Dramatic Dawn at the Shore

Seagulls at Dawn

Every sunrise is different at the ocean but what they all have in common is that the colorful light gets reflected and multiplied by the water and wet shore.    We looked forward to the sunrises when we first moved to this location, and still we look forward to them.   December days may be short on minutes of daylight, but the sun rising between six and seven a.m. made it less difficult to be up and ready to paint the
color at dawn.

On this day, there was a layer of clouds on the horizon, but the rest of the sky was clear.   Known as the "high dawn,"  Eldridge's Marine Guild defines it as that a sunrise in which the first breaks of sunlight are above a cloud bank as opposed to breaking at the true horizon line.   Lots of dramatic bouncing light results from the high dawn.

Seagulls foraged for food in the early light and although a seagull's local color is white, the backlighting of dawn made them look dark blue with orange colored rim lighting.  The blue/orange harmony was dramatic.

Christmas Still Life with Antique Key, Mister and Holly

This year at the Duxbury Art Association Craft Showcase, I participated by both shopping (great merchandise) and painting.   My favorite booth was that of Marlene, an expert in handknits.  I could not resist her selection of adorable children's sweater sets.   She is a master at her craft!

I did settle down and concentrate on my painting demonstration.  I had been tempted to paint something from a photograph; it would have been much lighter and less bulky than bringing all the items needed for a still life set up.    My good painting conscious saved me and I assembled, packed and hauled the necessary gear.     That list included a spotlight, fabric, assorted ceramic, holly leaves, holly berries, ribbon, and antique key.  Yes, painting from life always yields a better result so it was worth a little extra effort.

I had numerous visitors, young and old, curious about the paint, the painting, and the process.    One four year old boy (actually he clarified that he was "four and three-quarters") insisted to his Dad that he didn't want to leave this spot, and wanted to watch me paint.    He suggested to me that instead of red holly berries, I should paint blueberries, since blue was his favorite color.  I obliged, of course..who could resist this adorable little guy.

It is interesting that the easel and paint draw some children like a strong magnet.   Little children are still attuned to what they really want and like - years before their natural tendencies are - perhaps -realigned. taking on the parental "ought to" slant.

Here is the 2014 Christmas Still Life antique key, purple plant mister, pine cones, holly leaves/berries and teacups with red ribbon woven through.

Merry Christmas to All!

Winter Day at the Audubon

Winter Day at Audubon - Stage One

It looked like it would be a dry day - but gray - so I set up at the Daniel Webster Wildlife Refuge in Marshfield, MA.   As I painted it got windier and cloudier and chillier so I told myself to paint more quickly!

I decided to face southwest to include the brightest part of the early winter sky.    I mixed up some cloud colors, but made them high key, ie bright.   I'm still using the Gamblin's Radiant Violet and Radiant Magenta - not alone - but mixed with my usual blues and whites.    I painted down to the treeline, and beyond in a couple of places.

Winter Day at Audubon - Stage Two

My treeline was a swirl of asphaltum (a transparent brown), burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and green. The metal roof of the barn had a bluish color, strongly influenced by the sky.   Inside the barn, the farming equipment really caught my attention.   In fact, the items inside were the reason I chose this scene.   There was an old red trailer with bales of hay, tools on the wall, and a small tractor. Ironically, when it came time to paint them, I realize that their values were too dark to distinguish.  I settled for some dark hints of what was there.

Winter Day at Audubon - Stage Three

For the grasses, I used the stubby pastry brush to scrub in the fading winter grasses (ochre, sap green, burnt sienna, a little sky blue to tone it down).   Finally, I carved in the foreground trees.   Cutting them in right over the barn that just got painted is somewhat scary, but it really works to boldly represent the scene as it is.   (The sky paint was quite thick to carve through, so the branches will be restated back in the studio.)

Winter Day at Audubon - Stage Three

I thought I was painting quickly.  I only stopped once to wrap my neck in my warmest fake fur scarf, so I was surprised to discover that over two hours had elapsed.   My body temperature did confirm it had been two hours; I was frozen!     Painting endomorphins were coursing just fine through my veins and it didn't take long to pack up.  Sadly, the canvas fell face down onto the ground!  What?!?  The grit didn't cling as well as it would have in summer.   If you examine the upper left corner of the sky, there are some flakes of dead leaves - actually, just the right spot if I was going to add them.  :)


I still have work to do on the tree branches in the studio before I post to the shop or gallery, but the last photo is where I stopped for the paint-out.

Opie

Opie

The subject of this painting is my son's beloved dog, Opie.   Opie spends his every waking moment in one of two states, either looking/waiting for my son's return, or following him around.  It seems that he never takes his eyes off of his master.   Even when he starts to doze off, any perceived movement causes him to wake and double check that his man is still there.  

