Plein Air Painting in Chatham

 

Chatham Dunes

Beautiful Chatham, MA is only a little over an hour from us, yet once we crossed over the Cape Cod Canal, it felt like a distant getaway.   This was a short end-of-summer vacation trip complete with lots of walking, touring, shopping, eating out, and - the bonus, plein air painting.     I painted three paintings over the three days, all of which are shown below.

On the first day after settling in, we sat on the beach for a while watching the incoming fishing boats being chased by seals and swirling seagulls.   The late summer colors were beautiful and subtle and I hadn't planned on painting.  I  figured though, if I gave myself one hour before dinner, I could get a color study done.  The thought was irresistable. The color match was pretty accurate and it may look nicer in person because of all the thick paint.  Chatham Dunes.

Chatham Boat Launch

On day two, we discovered the boat launch scene by using Google Earth.   I could see the kayaks stacked up on the sand and no houses nearby on this bird's eye view.  Sure enough we were able to drive right down to the shore and we had the place to ourselves.   Technology is occasionally great!   We both painted this pristine vista and you can probably make out my husband's figure on the left of the in-progress photo.

Boat Launch with Sand

I had just finished and stepped sway noting with satisfaction that it was just the way I wanted it, when the wind took my whole easel down.    The good news is that the painting landed face up.  The bad news is that - well - see photo. I was not happy and it took me a while to get over it.  I scrapped off the sky completely and decided that a little sand in the sand and grasses was okay!  True plein air after all.

Chatham Silhouettes at Dawn

The third and final painting was done the next morning about an hour past dawn.   The silhouettes of the veranda, chairs and beach house were dark and dramatic against the soft bright sky.    Luckily I worked the sky, ocean and far barrier island first.   I say "luckily" because these elements soon disappeared in the mist.    The up sloping lawn was very green and not a look that I wanted to emphasize.  I left that decision for the studio, and in fact, it soon started to rain.   I was very happy to have gotten a paint-out in at all!

Fishing Off the Beach at Sunrise

Fishing from the Beach at Sunrise

Walking at the shore, it's common to see the little fish jumping out of the water in groups; bigger fish just behind them I assume - bluefish or stripers maybe.    This fisherman must have spotted the same dark swirl in the water.   He demonstrated just how beach fishing is done...wading into the surf, casting as far as possible with his long ocean rod, then walking up to the tideline to place it in the rod holder.   Yes, a beautiful scene for a painting!

The undertone for this painting was a pretty mid-value blue, sure to be a good complement for the reddish/orange sunrise.   At one point, this blue undertone had me thinking that I might not even have to paint the beach houses that receded into the distance.   Once the primary wave was painted though, its darkness created a problem with the darkness of the houses by contrast, ie that original blue undertone was too light.  So I added hints of shadow and rooflines.   The obvious center of interest rightfully gets its attention, but the beautiful beach at dawn is a perfectly colorful backdrop, even with a crashing, three foot surf.

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.... :)

Raising the Flag II

Raising the Flag II

These Marines carefully raised this large American flag on a massive flagpole supported by steel girders.   No part of the flag ever touches the ground and it immediately balloons out and up, catching the first breezes of the day.   As it unfurled I thought about how beautiful and symbolic a brand new flag is, especially in the yellowish-pink morning light.

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Mid-June Morning in Green Harbor (aka Summer Serenity)

Summer Serenity - Green Harbor

Dawn occurs when the sun breaks the horizon; everyone knows this.   What dawned on me a couple of years after moving to Green Harbor was that the location of daybreak is vastly different between early summer and six months later - early winter.    In June, it seems like the sun is practically rising in the north and similarly in winter, the sun breaks the horizon line far to the south over Duxbury Beach.  This painting depicts a mid-June morning in which the sun has been up for a couple of hours, yet still hovers due east from our beach.   The colors in the clouds and water are tinged with spectacular pinks, turquoise and lavender, and the darker water to the right and left is a grey-blue.   The sun is poking through clouds and rays of light cast extra sparkles and glare,  but yet is not quite high enough to fully illuminate the boulders and sandy shore.  

I've heard it said that the French Riviera has similar light to Green Harbor.   And let's face it, if they said it, it must be true!

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Raising the Flag

Raising the Flag

Our glorious American flag is a treasured sight and is especially majestic when being ceremoniously raised by our precious soldiers.   In this scene, the back lighting of daybreak saturates the flag's colors such that the red leans toward orange, the white has a peachy yellow tone and the blue seems grayish indigo.   The strong contrast of the painting's values is appropriate for this noble practice and underscores the strength of the subject matter itself on this President's Day week.

Dawn Over the Jetty

Dawn Over the Jetty

Sunrises at the shore are often beautiful and occasionally spectacular.   It always depends on the clouds because they provide the variations, shapes and filtering that creates the prettiest color.   The fact that the water reflects all this colorful light doubles the brilliance.   This painting depicts a summer morning at the shore in Green Harbor, MA.  It really doesn't do justice to the scene, but in the absence of the real thing, the painting would be a nice reminder.

