How I spent my summer vacation

Janith Mason epitomizes the joy most people feel at painting in Maine. It's just that kind of place.

Summer slipped past me like road markers on the interstate, perhaps because I’ve driven 7500 miles since June 27. Working sun up to sun down with almost no days off for five weeks is exhausting, but it was deeply rewarding at the same time.

Sunset over the Hudson was painted at Olana.

In early June I drove to the Catskills to join a select group of New York plein air painters at a retreatorganized by Jamie Williams Grossman.  I came home to miss my own opening of God+Man at Aviv! Gallery, because of a health issue—the first time that’s ever happened to me. (Mercifully, I made my student show's opening the following Sunday afternoon.)

Back in Rochester, the official first day of summer found my class huddled up against a cold wind off Lake Ontario. Since the lake nearly froze solid last winter, that was understandable. In fact, it’s been a cooler-than-average summer here, and our tomatoes are just now thinking of ripening.

I may have missed my own opening in June, but I did make it to my student show. Of course, there was beer.

I was walking in Mt. Hope Cemetery on Independence Day when I saw a young man painting en plein air. Turns out to be an RIT graduate named Zac Retz. He and another young friend joined us one more time before I left for Maine. I hope to see them again.

July found my duo show with Stu Chait, Intersections of Form, Color, Time and Space, closed down by RIT-NTID’s Dyer Gallery. The nude figure paintings might have offended young campus visitors. That’s a gift that keeps on giving, since the paintings had to be packed and moved in a hurry by two young assistants; they’re still in my studio awaiting their final repacking and storage.

My $15 porta-potty turned out to be one of the best investments I've ever made.

I couldn’t move them myself because by that time I was living off the grid in Waldoboro, ME. From there I went to one of my favorite events of the year, Castine Plein Air, which was followed by ten days of painting in Camden and Waldoboro.

Evening Reverie, sold, was one of many pieces I painted for Camden Falls Gallery this summer.

Then on to my workshop in Belfast, which was a lovely mix of friends old and new. This year, a number of participants traveled with their families, which lent a wonderful tone to the experience. From there I joined Tarryl Gabel and her intrepid band of women painters in Saranac Lake to participate in Sandra Hildreth’s Adirondack Plein Air Festival.

By the time you read this, I will be on the road again. This time it’s not work; I’m going to see family. I’m really looking forward to being back in Rochester teaching again, and starting on a new body of studio work.

 Message me if you want information about next year’s classes or workshops.

The first day of summer

Poplar Grove Along the Shore, 9X12, oil on canvasboard, $395, by Carol L. Douglas.

The first day of summer found us huddled up against a cold wind off Lake Ontario, none of us sufficiently insulated against the cold. I’d recommended that my intrepid band of painters—sadly depleted now that the semester is ending—stay out of the direct sun so as to avoid overheating. Foolish me! I should have recommended we wear parkas instead.

It was a mistake to wear shorts. It was a mistake to not wear a parka.

The Great Lakes achieved record ice cover this past winter and we’re still feeling it. The water temperature off Rochester is 58° F, and the winds off the lake pick that up and throw it at us. So even when it was in the high seventies at my house—about five miles from the lake—it was in the low sixties in the shade near the lake.

In Rochester, it's not too freaky to go to the beach wearing a parka and a bathing suit.

My students borrowed my car and drove to Don and Bob's for hot drinks and fried food. It didn’t help that Anna then promptly dunked her brush in her tea (it happens), but the onion rings apparently sustained her.

Sandy painting in the poplar grove.

Eventually, we all went home and took hot baths, but it was worth it. A great day of painting!

I have three openings left for my 2014 workshop in Belfast, ME. Information is available here.

Law summer abroad

The Law
Legal Education

You can study law in Australia at any of its 28 law schools, many with over 100 years of history whilst others are brand new, being perhaps only a few years old. All of them welcome students from outside Australia - subject, of course, to the school's academic standards being met.

for complete details about study in abroad, visit study in abroad corner

The legal education you would receive in these law schools is varied. Some, for example, place particular emphasis on developing practical skills as well as knowledge and understanding of the law. Others ensure that their students develop a critical perspective on the law, setting it in economic, political, historical or philosophical contexts. Others, still, have a more 'black letter law' approach.

In Australia, many law graduates go on from law school to seek admission to practice as a lawyer.

To be able to do this, they have to show the admitting authorities in the various States and Territories that they have studied at least 11 areas of legal knowledge. These areas are criminal law and procedure, torts, contracts, property, equity, company law, administrative law, federal and state constitutional law, civil procedure, and evidence. As a result, whichever law school you attend, you will find that it offers these 11 areas of legal study.

But all law courses have other optional subjects, with a wide range to choose from, other than the 'core' subjects listed above. When choosing a law school, you might wish to explore the subjects that they offer; for example, if your interests are in the commercial area, you might want to choose a law school with a good range of subjects in commercial law. A description of the main undergraduate degrees in all of the law schools can be found in the Lawasia Directory of Law Courses in the Asia and Pacific Regions. To obtain a copy, contact the Centre for Legal Education in Sydney, Australia (fax: +61 2 9221 6280; email: cle@fl.asn.au).


A strong emphasis in Australian legal education is on developing your intellectual skills - to think critically, to write clearly, and to be able to develop and support an argument. It is not about learning things by heart. So although you must be ready to read widely, you would also need to think deeply, and with a critical outlook. If you have already graduated in another discipline, your law degree would be of three years in length. If you have recently finished your secondary schooling, your degree would probably be four years duration.

However, a feature of legal education in Australia is that most school leavers go on to what we call a 'double degree': that is, in a five year period a student undertakes two degrees in parallel - one of them law and the other might be Arts, Commerce or Science. You may wish to undertake such a double degree - in fact the law school of your choice may not admit you unless you did so. In that case, you would finish your tertiary education in Australia with two degrees.

You would have to pay a tuition fee of at least ,000 for each year, maybe up to about ,000. Of course, as well as this there would be living expenses. All of Australia's universities provide assistance to foreign students, including help with accommodation, study skills and so on.

There is no central body with which to enrol to study law. If there is an Australian Education Centre near to you (perhaps at the Australian Embassy or High Commission), you can seek their assistance. There is also a booklet, called Studying Law in Australia. It contains a great deal of information on all of Australia's law schools, living in Australia, and the Australian legal system. You should be able to get a copy at an Australian Education Centre. You can also access it on the Web at http://uniserve.edu.au/law/pub/edinst/cald/stdlaw/StudyingLawInAustralia1997.html. If these courses are not successful, contact the Centre for Legal Education.

In Australia, you cannot be admitted and practice as a lawyer unless you have a law degree and have undertaken legal training. This takes the form of a practical training course of up to about six months, during which time you undergo a form of work experience called articles of clerkship.

You will need to find out about this further phase of legal training if your plan is to be admitted as an Australian lawyer. If your interest is in undertaking postgraduate studies at an Australian law school, you can find out more about the wide-ranging programs of postgraduate studies in Studying Law in Australia. You can undertake a certificate, diploma, masters or doctorate, depending on the law school you choose and your area of interest. Fees for these courses are also in Studying Law in Australia.

for complete details about study in abroad, visit study in abroad corner