Oliver Mill

Oliver Mill

Along Route 44 in Middleboro, MA there is fascinating place where the Nemasket River passes under an old stone bridge and divides into several prongs that comprise the outskirts of the old Oliver Mill.   Today, the various levels in the streams create an elaborate and effective herring run from Narragansett Bay through the Taunton River and back to the Nemasket River.   The spot where I painted on this day was from within the mill structure - surrounded by three of the walls of the mill but open to the sky above.

 

 

The stone wall remnants of the old structure offered a gorgeous contrast with the end-of-summer greens and yellows. In fact, things were already shifting toward yellow and red.

The thing about plein air is that during the course of standing in a spot for two to three hours,  you are bound to see something unusual.  In this case it was a blue heron that decided to sit up on a railing overlooking the streams squirting out below.   A dog walker came along and of course there was intense curiosity by this young dog.  A better and more memorable title may be "Black Dog Spies Heron."

Nemasket Herring Run

Nemasket Herring Run

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here at the Oliver Mill in Middleboro, MA,  the old stone walls brought back memories of painting in Ireland.   Of course there were plenty of differences not the least of which was the stunning New England foliage.   

These stone walls comprise the original footprint of the old Oliver Mill adjacent to the Nemasket River.   The painting vantage point is west facing and I'm actually standing within the mill walls - no roof though.  The focal point of the painting is beyond the mill where the river widens out.  Presumably the calmer, downstream waters offer better fishing opportunities for this snowy egret.

Bog Pumphouses

Bog Pumphouses

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend and I painted at this huge cranberry bog in Middleboro, MA.   The winding road with three visible pump houses attracted my attention right away.   I hoped to capture the perspective of just how big these bogs were by virtue of the diminishing size of the three structures.

The day started out a little cloudy and dismal, but gradually, it brightened.   Light changes can dramatically affect your painting.   "Chasing the light," is a common mistake, meaning, you paint your initial scheme of light as it appears (in this case cloudy - very pretty).   Then things may change.   The lighting scheme brightens and we observe the new light and paint that (in this case it became full sun).

The funny thing is, if you are really engrossed in the process, light changes may not be immediately apparent.   It's sometimes only when you start sweating that you realize it got warm and sunny :).  I did chase the light a bit, but since I worked the far horizon first, which is cooler and bluer - even on a sunny day, painting a sunny foreground an hour later worked fine.  I did have to go back and add the shadowy section on the road to be consistent.

I thought about adding the first visitor to our area of the bog - a coyote!   It was walking through the bog straight toward us but then, about 40 feet away, took a right turn away!  Yikes!   Plein air can be very exciting!

Roses Oval

While I was working on garden paintings this spring, I was inspired to tackle "the oval" yet again.  I have pulled this canvas out and worked it at least 4 or 5 times and then put it away again.   I've never been quite happy with this oval floral.

The pink roses version shown was the first try.   Ironically, this was probably the best one.  The roses sit nicely within the curved shape - but I didn't recognize that back then.  The subsequent versions (which I didn't take pictures of) gradually filled up the space and the roses got bigger.  This white roses version is finally the rendering I have settled on.   I do like the addition of the bees and the warm translucent shadows of the white rose petals.

And to prove that I'm done, I'm showing it framed. :)

White Roses Oval

Pink Rose Oval - Painted Over

Frontage

 I recently painted the frontage view of my house.   It served as a warm up for the Garden Tour paint out that was taking place the following week.   I was most interested with mixing up the best greens for late June and I figured the nearby garden where I would paint was be similar.    The color of the greens was where the similarity stopped!   It was a glorious expansive garden.

This is a kidney shaped bed that has an old (not visible) tree stump in the middle of it.   We created this planting bed after the tree fell in a storm.   We opted to be lazy and just build up the soil around it and plant some shrubs.   My lamppost and planter frame the entrance to the driveway and it will always be that way.  :)

Frontage

Garden Tour Splendor

 

 

 

 

 

Words cannot describe the beauty of the gorgeous garden where I painted recently.   It was part of a garden tour and deservedly so.   The garden lovers, myself included could not get over the many stunning scenes at this riverside oasis.   Peonies were the star as it was the third week of June and there were hundreds of blooms decorating every square foot of garden space.  I stood along a small pathway that led to the backdoor of this cedar shingle antique (circa 1740).  The underbrush mulch was dark and warm, yet the walkway was also bright and warm - sort of breaking the color temperature rules of painting.  I wanted the garden to dominate, but the house was so enticing that I gave it a bit of attention too.

Garden Tour Splendor

Brushy Texas Tidal Stream

At the East Beach salt march, things were surprisingly "non-green".  It had a tan/pink look to it.   I guess I was not expecting that a place like Galveston, known for its warm weather would have "winter" where growth turns brown and gusty winds blow.   

The days still were relatively mild for us New Englanders.   We set up for painting along the access road to East Beach where the shipping lanes for Houston parallel the shore.   I faced a tidal inlet with the large, public bathhouse in the far distance.  To the left,  there was a constant flow of large colorful oil tankers.   We also spotted plenty of natural elements like egrets and shore birds, presumably wintering from our areas in the north.

