Cape Cod Sky

There were gigantic tall clouds hanging over the bay yesterday morning. I was down on the beach sand and painted this scene. The sky kept changing with the clouds going from defined billowy cumulus types to softer, more blurry shapes as I painted them.
When you paint a sky scene you simplify the rest of the landscape in the painting. There were grasses and moored boats but I did not dare paint them into the scene. I have the sketches for future use. The sailboats in this painting act as a counter for informal balance in the composition.
It turned into a glorious day.

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.

Tidal Pools

The sun has not shown for the past 4 days in northern California and it is 25 degrees below normal. This means painting in the studio. This painting gave me a chance to paint some figure gestures and their reflections in the water. I played with a lot of things but was totally immersed in seeing what was developing. A painting paints itself if given the chance. My white edge to the rocks became driftwood pushed to the side of the beach.
Maybe tomorrow, there will be sunshine on my shoulder.