Backyard Moorings

A sunny morning for a change. This is a high rent district in West Harwich where many of the homes have their boat moored in their backyard. They can get out to the Atlantic with a few turns. Pretty nice. It was a nice morning with the fish jumping and the birds diving. We are into September and the mornings are warm with humidity but the nights are cool once the sun goes down. In this painting I moved things around so that a path led to the boat and the dappled path disappears and reappears. All the boats were white so I changed one to red. Fun to be an artist.

Saquatucket Harbor, Harwich Port

This is the harbor on a Wed. morning. The ferry to Nantucket has departed and the fishing boats are heading out. I chose to paint the buildings and lot. This was just completed this year and has the Harbor Master, art sheds, and an eatery which I included in the painting. The art sheds sell T-shirts along with small items. One organizes trips for kids to try ocean fishing. Our Grandkids loved this trip. No catches but plenty of excitement, especially when they pulled up the lobster trap with live lobster and sea crabs. The sun was out and I did not bring an umbrella meaning I needed a location with shade.

Wychmere

Plenty of rain is continuing so I am indoors looking for something to paint. Found this sketch that I have painted many times over the years. There is no order to my collections of sketches, so I can spend hours looking for something I remember doing. It is the excitement of discovery. I painted from this sketch with an emphasis on values. It is a morning scene and the little harbor is not filled with its usual hundreds of boats. I was not as concerned with color as with contrast in value. As a result, I was never sure of when I was finished. I could always find something to alter, but stopped after a couple of changes.

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.

Bells Neck

Battled bugs at Bells Neck and painted fast. I was covered with insect repellent but got plenty of bites. It is very humid this morning and I think that sweat attracts bugs. The painting was easy now that I am ready with many greens to mix. The bright green is a combination of quinacridone gold and sap green. Works great. I wanted to put a kayak into the scene but could not fit it in and so used an old birch that was still standing to have some focal area.

Ready to Sail

It was the day after a big 4th of July celebration and we came out to Wychmere Harbor to paint. I did several sketches and found these two getting the sails ready. They came by and I asked if they were going out once the sails were ready. "Naw, not until afternoon." I finished sketching and set up the easel to start painting. When I was ready the sailboat was gone. I did have the sketches, so went ahead with painting. It was such a beautiful day.

Quiet Boating

A quiet kayak cuts through the marsh waters of Bells Neck in West Harwich. I finished the painting of the kayaker and left it on the table. The wind blew it off. I tried to clean it up but some stuff remained on the face. This happens and then it gets messed up trying to clean it.

Red Boats

These two boats are moored on the Herring River all summer.  They do not go anywhere.  In the winter I have seen a lighted Christmas tree in the smaller one.  I do know the person who owns them and built them.  He used to be in the fish shack but I have not seen John for a couple of years.  

The marsh land is very yellow at this time of year.  Currently, at this plein air painting, the tide is very high.  The sun is bright without a cloud in the sky.  It finally rained this morning.  I did this painting in an hour and half, working mainly wet into wet.  Things do dry fast here.

The Little Dinghy

Out painting at Round Cove and there were plenty of boaters.  One brought in a nice catch of sea bass.  Wish I had some but had plenty last weekend.  I wasn't sure what the weather was up to.  There were sprinkles of rain and then the sun.  We then settled for overcast.  Round cove is a popular mooring and I met the owner of the dory.  He has lived here a long time and tells me that his dory is painted many times each year.  He found a painting of it while shopping in Providence.  He also owns two moorings.  These are prized and people get angry with him over it.  The popularity of the dory is its closeness to the pier.  If you looked to the left of this scene you would see probably 50 boats.

Hanging by a Thread

This is the old fish shack. It has been a subject for my painting for years. I just learned that it is to be torn down and replaced. Someone said that the power line from above is the only thing holding it up. My kids have fished from it and crabbed from it. It was also a site for music lessons and kayak rentals one year. One of the attractions for en plein air painting was the two women, both concert pianists, who lived across from it and practiced all morning. You could have charged admission. It was wonderful. Both women have died and the music stopped. I painted during the morning which was bright and sunny. The wind did blow my umbrella down several times. I will miss it.

