Pleasant Road Beach

Summer is winding down but the beach is crowded.  Everyone getting their last time before heading back to wherever.  A beautiful day today.  I got my clam rake tuned up and ready to go tomorrow.  It will be low tide in the afternoon, so it won't be nippy cold getting into the water.  I will have to do a painting of us clamming.  I really enjoy this activity.  We rake up clams and discuss the world problems.  It is a great social outing and the water is warm.  We go at low tide and some days the tide is so low that you think you could almost walk to Nantucket.  I took my friend and he wrote about the experience.  He loved it but described it as a wonderful activity for old men.  Maybe he is right.

Cape Cod Morning

Yesterday, the morning was bright and sunny.  There was little shade near the beach and I had no umbrella. I worked fast and stood in some green off the road and kept wondering whether it was poison ivy...no rash today. The area is called Bass Hole. It is in Yarmouth on the Bay side of Cape Cod.  There were visitors using the boardwalk.  There is a boat launch.  One little guy was very excited as his grandfather was launching and he was going deep sea fishing.

At the start when sketching, the land in the water was quite long but as I set up to paint, the tide came in quickly and everything grew smaller.  The sand dunes on the middle land were topped with dark green growies and the marsh grass was almost lime green.  These are colors that I rarely see on Cape Cod.  The water was very still.  I did most of the work on very wet paper and later added the shadows.

Vive la Harwich Port

This is the scene entering the Cape Cod town of Harwich Port on Rt. 28.  The steeple of the Pilgrim Church dominates the skyline.  There is plenty of traffic during the summer.  The power lines are atop tall poles and seem to string their way through all the streets. 
I painted this in the morning today.  I had it in mind during our session of Art in the Park yesterday and I awoke dreaming about the painting.  This happens and I usually head out and try doing a painting of the scene.

Busy Downtown DennisPort, Cape Cod

This is the third straight day of ideal painting weather.  The air is clear and the light is perfect Cape Cod.  It's the light that brings all the artists here.  DennisPort is getting busier with new shops.  The bakery and cafe is a magnate for people. 
I wanted to paint that side of the street but the sun was overhead.  I still went with the side and did a cobalt blue wash to darken it. There are lots of cars parked and continuously moving in and out.

A Great Place to Stop

What an attraction for shoppers.  This is Dr. Gravity's who has updated and expanded his original kite shop.  He puts lots of things on the front side walk so you are sure to notice or the kids are sure to pull you over for a closer look.  It must be a nightmare to close up because all of these items must be put away, especially, if a sudden rain squall comes up.
I've done this painting many times.  I'm fascinated with all the colors.  I first painted the scene when visiting back in the 70's.  I was at a party the other night and there was one of my paintings of the old original Kite Shop on the wall.  Wow.  There are a lot of them out there.

HarwichPort Main Street

The rain ended this morning and bright sunshine brought many out.  Harwich is a popular town for visitors on Cape Cod.  A painting of this strip of Main Street is iconic.  It has two very important shops; for adults there is George's Pizza and for kids there is Dr. Gravity's Kite Shop.  George makes a delicious Greek Pizza and is always busy.  This is late morning and he already has customers.  The sun was nearly overhead and cast downward shadows.  The color of a cast shadow is a slightly complementary color to the surface it falls on.  So, the cast shadow that crosses white is blue and the cast shadow falling on red is a greenish red.

Had a lot of people stop and chat. I am amazed at how many paint watercolor.  I suppose painters find their way to the Cape to enjoy that special light and quaintness for painting.