Cliff Walk Paint Out - Revisited

Last year we drove to Newport, RI in late June for a weekend getaway and painting trip.  There were hundreds of scenes worth painting and settling on a location is tough.  As walkers we invariably find places to park and paint that would be easily be missed while driving.    This painting spot was at the halfway point of Cliff Walk at a dead end street.

Cliff Walk Newport - Final

The day was glorious - bright and sunny and just warm enough.  This scene faces northeast, so the sun and water glare was to my right.   It did get easier to see as the sun moved, but my eyes did take a beating.   I remember stopping to look around and thinking, what an amazing world, and how lucky are we to be surrounded by all the elements of nature we revere - sun, ocean, breezes, roses.   After painting, we walked the rest of the trail to the southern terminus before looping back to our painting location.   We then could apply fresh eyes to our wet paintings.

Here is a video snippet of the Cliff Walk Paint Out ...you'll have to imagine the smell of the roses and salt air!

Six Boats and a House That Floats - Revisited

This was painted from the roof deck of the Long Wharf Marriott in Newport, RI.    It is part of the Copley Society of Art Exhibition entitled " Anchors Aweigh."

Six Boats and a House That Float

The drawing itself was challenging.  Sight-sizing wasn't possible because in order to see my scene, I had to lean over the railing and look down, versus having the canvas and scene side-by-side.    I guess that made it more of a memory exercise.    The top down angle adds an interesting twist.

Other than the occasional gusty wind and constant rumble of the ventilation system, it was very pleasant!

Cliff Walk Newport - Gazebo Framed by Foreground Rocks

Maureen Painting at Cliff Walk

Cliff Walk View - In Progress

This year we drove to Newport, RI in late June for a weekend getaway and painting trip.  There are hundreds of scenes worth painting and settling on a location is tough.   Our love of walking invariably pays off in that we often spot on foot places to park and set up that would be easily missed while driving.    This spot was at the halfway point of Cliff Walk at a dead end street.

Cliff Walk Newport - Final

The day was glorious - bright and sunny and just warm enough.  This scene faces northeast, so the sun and water glare was to my right.   It did get easier to see as the sun moved, but my eyes did take a beating.   I remember stopping to look around and thinking, what an amazing world, and how lucky are we to be surrounded by all the elements of nature we revere - sun, ocean, breezes, roses.   After painting, we followed the trail to the southern terminus before looping back to take a more unbiased look at our freshly painted works.

Newport Lobster Shack

Newport Lobster Shack in Progress

I am now thoroughly familiar with the shape of those fryolater vents used by restaurants as this is the third one that I've painted in three weeks.   The setting for this painting is along Long Wharf in Newport, RI.    I posted Six Boats and a House that Floats a couple of weeks ago.   That painting was executed from the rooftop seven floors up. This painting was done closer to sea level, and actually from the same building.   Not only was it fun to watch the sailboats, charter fishing trips and lobster boats coming and going, but it was amazing to see the Lobster Shack crew processing hundreds of the bright steamed crustaceans for their open air restaurant.   I can attest that these people work hard!   Just a few yards away, folks lounged around the decks of their massive yachts, hardly working.  On vacation, I'm sure. :)

Newport Lobster Shack

As for the painting, the dark, moist pilings formed a solid base for both the pier and the painting composition.   It may be why the tangle of objects on the dock looks especially colorful.  I buttered on a thick hazy sky with the palette knife, and I carved out the dozens of boat masts, with my rubber tip tool. There were literally hundreds of masts, but I think if I had painted too many, oil paint chaos may have been the result.

Six Boats and a House That Floats

Six Boats and a House That Floats - Phase One

Our accomodations in Newport, RI had a rooftop deck that offered spectacular views of Newport Harbor.   It was the first full day and my plan was to paint a harbor scene.  I knew about the roofdeck.  I fought off the urge to be lazy and not lug my painting gear from the carport level - to the elevator - to the fifth floor down the hall - through the fire door - to the last flight of stairs to the roof.     I would be glad I went after this unique vantage;  top down views are among the most dynamic compositions because of the sharp angles.

Six Boats and a House That Float

The drawing itself was challenging.  Sight-sizing wasn't possible because in order to see my scene, I had to lean over the railing and look down, versus having the canvas and scene side-by-side.    I guess that made it more of a memory exercise.    Other than the occasional gusty wind and constant rumble of the ventilation system, it was very pleasant!

Rock Formations with Crashing Surf

Rock Formations with Crashing Surf

Today's paint-out took place approximately 77 miles from home, at the southernmost tip of Jamestown, Rhode Island.   This green space is surrounded by impressive rock formations which protect Beavertail Light, the third oldest lighthouse in the United States.   The rugged rock formations and high surf were spectacular, and reminded me of the Pacific shoreline, complete with a distinctly turquoise tint.  I was meeting more plein air painters; in total there were six of us.   We all agreed that, although it was a long ride, it was well worth it.   And as I have said on more than one occasion, plein air is as much about the experienced place and time as it is about coming out with a (great?) painting.

What a spot!  The access road encircles the lighthouse and is situated above the rugged and complex cliffs.   Openings in the guardrail permitted access to the tops of the rocky cliffs and a very active surf thirty feet below.   The eastern morning sun was causing a tremendous glare just to the left of the canvas.   The 9x12 viewfinder was clipped to the right, so fortunately I wasn't looking directly into the brightness.    It definitely was a tough day for my eyes.   I did wear sunglasses throughout most of rock sketching.   When it was time for true color matching I was forced to remove them.   The painting shown was the second painting of the day; it's closer to finished than the first.   I'll show painting number one once I get a chance to view it in the studio.

Click on the link for a short snippet of the panoramic view.  The land mass in the distance is Newport, Rhode Island.
https://youtu.be/IpD4XgJ_Gf8

Cliff Walk Newport

Hot Underpainting

June has been fantastic here in New England.   Roses are now peaking, baby birds are fledgling and the warm dry days have pushed memories of the horrendous winter out of our consciousness.

Maureen at Cliff Walk Newport

Cliff Walk Newport, RI

So it was just icing on the perfect day cake to set up at a spectacular scene overlooking the Ocean Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island.  Framed in this scene is a large four chimney "beachhouse" (aka mansion) and its seaside gazebo.  A seawall bordered the shoreline and a manmade base of boulders provided a nice variety of elements.   My favorite was the foreground boulders which were cracked and rugged calling for the darkest darks and lightest lights.   Crescent shaped waves approached the like shaped beach below in a fairly uniform pattern.   My starting canvas was deep orange that had been toned weeks ago.   This proved to be somewhat distracting until most of it was covered!   I had planned to use it for a predominately summer green scene.    The greens in this painting did benefit from this complementary underpainting, and even the ocean vibrates orange.

The result of this paint-out wasn't bad but what was more enjoyable I think was the time spent outdoors creating the reminder of it.




Beach at Newport Harbor



King Park Newport

It was an overcast day at home, but a mere fifty miles southwest of home, in Newport, RI, it was a perfect "10."   The warm sunny skies had us thinking "beach" and after driving the scenic twelve mile ocean drive, we settled at a spot on Wellington Ave called King Park.  

A bright yellow catamaran rental down at the end of the beach had to be my center of interest.  So pretty! The closer shoreline led to the stack of rentals from bottom right to middle left.   The boulders of the jetty also seemed to point to the sailboat rentals.    Beyond the jetty the inner harbor was dotted with colorful sails and kayaks.

In the distance was a grassy cliff with trees, which was the grounds of Fort Adams.    The fort is not actually in view, but was just off to the right.
As always, I think plein air color is the best color, and beats studio efforts every time.