut strips. Pleased with the outcome.
I also completed 2 additional plaster reliefs using the same casting technique that I have used in the past. One is the smaller size that I put in a 10" x 10" frame and the other is larger and is in a 9" x 13" frame. If you are interested in the plaster relief process that I used to create

"Stalwart Friend" wood relief 11 3/4" x 12 3/4" x 1 3/4"

these pieces you can read about it in several of my past blog posts - 8/10/15, 8/26/16, and 8/25/20. It has been an interesting challenge over the years to create new compositions in a relatively small space - varying the number and positioning of the fish as well as the addition (or not) of the vegetation. But then - I have always enjoyed a challenge!

"Wandering in Certitude"

"Shoal Searchers"

]]><![CDATA[Something Fishy at Saltwater in 2025 ... A Relief!]]>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/something-fishy-at-saltwater-in-2025-a-relief It's that time of year again - gearing up for opening day of the 2025 art season at Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor on May 23rd. For my part I am finishing up some new work and organizing an inventory of which pieces I will be showing and planning how I intend to set them up in my display area. As for the gallery members, we elected a slate new officers and a new Board of Directors over the off-season and look forward to their leadership and new ideas for the future for the gallery. Visitors may notice a few changes to the layout of the gallery entry space, and in addition to our annual Plein Air Day event, we will also be hosting some new shows during the season, including a kids' art show and couple more special shows!

Hydrocal plaster casting

Painted casting

 I recently finished a plaster relief piece that I will be showing this year. I hadn't made a fish relief in a couple of years and got the urge to revisit the casting process. It went smoothly and I was happy with the result. As in the past, I painted it with graphite gray acrylic paint , double matted it and then framed it. I have to admit that one reason I avoided going back to the fish relief was that the matting process can be very challenging. It is very difficult to cut the opening for the relief in the red undermat so that it fits snugly around the plaster. (I am somewhat of a "perfectionist" when it comes to things like this, so any kind of gap is definitely unacceptable.) Luckily for me, the stars were aligned just right in this instance and I managed to cut the mat in a perfect fit on the 1st attempt! "Eyes on the Prize" is ready for hanging!

"Eyes on the Prize " .... 10"x10" framed

]]><![CDATA[Saltwater Artists Gallery ... 2024 Art Season in Maine]]>Sat, 14 Sep 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/saltwater-artists-gallery-2024-art-season-in-maine

It seems like just yesterday that I was setting up my display area at Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor at the beginning of the season, but somehow the summer art season has flown by and we are soon looking at our end of the season closing date in mid-October. It was a great year getting to know the 5 new artists that were juried into the gallery this season - Wishbone Clay potter Stephanie Haynes, and painters Barbara Coburn, Ericka O'Rourke, J.C. Airoldi, and Katie Bubier ...all great additions to our talented group of 25 member artists.

...setting up for the start of the season in May

...my display area for the 2024 season

The Maine Tasting Center in Wiscasset hosted our satellite gallery again this season and it will be hanging through the end of October. I have 2 sculptures in the show - "Le Fromage Redux" and "Le Fromage". The Center will also be offering a a special tasing event that will pair food and drink with our Maine food themed artwork. The event will take place on October 17th from 5:30 -7:30pm. For more information you can go to the "Pop-Up Dinners" section under the Classes Event Calendar at www.mainetastingcenter.com .

Le Fromage Redux

Le Fromage

Over 25 artists from the New England area participated in our 2nd annual "Paint the Point"

Plein Air Event in July, spending the day painting in the beautiful area around Pemaquid Lighthouse Park. Award winning painter and illustrator,Charles Adkins served was juror for this year's event and presented awards at the ceremony at the end of the day. $500 of the day's proceeds were donated to the Bristol Parks and Recreation Department's recovery and rebuilding efforts following the past winter's heavy storm damage. We are very grateful to our sponsors: The Seagull Restaurant; Rising Tide Co-Op, Citizen Maine Home; and Beal House.

