Return of the Mayflower II

Return of the Mayflower II - Stage One

It was a great day in Plymouth, "America's Hometown" with the return of the Mayflower II.   The historic ship left the Fairhaven Shipyard early Wednesday morning pulled by a tugboat, arriving in Plymouth Harbor around 12:30 p.m.

For the past seven months, Mayflower II has been undergoing extensive repairs in dry-dock, a restoration and preservation project that began this past winter.  

 

The waterfront had a parade type atmosphere, with locals and tourists alike enjoying the perfect 75 degree summer temperatures.  As for the impressive event that brought me, it seemed like there were as many people who did not know in advance about the ship's arrival as who did.  

 

Return of the Mayflower II - Stage Two

My painting plan was to paint in the entire scene (I used a black gessoed canvas) and decide at the last moment if I would add the ship in.   The painting of Plymouth Harbor and the Mayflower II's dock progressed over a couple of hours and I had numerous interested viewers, some of whom visited multiple times checking on the progress. 

 

See the Stage One photo for the painting's backdrop - still shipless.  I even painted in the many boats moored in the harbor although I knew some would be painted over by the Mayflower.

 

As word spread that the historic ship had entered the harbor and was approaching, I started to mix up the warm wood color (raw sienna, cadmium red, naples yellow) that I remembered from painting the ship last year.   My dark would be Gamblin's Fastmatte Ultramarine with some burnt sienna.   I grabbed a medium sized straight edge soft brush.   I had added a utility pole on the left;  it proved useful in comparing the relative height of the masts with crow's nests on the fly.   The rendering isn't perfect, but I loved the immediacy of doing a quick draw with a minimum of strokes.   I believe it looks really fresh, as is often the case when it is done in real time.

 

Maureen at Mayflower II Return

Thank you to all my new friends who offered encouragement along the way.   Thanks to one fellow, a Massachusetts transplant to California, and back for a visit, the decision to paint the ship on the fly was clinched.   We agreed, I had to go for it.  He also took the following picture of me at the paint-out's conclusion.

 

Watch for the final painting on my website (www.vezinart.com) within a week or so.