Boston Fishing Fleet

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.

Boston Fishing Fleet

Tall Ships In - Boston Seaport

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.  

Beach Shelter in Winter

Beach Shelter in Winter - In Progress

This is the view from my childhood home, done from a photo taken by my niece just last week during a snowstorm.   Thank you Stefanie!  The shelters today look no different than they did fifty years ago, and I'm thinking that anyone who walks, runs or rides along Day Boulevard should recognize the shape of the roofline over the benches.  During the summer, they provide nice shade and during the winter, they provide material for a nice painting.

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Beach Shelter in Winter

Yacht Clubs from Kelly's Landing

Yacht Clubs from Kelly's Landing

There was a strong line of storm cells between the South Shore and Boston on this morning.    I would be driving straight into it.  The weather forecaster assured viewers that the weather would clear by 8AM, but it didn't.    The clouds and mist lingered as I set up along Day Boulevard in South Boston, MA.  This spot was always known as Kelly's Landing, known for its seafood and ice cream - back when ice cream cones were only 15 cents each. :)

The rain had soaked everything making surfaces look darker and shiny.   The old cedar shakes on the yacht club looked even darker against the cloudy skies.  Truthfully, this was an unpleasant paint out and the painting didn't turn out too good either.   As I've said before though, a bad day plein air painting beats a good day at the office - anyday!


House Portrait

It is a very big deal when people move, bigger still when the move is from a house that they called home for many years.   Compound that with a lifelong city dweller relocating to the suburbs? - huge. I'm thinking that parking problems, low flying jets, and air/noise pollution will not be missed. Instead,  silent and daily thanks are given at the joy of pulling into a driveway.  :)

House Portrait

But in reality, living within minutes and walking distance of friends, family and work, especially when children are young, provides a unique support system that most lifelong suburbanites do not understand.    For Bostonians in traditional neighborhoods, social networks aren't a new phenomenon accessed by staring at an ipad, but rather by simply sitting on the front steps, or walking to the bank and corner store.   City living can be quite good and today's surging real estate sales prove that today's twenty and thirty somethings realize it.

A house is just wood and nails - that is, until newborns are brought home, holidays are celebrated there, and renovations completed.   All of these special life events place a personal signature on a house making it a memorable place.  This cityscape will hang in the new suburban home of a friend who is still adjusting to her new digs and locale.  A way to remember that this was a good place to raise a family and call home.

Iron Maiden from Liberty Wharf - Boston



Iron Maiden from Liberty Wharf - Stage One

Once a person is hooked on plein air, working in the studio just seems to fall short.   Half the allure of plein air is being outside in the fresh air and feasting on the full sensory experience. The absolutely frigid temperatures over the past week had kept me indoors so when temperatures hit the forties on this day I packed up and headed outside!





Iron Maiden from Liberty Wharf - Stage Two

On Northern Ave in Boston, a parking spot was waiting just for me, and it was a freebie to boot - meter was broken.   So far, so good!  This spot was directly across from the Liberty Wharf and it faced the eastern side of Boston's historic fish pier.   Numerous fishing boats were docked along the lengthy pier and they were bathed in winter sunlight.   A blue lobster boat named Iron Maiden was the closest to where I was standing.   Other boats behind her were mostly obscured.    Up next to the building dozens of trucks were tucked in underneath the overhang, presumably getting loaded up with a winter catch. 

Was it warm enough?  Yes, at first.   After an hour and a half I was freezing because of the moist east wind and growing shadows.  In summer we call this a "sea breeze."  I used plenty of thick paint and loosened it up with my new "go-to" medium, Gamblin gel.   The conditions demanded that the paint be put on directly (as one thick layer as opposed to building up multiple coats, or glazing that is common in the studio).   If I'm only painting this boat once, I want it to count, thus it called for a really thick layer of opaque paint.  



Iron Maiden - Boston Fish Pier

Plein air paintings have a very different feel from a studio painting and one I happen to love.   Part of that is the thick paint, but mostly it seems more vibrant and spontaneous than a piece I may have labored over.







