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

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.

Dinghies at Town Pier

Dinghies at Town Pier - Phase One

It was a picture-perfect, glorious, early June day at the Town Pier, Brant Rock, Marshfield, MA.  Plein air painting was the goal, which is always plenty of enjoyment, but it was not my only entertainment at the busy dock.   As I was setting up, to my left there was a lobster fisherman loading traps onto his boat.   He was sliding the traps off of his truck trailer, to the retaining wall and onto the boat, which was nearly the same height because of the high tide.     He certainly demonstrated a great way to take advantage of the tide. 

Dinghies at Town Pier - Phase Two

To my right was a Mom who pulled in with her two girls.   The girls wore wet suits and life jackets and without hesitation, jumped into the water which was probably fifty degrees, and swam with glee for an hour.   (They paid me a visit after their swim.)  Right in front of me were two men fishing.   No bites - I don't think, but a fitting addition to the scene.

As for the painting, I framed out the composition with the pier itself, the Green Harbor houses across the water and in the foreground, the dock where several dinghies were tied up.   The blue dinghie sitting on the dock was to be the center of intere

Dinghies at Town Pier - Final

st of the painting, but it got demoted to second place once the white haired guy in the vintage wooden dinghie rowed right toward me.  

Summer Sunset at the Marina

Summer Sunset at the Marina

This painting depicts a favorite spot where we typically eat our Sunday night ice cream cones.    With one hand on the camera and the other on my cone, I would often capture the same scene which you could characterize as everything from peaceful to pretty to downright breathtaking.    This little 4x4 attempts to capture a particularly spectacular sunset.

Breakwater

Breakwater - Stage One

Have I mentioned lately how happy I am while I am outside painting?   Add to that being a location like this breezy seaside view, gentle, rolling waves - pure bliss.    As I set up, I was convinced that this would be a boring repeat of a scene I've done before.   As I dug into my Gamblin Radiant colors (radiant pink, lavender, teal) to create the sky, I was more encouraged.   Next I mixed the various sea-grays and spread it thickly with the palette knife, I was very happy with it.  The actual painting is so much more colorful than these photos with streaks of pink and lavender in the sky and sand.  Maybe you'll see the original sometime.

I did meet one of my faithful readers who bought a Green Harbor painting a number of years back.       (S - It was great to see you!)  Nice paint-out all around!

Breakwater - Brant Rock

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

Northern Ave Gray Day

Northern Ave Gray Day - Stage One

On this May morning, the outside temperature was 51 degrees, but there with heavy overcast and rain on the way, it felt quite chilly along Northern Ave on the Boston waterfront.   My thought was, capture the scene quickly and finish in the studio if necessary.  The clouds were very pretty in a stormy kind of way.   I used my round palette knife to swirl the cloudy sky.    Everything had a gray tinge to it, even the one "vivid" part of the scene, which was the long row of international flags lining the top of the World Trade Center.

Dots of color on palette for flags

Gray Day Northern Ave

I tried to loosen up and just render an impression, with an emphasis on the right colors and values.  There was lavender leaning blue in every color. In the photo of my palette, I demonstrate how I painted the international flags.   I created a row of bright colorful dots of paint comprised of the colors in the flags.   Using my palette knife I scraped up the line of paint dots onto the straight edge, then applied the straight edge of the palette knife with all the colorful dabs of paint making a short vertical stroke upward.   The knife was wiped clean and the remainder of the colorful dots were scooped up with the opposite edge of the palette knife and short vertical strokes down so that the row of flags were completed.  This produced an impressionistic rendering of the flags

Jumping Off the Beach St Bridge

High Tide Beach Street Bridge

One of the most popular activities of summer in Green Harbor involves an old concrete bridge, a high tide and enough gumption to submit to a cold, salty, and swift current.     I have no idea what age is typically "old enough" to take the plunge at the Beach St Bridge.   I do know that I've seen smallish tykes standing there, as if frozen, deciding if this is the day they will have come of age.  I have seen adults similarly frozen, standing on the conduit pipe deciding if this item on their bucket list is worth it!

In the painting, the span of water is wide is because the scene is literally at sea level - from a kayak.   No I'm not painting from within the kayak but from a photo I took.   This vantage has a view all the way through to the Cut River and marsh on the inlet side.   The dark bobbing heads are shaded by the bridge.  Often there will be a Mom or Dad standing off to the side taking a photo of the moment of truth, when perhaps they are probably there to supervise.  At least that would have been my story to my kids.