The next event coming up will be the Maine Craft Weekend on Oct. 5th&6th. It is the annual statewide tour of Maine craft studios, businesses, and events. Visitors can visit Saltwater and see jewelry by Lynne Thompson and Doreen Reynolds, glass art by Pam Wilcox and Janet Lockhart, woodturnings by Tom Raymond, mosaics by Pat Higgins, fiber art by Cathie Stebbins, and ceramic wares by Stephanie Haynes. More information about the weekend can be found at mainecraftweekend.org .
The popularity of our gallery and the loyalty of our friends and patrons shone through again this year as the readers of Down East magazine selected Saltwater Artists as "Best of Maine " Art Gallery for the second year in a row! Thanks to all!

]]><![CDATA[Down East Best of Maine ... Caps Off SWAG's 2023 Season]]>Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/down-east-best-of-maine-caps-off-swags-2023-season

Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor, Maine completed another successful show season that included 2 new ventures and ended with statewide recognition. Our first annual plein air "Paint the Point" event was enthusiastically received by all of the participating artists, as well as by the event's juror, highly regarded artist J.C. Airoldi. We were grateful for the support our event sponsors: the Seagull Restaurant, Citizen Home Maine and Weatherbird Bakehouse, and for the help of all of our event volunteers. We are looking forward to the 2nd annual in 2024!
The gallery was very excited to be able to expand
our mid-coast presence this summer with the opening of a satellite gallery in the newly renovated Discovery Room at the Maine Tasting Center in Wiscasset. In keeping with the food and drink offerings of the MTC, our venue featured food themed artwork by SWAG gallery members. After lots of positive "feed-back", we will return in '24.

Painting plein air on Pemaquid Point

SWAG satellite gallery at The Maine Tasting Center in Wiscasett

And last, but not least - the results of Down East magazine's "Best of Maine" poll were published in their September issue, and revealed that Saltwater Artists Gallery had been voted #1 in the Art Gallery category. We are very proud of all of our talented artists and very grateful to all of our incredibly supportive patrons! See you next season!

]]><![CDATA[Saltwater Artists Gallery ... Open for the Season]]>Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/saltwater-artists-gallery-open-for-the-season

My display area at SWAG

 Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor, Maine opened for the 2023 season on Memorial Day weekend. I'll be be taking my first shift sitting the gallery on Monday, June 5th. It's always great to come back and see all of the work my fellow SWAG artists have set up in their display areas. I am especially interested to see the work of the four new artists we have joining us this season.
Last year the gallery had an informal Plein Air event that just included some of our member painters. The day went well and created quite a bit of interest among fellow painters, customers, and passers-by. As a result, plans were made to hold a Plein Air "Paint the Point" event this season that would be open to area artists. The day will start at 8:30am with an artists' breakfast hosted by the Seagull Restaurant and end with an awards ceremony at 4:30pm and a "wet paint" sale. Artists will have the day to paint in the iconic area around Pemaquid Point and the Pemaquid

Pemaquid Lighthouse - photo by A. Greatorex

Lighthouse. More information about the July 22nd event, as well as registration for the event, can be found on the gallery website www.saltwaterartists.com.

]]><![CDATA[Saltwater Artists Gallery '23 ... Maine Artists]]>Fri, 12 May 2023 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.cvsmithartworks.com/blog/saltwater-artists-gallery-23-maine-artists

It's that time of year again...the members of Saltwater Artists Gallery are getting the gallery ready inside and out for the upcoming show season. We will be open long weekends starting May 26th and then seven days a week starting June 16th.
Four new members have been juried in for the 2023 season...encaustic painter Victoria Curtis whose subject matter is primarily land and seascapes; potter Julie Oliver who works out of her Kennebec Pottery studio in Belgrade; jeweler Doreen Reynolds who makes wearable art and jewelry using a wide variety of media; and oil painter Rachel Hendrick, who paints primarily in oils and gets inspiration from the flora and fauna of Maine.
I have been busy organizing the pieces that I will be putting in my display area at the gallery. I recently made two of the fish-themed plaster reliefs that have been so well received in past seasons. It's always interesting challenge to try to choose an effective combination of wall and pedestal pieces. No doubt there will be a bit of last minute tweaking to my arrangement before the door opens on May 26th!

Come Here Often?

The Gang's All Here

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