Fort Independence in Fall

On this autumn day, the air was cool but the sun was still warm.   I wore the long white down coat so the extra moist and salty air of Boston Harbor wouldn't penetrate.  I set up on the far end of the long fishing pier on the north side of Fort Independence on Castle Island.    This freestanding pier on pilings juts out into the Harbor.  I'm thinking that the simplicity of this composition belies the activity all around me.  Fun to watch, but it required some focus to keep to the subject.   Jets were landing at Logan International Airport, cargo canisters were being moved on the docks, and tugboats, ferries and water rescue boats cut through the greenish blue waters.

Fort Independence in Fall - In Progress

It's good to simplify at the outset, with a line sketch for placement.  Next, I blocked in all the dark areas.   The shaded fort wall on the right was made from smooth but mottled granite slabs.   In the foreground, the roughly hewn granite pilings were even darker (wet plus shaded) and thick


Walking the Island

 with sea mosses and barnacles.   The sky was next - done plein air style - via a thick coating of cobalt and white applied with the palette knife.   Elements of middle values were next, the rolling green slopes of grasses, the distant fort wall, the golden grasses on top of the fort and the sea water. Finally I worked the lanterns, the iron fencing and the walkers. And as always, there was a constant flow of walkers on the upper and lower paths.  After all, that's what you do when you are in South Boston; you walk the island.
  

Sailing at Pleasure Bay

Sailing at Castle Island - Side-by-side view

Today's paint-out was at Castle Island in South Boston, MA, where there is something for everyone - eating, walking, biking, fishing, jet watching, sightseeing - something or nothing - your choice!

I set up facing northwest which placed the tallest Boston buildings, the Prudential and John Hancock in the distant background.    Within the scene coming forward were: the tree-lined access road to the Island, Pleasure Bay (a.k.a. the lagoon) the McDonough Sailing Program docks (jam-packed with kids), the backs of people in their beach chairs and finally the grassy area right in front of me.    There were people everywhere - on the docks, in the water and in the sailboats.   Bright summer sherbet colors dotted the scene, and as a color junky, I couldn't wait to get to dig into those piles of color.  




Sailing at Pleasure Bay

This is a very busy painting, and as such, I was trying to place the most focus on the sailing lessons (ie. using the most vivid color, strong contrast, and sharp edges).  That meant de-emphasizing the other vertical planes as needed  (ie. muted colors, softer edges).    In an exceptionally busy scene, there should be an order of priority to the painting elements.  Otherwise, there may be too many items competing for attention, throwing off the balance.     Despite these observations - it's still too busy of a painting!  What do you think?


Carson Beach in July

Carson Beach in July - Stage One

Triple H's but it was still early and bearable when I pulled into the parking lot along Day Boulevard at the Carson Beach.  The tide was dead low and either the sand has naturally built up over the years or it has been manually supplemented. Maybe I have forgotten what the beach was like at low tide!    I know that the beach grasses I saw on this day weren't there forty years ago - that's a very nice touch.   





Carson Beach in July - Stage Two

Carson Beach in July

I set up along the gray boardwalk facing Dorchester Heights and the monument.   The bathhouses were to my left, nice old brick buildings with lots of character.   More and more people arrived and settled in all around me.   I chose which people to include and of course, which of the many colorful umbrellas should be painted in.  A day at the beach...


Columbia Point from Day Boulevard

Columbia Point Vantage

Columbia Point from Day Boulevard

I had just over an hour before I was due to pick up my aunt for lunch.    I exited the Southeast Expressway and rounded the circle in South Boston and started down Day Boulevard.   After passing the Massachusetts State Police Station, I got ready to make a turn into one of the beach parking lots.

I was lucky to snag the first spot which had a clear view of the Kennedy Library, the fishing pier and old stone gazebo.   This spot is known as "Mothers' Rest", one of many scenic vantages along the Harborwalk.   It was a very gray day, so there was neither dramatic sunlight or defining shadows.  There was still plenty of fall color in the distant trees.

Columbia Point from Day Boulevard

There was a mixture of runners, walkers and UMass Boston students passing by and only a handful of people stopped to talk.   That was probably good because I was tight on time.

The last thing I did was to use my "scrape off" rubber tool to carve the shape of the sign through the thick sky paint.   This pulled off the thick paint and gave me the right sign location allowing me to finish it back in the studio.  I do like the freshness of this one - no doubt because of the lack of time, ie no fussing over detail and reworking. 

