Motif #1 South

Motif # 1- South in Progress

An informal trademark of Rockport on the North Shore of Massachusetts is a dark red shack on the Bearskin Neck wharf.  It is often referred to as Motif No. 1 and is recognized even in far-away places.   Sixty miles or so to the south in Kingston, Massachusetts, is another gorgeous scene, which I'm calling "Motif #1 - South."   On this perfect May day, I enjoyed the scene while painting this 12 x 16 oil on linen.   The underpainting was done weeks ago with cadmium red, which was a good complement for emerging Spring greens.



Motif #1 - South

The brown clapboard house(?) sits prominently on a large stone pier.   Large old cedars with nice, dark, contrast were to the left.   The shoreline of South Duxbury location of the Miles Standish monument is shown in the distance.

When it was time to cover the mid-distant sand, I realized that I had neither tubes of white, nor my sand favorite, titanium buff.  I've got to restock my plein air bag!   I finished this sandy portion back in the studio.

Warm, Windy, Weather Whipping Weeping Willows

The weather forecasted a high temperature of seventy degrees for the day....wow, a treat after the horrible winter.   In the studio I lined up some piles of pinks on my palette (for a change) and I set out to find Spring.  I was thinking that by this time, early April, that the Boston Public Garden would have its usual showy display of flowering bulbs.    I found a metered parking spot, parted with ten quarters, and timed my return - two hours.   I saw right away that there were no bulbs blooming yet.   The most vivid color was the clothing of the throngs of people who were strolling along the paths.   Ah yes, people sprouting up all over!



Boston Public Garden Early Spring

I even spotted another painter with his large Gloucester easel (with large canvas) set up at a spot near the iconic swan boat footbridge.   I hope to see the finished product somehow, as it was structurally amazingly, and captured the soft pinkish greens of Spring.

I moved on down to an open spot where I could still see the iconic footbridge over the duck pond from a greater distance.   An old weeping willow formed a strong sixty degree angle on the embankment.   Willows are among the first trees to sprout leaves and the last to shed them.   The fresh bright green sprouts were practically blowing sideways.   At times strong wind gusts made me pause just hold on to the easel and palette.  Happy Spring!

One Word and A Twenty Inch Square

Canvas Stretched onto Cradleboard

This year's challenge for the North River Arts Society event is to transform a twenty inch wooden cradle board into a work of art - and - somehow integrate a word into the creation.  Signing up for these challenges is exciting because it really makes one push out creations that otherwise would never have been conceived.

Staring at this nice cradleboard square of sturdy wood, it did cross my mind that it could serve as the base for a three dimensional creation.   3D has never been part of my repertoire - and call me cautious - but I didn't want to risk doing failed experiment with a creation that would benefit the organization.  So my first step was to cover it with gesso'd canvas.

Thumbnail charcoal

I don't typically work on squares and every time I do, I really enjoy it.   Composition "rules" that are generally followed for rectangular canvases, aren't necessarily in play for squares.   For example the widely accepted guidance of not placing the center of interest in the middle of a rectangular canvas, can usually be ignored for squares.   Symmetry works just fine on a square.



Once Upon a Storybook - Stage One

In the spirit of the "people" work I've been concentrating on lately, I sketched out some scenes with small children playing.  I have been experimenting with unusual head placement/angles and one of my latest favorites is the head down angle. I composed a scene in which small children are gathered around a checkerboard - see thumbnail to left.    


After completing stage one, I swapped out the checkerboard for a large picture book - with, of course, a word.

I first positioned their heads within a circle drawn within the square.   Additionally I roughed in two tangents, the calf/shoe of the boy on the left, and the arm/hand of the boy on the right.   The book forms a strong quadrilateral shape to balance the square and circle.

Important:   If you are interested in the painting, it will be auctioned off Memorial Day Weekend at the North River Arts Society Festival of the Arts in Marshfield Hills, MA.





Once Upon a Storybook

More Tropical Watercolors

 

Towel Exchange

One of the daily rituals at the tropical resort is to do a beach towel swap.   There was a thatch roof towel hut where beach goers had to get to by 5 pm.   They would have to make their way past the margaritas and pina coladas shack to get there.   I did this watercolor sitting with the strong afternoon sun behind me. 


More tropical scenes below.   One of my favorite destinations this year was the Butterfly Farm - absolutely mesmerizing!





Rock Formations Along the Shore




Butterflies



Catamarans

Tropical Watercolors - Loose

View from Mars

Yellow Lady Slipper

I was fortunate to be able to travel to Aruba this year and just like in years past, I brought my watercolors.  Watercolors, although not my preferred medium - provided a nice to change.   I used 4x6 inch and 6x9 inch Canon brand blocks, but I relaxed my past ways.  Rather than using photos or framing tight little scenes,  I just tried to match scenery color, only loosely matching the view.   I let the colors flow into one another using lots of Caribbean Sea water.   


This was more like playing around and experimenting, with no expectation of a worthwhile end product. What was worthwhile was more the process and relaxation of staring at swirling color starting to dry under the strong Equator sun.

These few are the "loosest" of the watercolors.  A forthcoming post will include some "tighter" watercolors.




Yellow Flower Spray





Sea Monster Emerging at Sunset





Tropical Fish