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| Water, Rocks and Salty Air in Progress |
It's so exhilarating to be at the shore and especially so when the surf is up. The waves that pummel the rocks send a salty mist into the air that I have to believe is more therapeutic than any medicinal alternative! The earlier question, "will it be too chilly?" was quickly resolved. "It's actually sort of hot!" The rocks all around began to heat up. :)
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| Water, Rocks and Salty Air |
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| Oil Paint |
These paintings were done at the 2021 Marshfield Fair. At noon, twelve floral designers set out to create a ribbon winning design. At 2PM twelve painters were assigned an arrangement to capture in paint.
It was a fun experience and so interesting to see how different painters approached their floral creation. The floral designers seemed to basically have the same flowers, so to me, the color schemes of each were so very similar. But as you see,the painters' works were vastly different!
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| Acrylic |
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| Watercolor |
This painting depicts early morning with unsettled skies at beautiful and historic Scituate Light. This portrait style 12x6 inch canvas worked out well for this subject. As I painted a nice couple came over and asked various questions about this painting and painting in general. I forget exactly what statement informed me that they were a "new" couple. He asked me how much I would take for the painting. (The painting was not nearly done and not yet in a state I would want to own up to.)
Now, if you sell paintings you know that an offer like this is a gift on a silver platter. Seldom does a painting sale happen that way. In retrospect, maybe he wanted to impress his new friend with an unusual on-the-spot gift. What did I say? "Let's exchange cards and I will email you." Well you know the ending to that story! hahaha...I probably could use a lesson in sales.
Now on display at Framers' Edge in Braintree, MA.
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| Water Lilies Fading Glory |
Do the topics of waterlilies and oil paintings bring impressionist painter Monet to mind for you? I personally love those paintings and as many times as I've seen one of the many renditions of waterlilies by Monet I marvel. Up close they seem like chaotic dots of color, but step back and the real thing emerges. Did you know there are at least 250 known waterlily paintings by Monet? Amazing!
There is great freedom and fun in painting water and water lilies. Monet's paintings have exactly what mine lack- a casual looseness and variety. I wouldn't be able to paint the same subject dozens, never mind hundreds of times. I wonder if Monet's free flowing brushwork comes from his being so familiar with the subject that his psyche practically paints it without conscious thought?
These are not south-of-France waterlilies, but rather New England pond lilies done in a "zoomed in" stilllife style. As the end of summer approaches, the pads start to change color with more read and gold, similar to our foliage.
At the end of Damon Point Road in Marshfield, there is a dock and a picturesque overlook at the North River. Abutting the road to the point is a pretty little marsh and a handy access to view it. I thought, wow, there are so many gorgeous scenes of the river, but it was midday. It would be too hot and I'd probably get sunburned if I tackled a scene on the shade free dock. Instead I set up under some trees that bordered the marsh on the left. As always with plein air, what seems like an ordinary subject can become special through the use of a loose and painterly application. This was truly a warm shadow, cool light day. See how red the shrub and underbrush are, and by contrast the sunlit marsh is lemony green (which is a cool shade).
Oh, and this cat kept me company.
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Marsh at North River |
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| Kayaks in the Underbrush |
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| Kayaks in the Underbrush Roughed In |
Jacob's Pond is a pretty fresh water spot in Norwell, MA. We've been there many times, both for small hikes and plein air paint-outs. The far northwest corner of the pond boasts a picturesque, curvy wooden bridge, complete with turtles, frogs and waterlilies. Why you could convince yourself that you were in rural Vermont, when in reality it is three blocks from congested Route 53.
Even though the main subjects are warm colors, the light scheme is cool light, warm shadows. If you are interested in this concept, watch for my upcoming painting class, where we will cover it.
The painting was done en plein air while standing on the bridge. The following clip is (almost) 360 degrees of where I was standing.
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| Grassy Side of the Harbor |
One side of this Scituate waterfront scene was an industrial plateau of trucks, granite, hot top and metal railings, while the opposite side was a lush, verdant and overgrown jungle. For this plein air painting, no-brainer; I let the marshy green side dominate! I did not paint fast enough to capture the high tide at the start in which the tallest boats and dock cranes were breaking the horizon line. By the time their turn came, the water level had dropped them into a less dramatic position. That's the challenge of painting live-and-in-person - change can be hard! haha.
If you are interested, enlarge the dock scene. The rope barrels, traps and fishing gear in the mid-distance which looked - in person - like a congested collection of chaos, would have to be tamed into a coherent and recognizable element of the painting. It was an exercise in discipline. How to make this complex part of the scene look realistic without too much tedium? It took three steps. 1) Several colorful dots were applied in a straight horizontal line, 2) their colors were then pulled down into the (already painted) water below for reflection, and 3) a long narrow dark stroke cut through that for the underside of the dock. A typical New England dock in an abstract sort of way.
Besides painting, the most pleasant part was observing the ducks wade around. Their preference was also the green side - that is until the people with stale bread appeared at the parking rail.
