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A few of my oil paintings Grasse, France- This painting is one I did circa 1986-87, in an impressionist style, inspired by a photo I had taken in Grasse of a much older photograph displayed in one of the local perfume factories, of women workers gathering flowers for use in the perfume-making process. Acadia National Park, Maine - I completed this oil painting in August 2019. It was inspired from photos I took while hiking along the Ocean Path in the national park. Palo Duro Canyon - This painting is one I did in 2017, inspired by a photo I took while hiking a trail in Palo Duro Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the United States. Otter Cliffs, Acadia National Park - This painting is one I did in 2018, inspired by a photo I took during a 2015 hike along the Ocean Trail, in Acadia National Park, near Bar Harbor, Maine. Bison Loop - This painting is one I did in 2016, inspired by photos I took during a 2015 hike the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, in Southern Oklahoma. Cozumel Dive - This painting is an early one I did circa 1990, not from any particular photo, but rather inspired by underwater imagery I often encountered during various SCUBA dives that I have done along the Palancar Reef in Cozumel and Belize. Acadia Woods - This painting is one I did in 2018, based on a photo that I took in 2015, in Acadia Nation Park, while hiking the Ocean Trail, from Otter Peaks to Sandy Beach. Swiss Cows at Alpiglen, Switzerland - This painting is one I did in 2018, based on photos that I took in 2017 while hiking down from Kleine Scheidegg to Grindelwald. Teton Cowboys - This painting is one I did in 2018, based on a photo I took during a 4 and hour trail ride at Goosewing Ranch. The horses are mostly true to the photo, but I replaced my family with cowboys for this painting. Red Rock Canyon, Nevada - This painting is one I did in 2018, based on photos I took during a trail ride at Red Rock Canyon, not too far outside Las Vegas, Nevada. Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber - This painting is one I did in 2019, based on photos I took during a 2017 visit. The tower is the 13th century Markusturm, and the yellow building, just to the right of the tower was our hotel, the Romantik Hotel Markusturm. Both the tower and the hotel building (formerly a medieval toll house) date from the year 1264. Pieta - This painting is one I finished in 2020. I based the Christ figure on a pose of a dying man from a movie I had watched, and the Joseph of Arimathea figure from a composite of older style Jewish attire that I researched online. The Mary Magdalene figue in blue, on the left was basically from a cement graveyard sculpture, as was the face of the woman (Salome) in brown. The figure of Mary, mother of Jesus, right, I based on an internet facial photo of a Syrian mourner, as was the figure of the apostle James in the middle. Quebec 1667 - This 24"x 36" painting is one I finished in July 2020, and while I don't think it turned out as well as I had hoped, it has special meaning to me. It represents a ship that has arrived at the capital of New France, Quebec City, in the year 1667, which is the year that my direct ancestor Jacques Marcotte arrived in Canada from Normandy, France. I realize that i have taken a few liberties in this depiction. The ship, meant to be the "St. Philippe," was a Royal Ship of the Line, whereas colonists more likely arrived on merchant frigates or even large fishing vessels such as a ketch. Likewise, the Porte St.Louis (St. Louis Gate), although already present in 1667, would likely not be as visible from such a distance or angle. The "Habitation," fort-like structure near the lower left of the painting, which was built much earlier might not have endured as long as 1667. I have tried to include some if not most of the buildings known to have been completed at this date, and used ships and fishing vessels of the type known to have been used on the St. Lawrence River in this period. I was trying to envision the scene that presented itself to an excited, small number of colonists (almost all male at early point in time) arriving in Quebec to start a new life. Edinburgh Sunset - This 16" x 20" painting is one I finished in early April 2020. It is a street scene patterned after a photo that I tool on the Royal Mile, in 2016. Paris from Notre Dame - This is a 16"x24" painting (sized to squeeze in both the gargoyle at the left and the Seine on the right), which originates from a 1985 photo that I took from the roof of Notre Dame. The photo was almost grayscale due to it being a heavily-overcast day. For this oil painting, I used a technique called matte painting, which is primarily used by professional artists, as well the film industry, where fantastic backgrounds with fictional castles, dragons, two Saturn-like moons, etc. are painted into an actual photograph. I began by having my grayscale photo printed on stretched canvas, then painstakingly painted over every tiny building and every square inch of canvas, mostly using approriate colors from other photos and from the internet, but using my imagination for the sky, instead of the actual overycast gray clouds. So far, it is the only matte painting I have attemped, but I am pleased with the way it turned out, and therefore may try a few more. The matte technique allows for precise scale, placement, realistic shadowing and perspective. No part of the photo peeks through; this is all oil paint. I finished this one in August 2020. Taiya Inlet Orca - This small 8"x10" painting is one I did in September 2020. I did see two Orca surface brifefy next to our cruise ship in the Taiya Inlet, down from Skagway, Alaska. The mountains are part of the Alaska Range. Klingentor Gate - This is a small 9"x12" painting I did in 2020 of the Klingentor Gate and tower on the Klingengasse street in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, mostly from a 1978 photo taken by my sister Michelene of me crossing this street. Bison Loop Scouts- This is a 16"x20" painting I finished in November 2020. of three mounted Native American scouts on a ridge in Oklahoma. I did the painting using a photo I took on the Bison Loop trail in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Alcázar and Puente Alcántara, 2017- This is a 16"x20" painting I finished in December 2020, as a Christmss gift for my son, David. He had suggested that I paint a scene from Toledo, Spain, which he had visited several times while studying at the University of Acalá de Henares, near Madrid, 2017. I used some of my own photos from a brief visit I made in 2018, as well as some oh his from 2017, as well as a few inetrnet photos for detail of this view across the old Roman empire's Puente Alcántara (also known as Trajan's bridge), over the Tagus River, looking up at the current Alcázar fortress. I took a few liberties with the buildings around the fortress, and inserted my son as three of the figures on the bridge. Alcázar and Puente Alcántara, circa 1550- This is a 16"x20" painting I finished in January 2020, as a companion piece fot the other Alcázar painting that I did for my son. Per a 16th century map of Toledo, which contained a drawing of Alcázar, the fortress looked very different when it was completed in 1530. The dark, stormy sky is a nod to El Greco who lived in Toledo during the 16th century, and who did a more abstarct painting with a very dark stormy sky, and the fortress from a different view, deeper in his painting's background. Acadia National Park, Maine. (#3) This is a 24"x36" painting I finished in April 2021 from photos that I took on my 2015 trip to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. I wanted to try to depict the fog shrouding the more distant shoreline, and more of the natural beauty of the oceanside trails in Acadia National Park. **** I have done several other oil paintings, but those above show what I prefer to paint, from Nature, and city scenes, rather than portraits (which I do poorly), or modern art. Back to Previous Page Back to Michael Marcotte's HomePage

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