The Last Days of Summer

Lots of painting and lots of guests. That has been my summer at Cape Cod. I have not posted all of the work. Some of it unfinished but this will serve as a bookend. I bought some new brushes, mops with good points and in 3 different sizes. They will be all I need for plein air work. I learned patience in watercolor and for me that is a big change. I like to paint quickly and do a couple of paintings when out. There is much to like about slow going with repeating washes. I did this painting of 3 boats plein air and used my new brushes. It is difficult to leave Cape Cod. Had some wonderful times. My grandchildren and children visited. We shared some tasty meals with all the fresh fish available here. I never slept so well. See you next summer.

Morning Fog at Saquatucket

I've been trying different approaches in painting fog. This is a typical morning scene here on Cape Cod. The fog is there and burns off. These are structures with certain dimensions so have to be shown in different values. The distant ones can have soft or disappearing edges but it is unlike painting fog in a valley or mountain. I experimented with cobalt blue and white acrylic as a wash but it still had an opaqueness. I used cobalt blue over the painting of this one. I did several washes. I had to be patient with drying since in previous trials the wash brushed away some of the painting.

Rock Harbor Repairs

Spent a morning painting at Rock Harbor. It is not a pretty place but a busy place. There are many fishing boats taking people out to Cape Cod Bay. There are a few commercial fishing boats like this one that are in for repair. The crew probably works harder during this time than when out to sea. My vantage point was from the parking lot looking down at this dirty rusting ship being worked on by electricians and others. The water is a muddy green on the inside and blue to the left of the boat. There were plenty of ropes or lines and I put in some.

Sunbathing

It's been a busy week at Cape Cod. My grandchildren, some have been here for 5 weeks, all left yesterday. What a time we had. The youngest is 4.5 months and just starting to crawl or at best roll to where he wants to go. A very happy baby. The others tried soccer, baseball and tennis camps and loved the experience. My painting area has been occupied and my 3y/o has been doing some painting. I knocked this boat picture out today and was happy to get back to painting. I love the color of the boat and the cast reflections of different color.

Rock Harbor

Went to Rock Harbor on Cape Cod to paint. It was not busy as the fishing fleet was mostly out. They are mainly sport fishing groups that take the boats. I sketched a few scenes and then painted this one. There is so much to put in a painting here. I did severe editing to capture the essence of what I saw. The sunlight was strong; it was just before noontime. A little lobster bar behind me was very busy with bicyclists and cars discharging hungry people; lunchtime. I'm not a great fan of lobster but eat my share of it while on Cape.

Red Canvas Cover

What a beautiful morning for painting.  At the end of the river was a brilliant red covered boat.  People were busy putting in their kayaks.  I set up my umbrella and started sketching.  The tide was coming in and the paddlers were going upstream to take advantage.  Cape Cod is magnificent at this time of year.  The light is bright and everything pops.  Great place to be painting.

Should We?

I love to paint boats and found a site with a few boats for sale. Interested buyers were among the boats. I sketched and painted this scene on site. Never spoke with anyone but buyers kept showing up. It was a beautiful day on Cape Cod after an intense storm with torrential rains and hail. The next day the air was crystal clear and everything just pops. That is why there are so many artists here.

Sunny, Cape Cod Morning

Got out to paint yesterday and it was beautiful. Some clouds above the marsh and the little red boat moored. This boat is always there. At Thanksgiving time it may have a pumpkin and at Christmas, a small tree. It is sort of mysterious, at least to me, how this comes about. There is some red in the marsh and some very dry trees hanging onto a few leaves. No birds around but a couple of kayakers waved as they passed by.
I painted on 300 lb paper by Lanaquerelle which must have less sizing than Arches paper. There is more blotting and softening of edges which is nice but unexpected.

Wychmere Boats

Yesterday was a beautiful day for painting. I was on the commercial dock in Harwich Port painting this scene and had plenty of company. A lot of people make the wrong turn and want directions. The boats are tied to each other and the largest was a wooden yawl with great lines. When I was in college I used to sail a 34ft yawl along the New England coast. I knew very little about navigation but was ok as long as I could see the shore and read my maps. There were some surprises with fog. Cape Cod is pretty safe for sailing with little experience because it is all sand bars. Maine is a different story. Our yawl was also wooden but always in great shape. Lots of stories from those days.

Rock Harbor Repair

Several years ago I painted a ship in Rock Harbor. I liked it and still have it on my wall. Returned there last week with pretty much the same group of painters and did this watercolor of a working ship that was in for repairs. It was a beautiful Cape Cod morning with sun and breeze. I finished the entire painting on site. Despite getting there early, the party fishing boats were all at sea and the place was pretty quiet except for the searching sea gulls.