Left Behind

High and dry, for sale, but little interest. This power boat is in a field with long grass growing beside it. It is hardly a boatyard. Judging by the long grasses and weeds it probably was there all winter. I just returned to Cape Cod and found some time to paint. I find it so relaxing to get totally absorbed in painting. This subject was chosen because there was shade under a nearby tree on a hot day. It is the 4th of July holiday and many people are here to celebrate the holiday.

Cape Cod Fish Market

This scene was originally painted during my summer on Cape Cod. I was hanging onto some rocks down by the river balancing my gear. I loved the vantage point that I had but I did hurry and overwork the painting. Doing it this time in the studio was much easier. I eliminated some details and kept the colors simple with single strokes of paint. I like it.

Round Cove Afternoon

Round Cove is quiet this afternoon. One sailor is out in a good breeze. It is autumn and the air is clear with a brilliant sun. The temperature reached only 70 degrees. This is ideal painting weather. I used my next to last sheet of watercolor paper. I leave the Cape in a few more days. That should be fine but I have a habit of painting on the other side of a finished painting. This confuses people when they find it in my rack. Round Cove has lots of boats moored so I only selected a few. The green grass growing along the edge is overpowering. There is a sand bar in the background leaving a way out of the cove. The grassy slope of the distant hill is bathed in sunlight. What a sight.

Kayaking the Bog

Such a great day for painting. I was out to Bells Neck in Harwich and met up with a couple of guys crabbing. I remember the days when I could not drag my kids away from this place when catching crabs. Sun was brilliant and the air clear. I did block the path into the little wooden bridge so I could paint in the shade. Usually, this is a buggy place but there was not one to bother. The tide was just starting in and along came some kayaks. I've wanted to put them in my painting but they don't stay around long enough. Yesterday, while painting at the river, several were preparing their kayaks so I sketched them. We are having the best weather for painting on Cape Cod that I can ever remember. I had fun but the crabbers were drawing up empty baskets.

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.

Morning Light

This harbor in HarwichPort is one of the most photographed places on Cape Cod.  This venue is a popular wedding spot.  I do a lot of my clamming out here in the early morning.  The light is spectacular on the Cape but especially in the early morning.  The water is still and there are long cast reflections.  I painted this with acrylic paint on an 18X24 canvas.

Sesuit Harbor

Wednesday was our plein air day.  My late arrival left me alone with the Harbormaster who had lots of stories about the harbor.  Meanwhile, some very large thunderhead clouds began forming and passing over the area.  I did this painting quicker than usual and let it remain as done.  There are so many boats anchored in the harbor that it was difficult to choose what to paint.  I intended to paint more on the left but thought that if I speeded up I could get away before the rain. 
It did start to rain just as I put my easel away.

Birds Over Wychmere

After all the cold plein air days I stayed inside this past week and painted a scene from memory.  Wychmere is a very picturesque harbor in HarwichPort on Cape Cod.  It is now a very private and privileged place to live.  It wasn't always.  When I was young this building was Thompson's Clam Bar and was an extremely popular place to dine.  I remember eating there on the deck with all of the windows opened to the harbor.  If you weren't quick, a gull would suddenly fly in make off with your fried clam or French fry.  The Clam Bar is now gone. The building is a private eating place and site for weddings.  So, the gulls are off to find a new dining spot.

An Almost Feral Getaway

I have played with this scene several times over the past year.  A very similar composition was accepted in the 44th Annual Watercolor West Juried Exhibition.  I like the simplicity of the painting. Originally, it was  done plein air on a river in West Harwich on Cape Cod.  This time, I chose only a single structure, creating a sense of loneliness in the wild.  The structure is the focal point.  One eye path is the river with a pointer (the stake) that appears on a point of land directing you to the hideaway. There is also a graded wash on the river which goes from foreground to the structure. Finally, there is a white track leading to the white house.

Most of my painting is done plein air.  Occasionally, I will work in my studio with a painting that I particularly like, and make some changes.  It is easier to do, when you have been looking at the original for awhile.