Winter Sunrise at the Dock

Winter Sunrise at the Dock - In Progress

It was a balmy 45 degrees on this early February morning.   I was taking every one of these warm winter days as a gift, and a day closer to spring!    The sunrise was the brightest part of the day and a thick blanket of clouds filled in as I painted.   Boats don't look half as large in the water as they do dry docked (literally and figuratively).   This large and imposing commercial lobster boat sat on its trailer in the boatyard, a green tarp tied across the top.    A dinghy full of moorings was wedged against the Harbormaster's office and a pile of lobster traps were stacked to the rear.   I was going after a dramatic composition and hoping that having a large mass to the right might be striking enough.



Winter Sunrise at the Dock

The peach glow of sunrise turned everything orange - orangey green tarp, orangey white boat, orangey gray pavement.   In contrast, the darkest shadows were as blue as could be.   Then just as quickly, the scene turned into a black and white photograph.    The objects didn't move and they were "painted from life" but I was improvising on color for the last 90 minutes of the paint out! 

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Brant Rock Sunrise

Brant Rock Sunrise - Stage One

One of the (few?) benefits of winter days is the relatively late dawn.  The sun had already broken over the horizon when I arrived but the colors were a memorable pink, yellow and lavender.     A winter storm over the weekend had the surf churning. The blushing sunrise and wave action inspired me to capture the scene as quickly as I could.   I've painted at this spot in the Brant Rock section of Marshfield on numerous occasions now.   It is a northeast facing shoreline which places the sunrise at the actual Brant Rock and the parallel jetty just in front of it.  

Brank Rock Sunrise - Stage Two

A bright and colorful sky influences everything in the scene with the same hues.   I mixed up plenty of the sky color so that I would have enough ready to mix into all the other lights.    The boulders in front of me were dark and blue, a sharp contrast to the blinding light shining off the wet areas and rim light.  I blurred the shine off the rocks to convey the glare - not easy since my initial attempts became contaminated with the dark paint underneath.  

(This is a good example of how inadequate photos can be.   The actual scene was colorful yet the photos are practically tonal with barely any of the pink or yellow visible.)



https://youtu.be/RlOGtaRcfI8

Sunrise Along the Channel - Green Harbor

I was out extra early on this day because the weather forecast was calling for rain starting in the morning.    The wide open expanse along the shore allows a long view of approaching clouds.    The sun broke over the horizon shining for only about thirty minutes before being obscured for the rest of the day.   For the few moments of sunshine, everything was bathed in a gorgeous red-orange light.



Sunrise Along the Channel

There is a lobsterman's house on the Green Harbor side of the channel and during the winter, hundreds of lobster traps are stacked there.   The house was yellow, so couple that with the glowing warm light of sunrise, and the whole scene was stunning.   The taupy-blue shadows matched the ominous sky and complimented the warm orangy light. Actually, I may still warm up the yellow a bit before this one goes to the shop.

Maybe you have witnessed a similar scene where the sky looks oddly dark and cloudy, but everything in the foreground is brightly lit.   Weather changes can be very fascinating if we stop and notice!  




Powder Point Bridge at Dawn

Powder Point Bridge at Dawn

Amazing Powder Point Bridge is a local icon here on the South Shore of Massachusetts.  It is not only functionally vital for barrier island access to Saquish and the Gurnett, but it is a beautiful testament to old fashion wooden construction.   I've painted it before and I know I'll paint it again, but today's post depicts the bridge at dawn.   The angle of the painting is from the northern side of the bridge looking east across Duxbury Bay.   The Atlantic is just beyond the distant neck of land, which is Duxbury Beach.

In this painting, the sun has just burst over the horizon. The low angle of the sun is casting long bluish shadows.   The pink morning light influenced the sky, the sand, the sea grasses, and the bridge. I exaggerated the color a bit and made the lightsest areas thick and oily.   Once the grasses dried, I  made another pass using my palette knife to scumble some final peachy lights over the tips.   I was trying for a bit of shine and highlight.

The challenge with this scene was to determine how much bridge detail was too much.   There were lots of wooden pilings and cross supports - more than are depicted in my painting.    Paintings can appear tedious and overworked if they appea too realistic (in my opinion :))    I am hoping I hit the right balance and I'm still too involved to be objective.  Its time to take a rest from it.  

So here it is.  The canvas size is 12 x 24 inches, perfect for depicting the longest wooden bridge in the United States*   I would love to get feedback on anything that may not read quite right.

Oh, and if you are interested, here are links to two other posts of Powder Point paintings.

http://maureen-vezina.blogspot.com/2012/11/powder-point-bridge.html
http://maureen-vezina.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-powder-point-bridge.html

*2200 feet