Boston Harbor Fish Pier

Boston Fish Pier Fleet

The properties on the rim of Boston Harbor vary from swank hotels and restaurants, to popular attractions such as the Aquarium and Bank of America Pavillion.  During a daytrip by boat into Boston, I took photos of the many piers, boats, planes and skylines.  Sandwiched in between some pretty exclusive properties is the Boston Fish pier.   I wondered as I took several photos how old it was because I thought that it probably did not look much different than it did 100 years ago.   As it turns out, it actually opened almost 100 years ago, in 1914.   It is the oldest continuously working fish pier in the United States. The historic Boston Fish Pier is really three buildings: the East and West Buildings which are connected by huge archways; and the Exchange Building.  The trademark seagreen trim and one of the archways can be seen in the painting.

It was sunset as we passed the pier on the commuter boat, and the fishing boats were lined up for almost the entire length of the pier.   The sun was lighting up just the tops of the boats and masts, as well as the trees and the yellow building on the left.  It was a striking scene and definitely worth capturing in oil.

The challenge on this one was simplifying to the basic masses, before worrying about all the busy detail.   I worked from my photos.  There were five values in six masses numbered here darkest to lightest:  1) boat hulls, 2) Fish Pier building and parking lot,  3) the sunlit building and trees 4) the water and sky, 5) boat tops.   Once those were in, I worked within the masses to add some recognizable elements.

This painting was done on a maplewood cradleboard, a new substrate for me, and I liked it.  I am going to sit on this one for a few days before I call it done.   Any comments for me?