Special Olympic Park

Special Olympic Park - First Cliff

 After crossing the bridge on Edward Foster Road, there is a small triangular traffic island as you enter the First Cliff area.    There is a sign that names this lovely spot, Special Olympic Park.   It's part of the "Adopt a Lot" program where citizens or organizations take responsibility for a public land parcel.   I had trouble uncovering who is tending to this particular spot, but the person(s) is doing a fantastic job.   I set up under the big old apple tree which has two benches and beds of flowers under it.  One purple iris bed was in spectacular full bloom.  In the course of the two hours I was painting, two groups of people came along and sat for a few minutes, no doubt enjoying the view of Scituate inner harbor, and the cool comfort of an old shade tree adorned with surrounding flower beds.   I was doing the same!

Driftway Overlook

Set up

 

What a location!  This "little" North River is a tributary to the "big" part of the North River that separates Scituate, MA from Marshfield, MA.   The tidal flow causes the river levels to rise and fall along with the ocean tides.   At the start of my painting, the riverbanks were expansive yet by the time I finished up, the silty borders had started to diminish.   The stream of kayaks never diminished so I included a few in the painting.    

Stage One

 

This, for me, was also a good example of how distorted color can be in a photograph.  I had held up scoops of paint against each of the major local colors while I was painting. By my judgement, I had achieved  pretty precise color matches. Yet when I printed my reference photo back in the studio, the blues were oh so blue, the lightest shades of sand were white and the reddish undertones of the pilings on the left were black.  The reference was useful then only to check the drawing - not color.

Stage Two

Always let your eyes guide you on color. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Driftway Overlook

Rows of Harbor Slips

Rows of Harbor Slips - In Progress

There is a perfectly located municipal building along the water in Scituate, MA.  Apparently the building is not in use, so I was happy to enjoy the spot for painting,  along with others who had also discovered a view that could only enhance their morning coffee.

 

The wide aspect of this canvas (8x16 inches) was nicely suited for depicting a sweeping vista that included rows of boat slips, the distant Second Cliff, a long dock with boathouse and even the privacy fence of the next property to the south.

Rows of Harbor Slips

 

Pegotty

Pegotty

 

Scituate Harbor is sheltered in part by a rising land mass known as "Second Cliff."  From the one-way loop road there is an overlook to Pegotty Beach, the place from which I painted this scene.  It's most interesting landmark was the remarkable beachhouse on tall pilings.  It reminded me more of the sea stilt structures commonly seen on the Outerbanks of North Carolina.  I believe there were many more structures along this shoreline which have been claimed by the Atlantic Ocean over the years - during our notorious Nor'easters.    This beachhouse is still hanging tough!

Scituate Light Vertical

 

 

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. 

 

Grassy Side of the Harbor

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.

Morning at Sea Street Bridge

Morning at Sea Street Bridge

Our closest beach is now Humarock, presenting variety of nice views for plein air painting.   The vantage point of this painting is from the ocean side of the Sea Street Bridge looking back across the South River.     The small buildings on my left provided deep foreground shadows on me and the beach roses at the base of the bridge.   I made sure these rosebushes were dark enough to contrast with the dazzling sunlit boats and buildings across the water.   Does it look hazy, hot and humid?  Because it was!

Soaring Back from Minot

Soaring Back from Minot

This spot probably takes as bad a beating from Nor'easters as any coastal spot along Massachusetts.   It faces due northeast, directly in the line of fire when the coastal storms hit.   Hints of past house damage was evidenced by mismatched roof shingles and/or fresh/new wood supports.  Yet it was a different story on the mild and clear Sunday afternoon that this paint out took place.   The water was calm and frequent walkers passed along the loop to Scituate Light.  Despite the distance, Minot Light was clearly visible at the horizon line.   The scene was complete when this aerial glider motored past; his route seemed to skirt the shoreline and presumably he got a view of Minot Light that few of us can hope to ever take in!

Windy Day at Driftway

Stage One - Matching Color

It's warming up outside and the colors all around are taking on summery hues.    The "high in the sky" sunlight is most responsible.    The wind, however was also a factor on this day when I set up at the Driftway walking paths in Scituate, MA, a local treasure along the North River.

The only downside to painting at the Driftway is the number of dogs running around and exploring.    It's not that I don't love dogs, because I do, but it's not a good situation if one becomes interested in a fully loaded paint palette (bad for him) or worse, sniffing my gear sitting on the ground (bad for me).   The vantage I decided on - down river - could be seen from the long fishing pier.    No humans or canines, seemed motivated to walk all the way to where I was, so there were no mishaps. 

Stage Two - Windy Day at Driftway

The views were gorgeous, and because of the wind, the water was dark and rushing.   That was the effect I tried to paint for the water.   I guess I could call this one, Rushing Water.  Let me know your thoughts on these titles, or otherwise.

Windy Day at Driftway

Hot Vacation Week at the Beach

Hot Vacation Week at the Beach

Beach houses that are situated on the east facing shorelines of New England are lucky for many reasons.   One of the best reasons is that they have a perfectly clear view of sunrise.   As a morning person, I've noticed that often people will rise early and get right out onto the beach, especially the big family groups like in this scene.  It may have been too hot to sleep.   Perhaps they haven't gone to bed yet - ha.

 I liked this composition where the shade tent offered a dark contrast and some silhouettes against the orangey dawn.   I added some atmosphere to the shoreline figures to convey the humidity...more? less?   I'm all ears.... :)

Osher Ledges - Minot

Osher Ledges - Stage One

The location of this scene is the northernmost section of Scituate, MA, known as Minot.   Minot is only 15 miles across the water from Boston Harbor.  The Boston skyline was in fact visible in the far distance across Cohasset Harbor, if I turned 180 degrees from this easterly facing scene.

Osher Ledges - Stage Two

It was cold!   I had the layers; I was in the sun.  However, the wind was blowing from behind me and eventually, I had to wrap things up.    In quick paint mode, as discussed in the past, the result can be fresher, unfussy and more vivid.   I'd like to think that surrendering to the cold on this day, has resulted in one of those kinds of paintings.

Osher Ledge - Minot

As for the colors, the dark winter blue ocean was a stark contrast against the sun bleached ledges.    It was low tide and some of the boulders that spend most of the day submerged were dark and moss covered.   The angle of sun is so low that there is not much yellow influence, thus there is a distinct lack of green in the water. In fact, the ocean blue was leaning more toward purple than green.

Jetty at Scituate Light

Backlit downpours

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday as we drove north on Route 3A to Scituate Harbor and historic Scituate Light.   There were no bad views, so given the heat, I set up on the highest point of the granite rip-rap looking toward the long "L" shaped jetty.    There were nice breezes and lots of tourists passing by.  The noon sun illuminated the horizontal surfaces and the glare off the water was exceptionally bright.   The warm gold and sienna boulders were fun to paint and I used my palette knife to butter on the streaks of colorful granite.  



Jetty at Scituate Light - In Progress

About an hour into the paint-out, the wind got stronger and a large, dark storm cell approached from the west.The thunderstorm was apparently one of the few showers that occurred on the South Shore of Massachusetts that day.  It was quite spectacular to see because from this vantage we could see it approach and move along the long expanse of shoreline.

Jetty at Scituate Light

  

I had just painted my first two distant figures when I realized that I had to break down my gear and dash to the vehicle.  With the painting about 80% complete, I had enough to finish up back in the studio.
It looks as though this young guy is trying to talk his friend into adventuring further out onto the jetty.