Provincetown Watercolor

While I was away - and in watercolor mode, I worked on a painting that my brother and sister-in-law wanted to give to a friend.   Their friend is very fond of Provincetown and they had suggested that it would be the perfect subject for the painting.   Her love of art goes hand-in-hand with love of Provincetown, a place which has inspired some of the most influencial American artists and art educators in New England.

I searched through my photos taken during our many trips to Provincetown and found three pictures that had the elements I wanted to include.    The features in the painting are the Pilgrim Monument (the most recognizable landmark),  the Town Hall Steeple and a rainbow (which has personal meaning to their friend).  I packed these three photos with my watercolor supplies.   Despite living a ferry ride away from Provincetown, it was painted a long plane ride away.

No structure says "Provincetown" more obviously than The Pilgrim Monument.   This tall granite tower's purpose was to commemorate the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing in the New World in Provincetown - November 1620.  The tower is 252 feet, 7.5 inches (77 meters) tall and rises 350 feet above sea level.  It is in fact visible from Marshfield on a very clear day. The climb to the top is accomplished via 116 steps and 60 ramps, which I have done twice. It is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States. The granite came from Stonington, Maine, and each stone is the thickness of the wall. The design is patterned after the Torre Del Mangia in Siena, Italy. Many interior stones were donated by cities, towns and organizations from all of the United States.  We have photos of us standing in front of our hometown stones. The 360-degree view at the top is spectacular! 

Since the monument was the most recognizable feature, I was sure to draw it very carefully.  I have said this before, but there is no better way to learn the minute detail of something than to draw or paint it.  I picked the arched opening at the top to be my measuring unit.   In other words, the tower was measured and drawn in units of that top archway, both height and width.

Provincetown Town Hall was built in 1885 and is the seat of Provincetown's government.    Its steeple is the second tallest feature in the Provincetown skyline.   Not only is the exterior impressive and historic, but the interior houses many paintings from the large Town Art Collection, including artists such as Charles Hawthorne, founder of the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899.  A much needed renovation was recently completed and 75 of the 300 paintings owned by the Town of Provincetown are newly hung including one of the most famous, "Crew of the Philomena Manta" by Charles W. Hawthorne (1872-1930). 

Provincetown Verticals

The town hall steeple was also measured and drawn in units of the monument archway to ensure, so they would be in scale with one another.

3) Rainbow

Similar to the person for whom this watercolor was painted, I happen to be fascinated with rainbows and prisms.  In fact, a future blog entry is in progress on the subject.  I have never seen a rainbow depicted realistically in a painting that I liked.   There may be a painting out there with a believable rainbow, but I have not seen it.  For this painting, I decided to depict colorful vertical banners symbolic of rainbows for the watercolor's new owner.

The banner colors were done using a lighter shade and darker shade of each color to represent the wrinkles. 

I signed it over the lobster traps on the right