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.

Soaring at Sunset

Soaring at Sunset

It probably isn't difficult to determine that I am a morning person.   Most of my plein air painting is typically done in the first part of the day, and there are few sunset paintings.    This is an exception.   It depicts the Green Harbor River channel with sunset approaching.   The light cast by the low sun was purple and pink, except for the large, high clouds which caught more yellow rays.  Even the seagull soaring overhead was tinted pink.

Ocean Bluff Facing South

Ocean Bluff Facing South - Sight Sized

Today's paint out took place at Constellation Road in the Ocean Bluff section of Marshfield, MA.   Along this easterly facing shore, there is a brand new seawall with nice concrete steps that lead down to the sand.    It was still April so it was a bit chilly, but by standing at the top of the stairs I was shielded from the wind by concrete barriers to the north and to the east.    The surf was a bit high and provided a rhythmic roar.    I often think I wish I could bottle up the feel and smell of the air propelled up from crashing waves.   The best I can do is to share this Surf Sights and Sounds Video and do a good job painting the waves and seafoam.

SOLD

Cloudy Claflin Landing

Beached Boats in Chatham

I was on my way to an art lecture on Cape Cod and decided to head down extra early so that I could paint.   Claflin Road is a offshoot of scenic Shore Road in Chatham, MA - quiet, beautiful, and no parking restrictions.  The harbormaster and local walkers seemed to most use the path as their beach access.     Right away I noticed some plump seals perched on their sand bar and I was tempted to quickly start a painting of them.   That temptation didn't last as the tide was rising so quickly that the seals were gone within ten minutes.   A classic - and less volatile - subject caught my attention.   These dinghies and kayaks were much closer than the seals, and made a serene picture under the cloudy skies.   I used a generous amount of quick dry white with an ever-so-small amount of naples yellow, cadmium red and cobalt blue, to create the cloudy sky.  The strokes of sky color was applied with a palette knife.   The threads of color barely show up in the photo, but they are plenty noticeable in person.

Claflin Landing - Stage One Horizon Line

Claflin Landing - Stage Two - A Few Sprinkles Starting

About an hour had gone by when I felt raindrops.   I retrieved my large patio umbrella with the broken spokes.  It worked well enough to keep the easel, painting and palette from getting too wet as I finished up and packed.  As I loaded the painting into my vehicle, relaxed and satisfied, I thought, "this painting is somewhat dull."  Back in the studio under full light, I changed my mind.   It really captures the day, and is a product of standing in a gorgeous spot doing what I love to do - the primary goal of plein air painting!

VIEW FINISHED PAINTING

Tidal River Morning

Igo Dock - Stage One

The Green Harbor River feeds into the Atlantic Ocean just on the other side of the dyke depicted in this painting.   When the tide is rising, the salt water pours into this basin and at ebb tide the fresh water pours out of the basin into the river channel and onto open ocean.

Igo Dock - Stage Two

I was standing on the brand new dock at the Peter Igo Recreational Park in Marshfield, MA.   The dock's low water level afforded a unique angle of the shoreline all around.    I used bungy cords to tie down the easel to the bolts that connected the dock sections, and other than some gentle rocking caused by the waves, the gear felt secure.

Igo Dock - Stage Three

Tidal River Morning

The term bird watching paradise came to mind with egrets, swans, ducks, geese, red winged black birds, and of course seagulls.   The color scheme had an overall grayness because of the milky skies and the silt under the salty riverbed.   The starring role had to go to the snowy egret that spent so much time with me.  The egret actively fished standing at the edge of the water.   It recoiled its necks into the letter S and in a flash, stabbed its beak into the water, most times coming up with a small silver sliver.   When the breeze came up, its long white feathers floated up catching the light - a gift to see.

Greenish Seascape

Greenish Seascape Tide Rising

This east facing shoreline was rocky and the tide was rising fast.   Rocky scenes have more interest than sand and water, so I wished I had gotten there sooner!  Rather than work on the sky and water first as I typically would, I started right in on the rocks, before the water covered them.
The wet rocks were dark with deep green moss clinging to the undersides.  The dry rocks right in front of me were paler shades of blue, gray and yellow. 