Sugarbowl from Ferry



Sugarbowl Stage One

Growing up in South Boston we always referred to the halfway point of the "over water" causeway between Marine Park and Castle Island as the "Sugar Bowl."   The name comes from this landmark's round shape which used to be lined with a benches and a tall framework that resembled an old-fashioned sugar bowl, at least that's the notion I've always had.     The causeway and the Sugar Bowl were built up with boulders in the middle of the water, Boston Harbor on one side and the Pleasure Bay Lagoon on the other.

Today what I still call the "Sugar Bowl" is a modern day, two story gazebo with a pointed peak.    Its taller profile is more easily identified from a distance than the old Sugarbowl.    I spotted it readily from our Boston-to-Hingham ferry as we were exiting the inner harbor, and I took a photo of the scene.   This long view also includes Carson Beach and its bathhouses visible on the most distant shoreline.


Using Right Angle

The white foamy line in the water is the outflow from the locks between the Lagoon and the Harbor.  On a hot summer days the Lagoon would fill up at high tide and if the locks were closed, the high water level would be maintained for resident enjoyment until nightfall when the locks were opened again and the water would empty.   On this evening ferry ride the locks were open and the water was draining out from the Lagoon.



Sugarbowl from Ferry

This was a pinkish day.  I've noticed that on humid, shimmery summer days, the color of the light is really not white, nor yellow, but a bright light that leans toward pink.   Now maybe it's just my eyes, but I have found that if you "sense" a color (like I did with the pink), then apply a pumped up version of that color,  your eyes will quickly confirm or deny whether your canvas matches the scene. 

I added the mid-distance sailboat as balancing element, and I liked the way the mast connected the sky to the foreground, even thought the boat was not in the original photo.  Some of the handiest items to use in painting come from the carpentry toolbox.   This right angle is useful for getting a nice vertical sailboat mast.   I don't consider it cheating just because I didn't do it freehand. :)



Castle Island Just Before Sunset

This scene was painted from a photograph that I took while aboard the Hingham-to-Boston Ferry.    The ferry passes by several Boston Harbor Islands and although this is Castle "Island", that is a misnomer today because it has been connected by land for a couple of centuries.  The fortress shown is Fort Independence which is located at the entrance to the Boston Inner Harbor.   A large fishing pier can be seen in the foreground as well as a towering obelisk honoring shipbuilder Donald McKay and the fast and beautiful clipper ships that he had designed and constructed in Boston back in the late 1800's.



Castle Island Evening

A trip to Castle Island for a hot dog at Sullivan's and a walk around the fort is an institution known well by most Bostonians.  It is not unusual to see a crowd on any day of the week and among them are tourists, school busses of children on field trips, lunching blue collar and white collar workers enjoying the cool sea breeze just adjacent to Boston Harbor.  With Logan International Airport just on the other side of the channel, a constant flow of jets roar overhead, thus a jet is a must for this painting.
The photo reference was nice enough because of the low angled light and long shadows, but as is often the case when painting from a photo, the painting is just nicer.     The light has a warm feel to it that the photo's light doesn't.   I didn't fuss over the people on the pier and walking.   I just placed dots of color that might suggest their clothing on this beautiful summer evening.


Winter Sunset over Carson Beach

What a brutal winter we have had in 2014!   Usually by this time of year, there is less additional snow piling up and most of the snow pack has melted.   This winter, not only has it continued to snow regularly, but the temperatures have provided a steady state of refrigeration preventing Spring from breaking out.  I know that I stated that there would be no more snow paintings this year, but I forgot about this one which I did a month ago.

Billowy snow clouds were competing with a bright firey sunset over Carson Beach in South Boston. There were snowflakes in the air while a nice blue/orange harmony illuminated the entire scene (from From H Street at Day Boulevard in South Boston.)  The rooftops of the Carson Beach Bathhouse were visible because of their full snow cover, but were a dark blue against the treeline at dusk
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Another Courtroom Sketch

In the Boston Federal Courthouse today, the closing arguments were presented in the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger.   Fred Wyshak Jr., US Attorney, presented for over three hours, summarizing the government's case against Bulger.   The scene depicted in the sketch is Wyshak who stood at the podium while Defense Attorney Jay Carney and Bulger sat at a table behind him.