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| Roughing in the Scene |
Walking the wooded, stone lined path in this painting put me in and out of sunlight on this early morning in June. During the set up, the long morning shadows were somewhat horizontal which presented a mundane light/dark pattern. I roughed in a sketch of the scene nevertheless, and as time went by, the change in the sunlight and shadows I had hoped for did come. The first tree's shadow was now at a more dynamic angle. and the big crock of geraniums was fully lit.
This "fresh paint" work of art is much more colorful and vivid in person than in the photo image and the painting is much more colorful than the real scene.
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| Crock on the Path |
This painting is my Copley Society of Art "Fresh Paint" entry for 2021.
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| My Brother |
I think within families, resemblances aren't obvious. Other people will say "you and your sister look a lot alike." Perhaps the mustache precludes hearing that as much with my brother. (haha) However, as I painted a feature-at-a-time, it became much more apparent. We do have similar eyes, similar noses, and some wrinkles/furrows in the same places. I am blessed with the most "expression lines."
It's no wonder then, that these are very good looking people.
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| My Sister |
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| Bridge Over the North River |
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| North River Paint Out |
I was surprised at how many boats and kayaks passed under me given that it was only April and quite cool. This is a tidal river and the flow was against most of the boats I saw. Motor-less boats really had to battle the current and I confess I got a good chuckle out of hearing one couple's banter (aka - argument) as to who was working harder. "I AM working hard!" Followed by a stream of rowing instructions, "left, left, I said LEFT!" "now RIGHT." " GRRRRRRR! Well, they made it through the "narrows" to the other side, and I'm guessing quite heated up! I did wonder if, upon their return, would they ride this same flo-tide in, or struggle against an equally strong ebb-tide. I''ll never know! :)
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| Wooden Wonder - Powder Point Bridge |
Red sky at night, sailors' delight...
It's not quite red but the thick overcast was giving way to clearer skies, and setting sun was catching the underside of the cloud bank at the Powder Point Bridge. This marvelous bridge is special to many on the South Shore of Massachusetts. It's unique length and structure has made it into documentaries and movies over the years, and of course, it is a favorite of photographers and painters.
The bridge is, in fact, the longest wooden bridge in the United States at 2,200 feet. When the original bridge was built in 1892 it subtracted seven hours of travel from the trip from Duxbury Center to the Gurnet which is at the furthest tip of Duxbury Beach. The bridge has been a topic in this blog several times if you'd like to know more and see my past paintings of it.
This painting is large at 18x36 which makes it the perfect living room piece for "over the couch."
It took just under two hours to get to Hancock, NH for our February painting getaway. My husband and I were each able to get two paintings done in the three days. The conditions were rough the first day as it was cloudy, freezing cold - and windy. Additionally, I was standing in snow. I was quickly chilled to the bone. It did make me paint faster than usual, although the paint was quite sluggish. Hahaha...it was great! I sought hot tea immediately once we got to the Inn and happily let their elderly Golden Retriever rest his warm head in my lap.
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| Snowy Gate |
By contrast, the next day was glorious. The full sunshine gave a brilliant glow to everything in sight. The black and white world from the previous day was now full of lively color, blue sky, yellow inn, red barn, and golden, sunlit pile of firewood. I never did clean off my palette from the first day, so its no wonder that the snow colors look very similar. The photo belies the bright color in the actual painting, especially the red, and now I'm thinking I should make things brighter still. Paintings that reside in the studio are never really done!
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| Barn Out Back |
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| Watch Hill Cove in Winter |
In this era of keeping space between people, plein air painting is the perfect occupation. We took a road trip to Watch Hill, Rhode Island all loaded up with our painting gear. During the summer, I was told, the place is hopping, but it was early March and we were two of the few people who were enjoying the harbor and beach. Photos of warm weather reveal that this location hosts dozens of beautiful boats that would be tied to the many - now empty - moorings.
The paint was so cold that I had to mix oil right into the stiffer colors, like Naples Yellow. You may notice how extra thick the sky and water are, an impasto look that I love; the stiff cold paint helped!
We have occasionally enjoyed taking the commuter ferry out of Hingham, MA, disembarking in Boston for a day of touring (and eating). The views and photos taken from the water offer perspectives that just can't be matched, especially those of the city skyline. This isn't the first painting, and will not be the last of the paintings I've done from these ferry trip photos.
As we passed by the Boston Fish Pier, this row of large commercial fishing boats caught my eye. They were so colorful, as was the row of international flags mounted atop the Boston World Trade Center. I liked that the rustic weather beaten boats and dock become transformed into something beautiful just by being painted.
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| Boston Fishing Fleet |
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| Tall Ships In - Boston Seaport |
It's exciting for seaports around the world when tall ship events and races draw many the many vessels to their harbors. For people with strong ties to the ocean, it is mesmerizing to see these spectacular marvels carve their way through the water. Just as amazing is watching crew climbing the rigging to stow sails, a truly coordinated effort.
This painting depicts a three masted full-rigged ship moored at the harbor end of the Boston Fish Pier. The colorful flags of the Boston World Trade Center are visible, which is the next northerly pier, and of course the familiar Boston skyline in the far distance.