Opie's devotion has certainly earned him portrait status.  This painting will be a Christmas gift for my son.   I used a photo of Opie to render the likeness and
I'm reminded by his pose that there is probably only one thing on his mind.   Where is my guy?

Powder Point Bridge at Dawn

Powder Point Bridge at Dawn

Amazing Powder Point Bridge is a local icon here on the South Shore of Massachusetts.  It is not only functionally vital for barrier island access to Saquish and the Gurnett, but it is a beautiful testament to old fashion wooden construction.   I've painted it before and I know I'll paint it again, but today's post depicts the bridge at dawn.   The angle of the painting is from the northern side of the bridge looking east across Duxbury Bay.   The Atlantic is just beyond the distant neck of land, which is Duxbury Beach.

In this painting, the sun has just burst over the horizon. The low angle of the sun is casting long bluish shadows.   The pink morning light influenced the sky, the sand, the sea grasses, and the bridge. I exaggerated the color a bit and made the lightsest areas thick and oily.   Once the grasses dried, I  made another pass using my palette knife to scumble some final peachy lights over the tips.   I was trying for a bit of shine and highlight.

The challenge with this scene was to determine how much bridge detail was too much.   There were lots of wooden pilings and cross supports - more than are depicted in my painting.    Paintings can appear tedious and overworked if they appea too realistic (in my opinion :))    I am hoping I hit the right balance and I'm still too involved to be objective.  Its time to take a rest from it.  

So here it is.  The canvas size is 12 x 24 inches, perfect for depicting the longest wooden bridge in the United States*   I would love to get feedback on anything that may not read quite right.

Oh, and if you are interested, here are links to two other posts of Powder Point paintings.

http://maureen-vezina.blogspot.com/2012/11/powder-point-bridge.html
http://maureen-vezina.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-powder-point-bridge.html

*2200 feet

Knockdown House and Rain

I did what I said I would not do, which is to drive around looking for a place to paint.   I'm not taking full blame for wasting this time.   I'm sharing it with the weather forecaster I watched.   She said the morning mist would give way to a bright but cloudy day.   I stayed optimistic and drove into Boston. I'm also sharing the blame with the parking situation in Boston.   I was planning on snaring the first metered spot I saw, but there was none to be had.   Meanwhile the mist became steady rain and then downpours and wind.    Twasn't meant to be!

Knockdown House on Gray Day

I did errands instead and on my way back into Marshfield, I decided to stop at the South River Park which has that new sheltered picnic area.   I had set out in the morning to paint - and like a junkie, I hadn't gotten my fix.   It was misty again so this was a nice gray setting.   The old dilapidated house that I painted the last time I was here looked worse than ever.

 According to the sign out front this old house is slated to be demolished and be replaced with new commercial real estate. I suspect the new building will not have the old graceful lines of this antique that I enjoyed on this day, and probably for the last time.

Rain on my Palette

As for color, with all the grayness of the day, I used Gamblin's Radiant Magenta and Radiant Violet with touch of my usual grays.   These made some pretty (although pale) color accents amid all the silvery woods.   These soft colorful accents aren't visible in this photograph at all!   They really are there in person, I swear!

Knockdown House

The overhang worked out well for about an hour at which point the wind and rain I had seen in Boston earlier started up.   Before I realized it, the palette was covered with raindrops.  Luckily only the back of the painting got wet.  I packed up and get out of there, thinking - hot coffee needed.

Hicks Point from Bay Road, Duxbury

Cedars on the Marsh

In South Duxbury, Massachusetts, the coastline turns inward and faces Kingston Bay.   There are several marshy areas that border Kingston Bay forming pretty inlets.     The inlet in front of me in this painting is Island Creek, and presumably it passes under the road I was on (Bay Road).     According to the map I checked, the neck of land on the left is called Hicks Point.   Wouldn't that house make a great painting location (or home for that matter)!   I had to settle for a long view of it for this painting.

The tide was rising and it was an astronomically extra-high tide.   The marsh quickly turned watery and what really caught my attention were the two huge clusters of dark cedars.   Although I loved the composition through my viewfinder, once I captured in on the canvas, it was quite ordinary. I was somewhat disappointed with the result from the actual paint out.

Hicks Point, South Duxbury, MA

I guess you could say that "ordinary" was the theme of this paint out.   No unusual stories to report; it was just a peaceful, serene session of matching marshy golds and cloudy skies.   Okay, I think what I'm saying is this post is dull, #pleinair painting is always exciting!