Brushy Texas Tidal Stream

Stormy Beach in Winter

 

Stormy Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several of the initial days we spent in Galveston this past winter were somewhat stormy.   Galveston's winter colors were not as gray as New England, but the water and greenery were certainly not tropical looking!   During the scene in this painting, the clouds were threatening rain and it did rain eventually, but there was time enough to capture what amounts to a color study.

Happy Days

Of the many lobster boats that chug in and out to sea via the Green Harbor River, the one that is always most recognizable to me is "Happy Days".   I always loved the dazzling reflections from the afternoon sun on the shiny, bright, crimson bow.   Usually a trail of seabirds can be seen escorting the vessel as it entered the channel.   I'm thinking these seagulls on the shore have heard the racket and are on their way to join the party too!

Happy Days

Beach Grasses and Sloping Seawall

Beach Grasses and Sloping Seawall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Galveston's seawall is an important part of the island.   After the hurricane of 1909 it was built in the hope of preventing the level of devastation that occurred.   They say that every structure in Galveston sustained damage and hundreds of people died.    The location of this painting was on the beach with the main seawall behind me.   The large stone structure on the right is part of a seawall ramp down to the sand.   It acted as a great wind blocker too!  The painting also depicts one of the many jetties that jut out into the Gulf.  It was a winter day to remember.

Two Boston Skylines from the South Shore

Along several locations on the South Shore, there are over-water vistas of the Boston skyline.  These two scenes were both done plein air - one from Quincy and one from Hingham.   

The Logan Airport approach corridor (presumably depending on the winds) crosses overland just to the west of the Atlantic shoreline, thus the jet and hints of colorful gas tank from Quincy.

Pink Boston Skyline

 

The second skyline is from a vantage a bit further south at Crow Point in Hingham.  This is a gorgeous spot in which many waterfront homes, are graced with their own docks.  

Boston Skyline from Crow Point

 

The paint mixing and application for the sky and water were done thickly via palette knife.   The buildings and hard-scape elements were done with brush - thick nonetheless.   These are the summer colors of New England; we seldom see turquoise!

Full Moon Dog Walk

Full Moon Dog Walk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living at the shore, anytime, day or night, people would stroll to the seawall and enjoy all the beach has to offer.   The full moon always seemed to draw people outside even more and I have no shortage of spectacular pictures of the moon rising out of the water.   This full moon scene isn't quite as dramatic as those over-the-horizon full moons, but it was bright enough to cast fascinating blue shadows.   The dog walker took advantage of the moonlight for his pooch's last trip out of the day - and no flashlight needed.

 

Pleasure Pier Morning

Pleasure Pier Morning

 

 

 

 

 

The Galveston Island shoreline is an amazing twenty-five miles long, and no matter how far we ventured along the beaches we could always spot the amusement rides of the Pleasure Pier in the distance.  It became a landmark for us and so one morning we painted from a spot just south of the pier.   The roller coaster, Ferris wheel and carnival food buildings were backlit and looked almost monochrome with the morning mist.   This tonal scene changed dramatically in the afternoon when it had dazzling, bright sunshine and at night with all the flashing neon lights.   

 This was how I best remember it best - from our many morning walks.

Wild Primrose

Is this the yellow rose of Texas?   That was the question in my head as I set up to paint.   It was the sole blossom I saw at a marshy beach-bordering area on the easternmost point of Galveston Island.   I do know it was a primrose, because there was a nature trail display describing the natural elements here.   I loved that there was also winter clover everywhere I looked, lush and green.   New friends, Galveston neighbors, said that once the heat of spring, summer and fall arrives, things dry out and no there is no sign of such moist greenery.

Wild Primrose

Quarry Climb

Quarry Climb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was 1825 when the Quincy Quarries were opened.   The granite for the Bunker Hill Monument, the Provincetown tower, and several piers around Boston sourced their stone from Quincy.  It was a major economic industry and active mining operation until 1963.

After the closures, the quarries themselves slowly began to fill with water.   They became popular - and dangerous - for swimming and cliff jumping.  Numerous people died jumping into the flooded pits, and eventually it was closed to the public.  

At the turn of the century, a novel solution was deployed during Boston’s “Big Dig” project.   The massive amounts of fill from the central artery tunnel was used to fill the pits, creating a safer perimeter for the large granite outcroppings.

Today the Quincy Quarries connects to the Blue Hill Reservation trail system and is open to the public.  People explore, rock climb, and enjoy views of the Boston skyline.   As depicted in the painting, some (many?) use their medium of choice (spray paint) to adorn large slabs of granite as well!

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Seawolf Park in Galveston, TX, there is an enormous boardwalk with WWII vessels, and several fishing piers that overlook the busy channel complete with oil tankers, auto ferries and cruise ships.    We chose this spot for the views and all the channel action.    I had plenty of visitors while I painted, military personnel, tourists, and fishermen.  The friendliest observer of all though was this (not shy) brown pelican.  He literally landed on this railing from a glide roughly two feet above my head.   If he wasn't in this painting, I'd be leaving out the most memorable part of the experience.