Greenish Seascape

As for the sky and water, the mostly cloudy skies caused the water to look more gray than blue away to the north.  To the south, the water was paler green and gray, a result of the sand and sunlight refracting in the water.  Every few seconds a three or four foot breaker would hit the jetty and spill over so for the painting, I tried to make that the center of interest with some shape dark and light contrast.

Pre-Winter Marina

Pre-Winter Marina In Progress

I returned to the town pier on another unseasonably mild December day.   The post-foliage, "pre-snow" landscape has been quite dreary, yet at the marina, the boat and water colors were as bright and vivid as any other time of the year.  This painting was intended to be a color study, an attempt to match the sky, grasses, water and dock as accurately as possible.   I think it was very close in person, although the photo may not seem that way.

This painting scene was very similar to the painting "Unloading Lobster Traps," completed just a couple of weeks ago.    The unloading of lobster traps continues.  Just how many traps do each fisherman work each season I wondered?  Given the constant flow of returning lobster boats, all weighed down to capacity with traps, and the Massachusetts Commercial Fishing Policy, a maximum of 800.

Pre-Winter Marina

The dark blue Four Sons lobster boat was returning to the dock.   It sat very low in the water due to the weight of the traps.     The bright orange coveralls of the two lobstermen contrasted well against the complementary ocean blue.   One lobsterman was steering to the dock while the other sat on the pile of traps in the back smoking a cigarette.    The Cygnet was docked alongside the pier to the far right, also busily unloading traps.

Unloading Lobster Traps

Unloading Lobster Traps - Stage One

On this sunny November day there was a midday high tide at the Marshfield, MA town pier. Apparently this was a good time to unload lobster traps from boats to trucks and trailers because there were several fishermen doing the same thing.  And it made sense.  The boats were high enough alongside the docks to toss traps over easily, rather than hoisting them up by hand or crane from a low tide boat.  




Lady Jane and Dock Disappeared

I set up facing a lobster boat named "Lady Jane" that was docked north of where I was standing.   In deciding on the composition, I placed the boat to the left with the two big squares of darkness (under dock) to the middle and right.   A red pick-up truck was up on the dock and, compositionally, did its job balancing the boat.  Most of the first pass of painting was done with the palette knife (i.e., sky, water and pilings).  The boat and truck were done mostly with a pointed watercolor brush.



Easel and Lobster Boat Coexisting

There was a lot going on and the changes happened quickly!   The silver railings of the floating dock visible in the first picture above soon disappeared, as the Harbormaster arrived in his skiff, untied the forty foot dock and towed it away to winter dry dock (a good change to my painting scene).  A few minutes later the "Lady Jane" suddenly disappeared and a long pickup truck parked up on the dock blocking my red truck (not-so-convenient changes).




Unloading Lobster Traps

The biggest impact came when the lobstering crew in the last photo pulled up right next to me.   They said that my easel was fine where it was, but that my car was in the way.    I decided that the painting was far enough along to pack it in - or risk getting splashed with the flying traps!






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.
  

August Mayflower II

August Mayflower II

Another painting of the Mayflower II you say?   Well yes, because I love painting at the Plymouth waterfront in summer.   It is not just a pleasant and comfortable location on a hot day, but it is truly and international cultural experience.  I talked with people from Canada, China, Great Britain, and Turkey.  Interest in the arts is truly universal and like music, it is a way to find common ground.

I did consider other scenes, but I liked the high tide reflections of the warm yellow Mayflower II and the trees.  
I credit the picture below to a fine emerging photographer who was kind enough to take pictures and allow me to use them.   His photography is beautiful and if you are interested in seeing more, visit his website:

http://www.photography-mg.com/Clients/Maureen-Vezina/n-h9dTjM/

Maureen Painting Mayflower II Scene

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?


Muggy Morning Painting the Mayflower II



Muggy Morning Painting the Mayflower II

The clouds were the highlight today - changing and moving quickly as if a shower could break out at any time.  With a rising tide, and bright backlighting, the Plymouth, MA waterfront was swimming in direct and reflected light.   From this angle along Water Street the Mayflower II masts were visible over the pier and were echoed in the water.

There were dozens of onlookers and many international visitors strolling the waterfront.   Interest in art is universal even if there is a language barrier.   A smile and a nod - translation? - I see what you are doing and I like it!


Muggy Morning at Mayflower II

Two hours of high humidity and I was looking forward to my vehicle's AC.  Shortly before I finished, one very nice gentleman shot the following video of my paint-out.