Boston Harbor Fish Pier

Boston Fish Pier Fleet

The properties on the rim of Boston Harbor vary from swank hotels and restaurants, to popular attractions such as the Aquarium and Bank of America Pavillion.  During a daytrip by boat into Boston, I took photos of the many piers, boats, planes and skylines.  Sandwiched in between some pretty exclusive properties is the Boston Fish pier.   I wondered as I took several photos how old it was because I thought that it probably did not look much different than it did 100 years ago.   As it turns out, it actually opened almost 100 years ago, in 1914.   It is the oldest continuously working fish pier in the United States. The historic Boston Fish Pier is really three buildings: the East and West Buildings which are connected by huge archways; and the Exchange Building.  The trademark seagreen trim and one of the archways can be seen in the painting.

It was sunset as we passed the pier on the commuter boat, and the fishing boats were lined up for almost the entire length of the pier.   The sun was lighting up just the tops of the boats and masts, as well as the trees and the yellow building on the left.  It was a striking scene and definitely worth capturing in oil.

The challenge on this one was simplifying to the basic masses, before worrying about all the busy detail.   I worked from my photos.  There were five values in six masses numbered here darkest to lightest:  1) boat hulls, 2) Fish Pier building and parking lot,  3) the sunlit building and trees 4) the water and sky, 5) boat tops.   Once those were in, I worked within the masses to add some recognizable elements.

This painting was done on a maplewood cradleboard, a new substrate for me, and I liked it.  I am going to sit on this one for a few days before I call it done.   Any comments for me?

"M" Street Beach

It's August and there is plenty of mild weather still to come in summer and, of course, all of the autumn to look forward to.  I find myself thinking however about the later sunrises and earlier sunsets.   Have I been taking advantage of the early sun for painting?  Not enough.

M Street Beach Stage 1

I decided to get up and out early so that I could paint in Boston prior to making my regular visit to my aunt.    I parked on Day Boulevard near "O" Street and crossed over to a grassy spot just before the South Boston Yacht Club.   I set up facing west, aligned with the shoreline.  The L Street Bathhouses were straight ahead of me and the tall, white handball court was visible beyond the M Street beach fence.   



M Street Beach - Stage 2

It was only 7:30 AM when I set up, another warm and humid day.   The sun was behind me and it was illuminating the sand and lighting up the trees along the boulevard.   It was a very warm light.   I commenced with a warm sand color made from terra cotta, naples yellow and white.   Toward the waterline the sand was darker and greener.   The horizon line, the distant shore of Columbia Point and Carson Beach was mostly green, but when I held up the loaded brush, I had to make it much bluer.   This far treeline color called for cool combination of viridian green, alizarin crimson and lemon yellow, contrasted with ultramarine for shadows.

M Street Beach

I liked the idea of adding the metal fence that curved away from where I was standing.   It was a blue-green color, but it was effectively reflecting the blue sky overhead at the top.   It formed a cool - warm contrast against the warm sand as well as a dynamic lead in to the painting.  



This canvas is 9 x 12 so for the small details, I waited until I got back to the studio for my small brushwork.   I added just a couple of people to it because in fact there were no people on the beach, but usually there is!   As always comments and suggestions welcome.

Painting at Castle Island

It is another warmer than usual day.  My Aunt Theresa is expecting me today, and what that usually means is lunch and errands.   Since she has been using a walker, we are little more limited in our adventures.   I decide to pack up my painting gear and paint for a couple of hours in Boston before my visit.
I drove straight to Castle Island hoping that the predicted high winds would not be a problem.   I figured that the fort has so many angular walls that I would be able to find a warm spot that was also sheltered from the wind.    I was thinking that perhaps Sullivan's would be opening for the season soon, but I was relying on a vague memory of a handwritten piece of paper that would be taped up on the concession's front door each winter.   "See you in the Spring," followed by the date - always sometime in March.

I parked in the front row and stacked my gear onto a luggage cart.   I didn't have to walk very far to realize I would have to be on the upper sidewalk to find a windfree spot.  There are five major sides to Fort Independence, and I set up facing southeast.    Here is a photo of my vantage point and my set up.

Just beyond the wall in my painting a major runway for Logan International Airport juts out into Boston Harbor.  Every two or three minutes a jet would descend gradually and land at Logan, out of sight from where I was located.   I added a nice white jumbo jet just above the skyline of densely populated Winthrop with its assorted waterfront houses.  Several people stopped to watch the planes from the benches on this sunny sheltered side.   The grass slopes down from the upper sidewalk down to the outer perimeter sidewalk of Castle Island.   In case you haven't seen any of the Boston Harbor Island forts, and were wondering, that is grass on top of the fort.

I am sort of perplexed about the blue colors of the sky and water.   As I stood there, the light blue color of my painted sky was exactly the same as the real sky.   Now, in looking at this photo, the canvas is very light blue, yet the "real" sky in the photo is deep blue.  Similar issue with the water.   I know that photos make things bluer, but it is interesting that it seems to only make distant things bluer - not the blues on my canvas.  Maybe someone has some information they can share on this?

Although there was a steady stream of walkers, few stopped to talk or ask questions.  One woman was interested in having her dog painted.   I haven't ever done a pet portrait, nor am I particularly interested in doing one, but I gave her a card anyway.   She was a very cute dog.  It was also very nice to see a friend from back in the 80's whom I had not seen in decades.    This demonstrates that you cannot accurately depict Castle Island unless you put in the walkers.   That's what is missing from this painting right now; I'll let it dry a bit and then insert the walkers in the sweet spot where the path turns left around the corner.

Watching the Planes at Castle Island

Gate of Heaven Church

By 1890, Gate of Heaven Parish in South Boston, Massachusetts was well established. Even though the City Point area was growing more slowly than the westerly parish of the peninsula, by 1890 the congregation at Gate of Heaven numbered about 10,000 with about 600 girls registered in the academy and parochial school. The existing church was insufficient for the needs of so large a parish. In order to get ample room for a new church, it was necessary for the parish to buy several lots adjoining the church's land holdings at that time.  A hill that stood on this land was removed, and the grounds were graded. The cornerstone of today's church was laid in the fall of 1896 by His Grace, Archbishop Williams, with about one hundred clergymen assisting at the ceremony.

The designs furnished by P.W. Ford, the Boston Architect provided a building worthy of a cathedral. During construction, it was necessary to build St. Eulalia’s Chapel (today's St. Brigid Church), which was opened for services on May 6th, 1900 for the people of the City Point,  The following month the new lower Gate of Heaven church was finished, and the first services were held there June 17th, 1900.

With the lower church occupied, the work of completing the upper church was begun. The stained glass windows were designed by N.H.J. Weslake, Esq. of London, whose work, “The History of Design in Painted Glass” is recognized as an authority on the subject. The work of completing the church progressed steadily, and the upper church was ready for services and dedicated by His Eminence, Cardinal O’Connell, on May 12th, 1912.

The church was constructed in the Gothic style of architecture, of buff Roman brick, with brownstone trimmings. It has a frontage on East Fourth Street of 106 feet and depth of 184 feet. The interior itself is magnificent in its arrangement of fittings – the woodwork of oak, alters of sandstone and marble, the blue and gold tinted walls, the beautiful organ and magnificent stations, made it one of the most elaborate houses of worship in or about Boston. The Gate of Heaven Church is recognized by leading authorities as one of the most beautiful churches in the Archdiocese of Boston.

There really is no better way to become familiar with all the beauty and intricacies of such a majestic example of architecture than to paint it. Seeing my childhood church as an adult - an adult with an artist's eye - resulted in a strong desire to capture how striking it is.   As an adult, typically upon returning to those familiar places frequented as a child, the reaction is, "I remember it being so much bigger!"   Gate of Heaven Church is one of the few places that seems just as enormous and impressive today as it did all those years ago.   I remember feeling so small as my eight year old eyes looked up to see the chandelier lights that made my mother's diamond ring sparkle as in no other place.  

This week, the Gate of Heaven convent which stands on the same block, not 10 feet away from the church, is being torn down.   The Gate of Heaven rectory has already been torn down.  Being 30 miles removed, I'm not sure what the whole plan is for these properties, but it startled me into creating this painting, one I've been thinking about starting for a while.  This is not complete so comments are welcome.  Also, look for a religious symbol somewhere on the canvas...