Red River Beach, Harwich, MA

Went off with the group for some plein air painting on one of the best summer days. They don't get any better on Cape Cod. This is a very long stretch of beach with multiple jettys. No one was on the beach but the life guards were in their stands. I painted this quickly to catch the glow of the sky. It was clouded over 2hr later. It is a watercolor done on 300lb rough paper which is my favorite.
I have been doing a lot of painting but many have gone off to the framer before I took a pic. It is difficult to photograph when the glass is on. Today, I went to photograph as the framer was here and my battery was dead. The summer is quiet now and the weather so perfect, that I will be out early in the morning.

Line Wash with Watercolor

This is a quick technique. A pen and ink sketch done roughly and then filled in with watercolor. This is a familiar subject for me and I started with the sky but became engaged with a passerby. Time was running out so put the pen and ink on and washed in the color. It is a twenty minute painting. This is the type of painting you see on greeting cards or children's picture books. They love the line wash painting.

Birches Across the Street

There really are no birches across the street but the house was there and I wanted to show someone how to paint birch trees. It was fun. The weather has been like a steam bath here on Cape Cod. I have been painting but with no concentration. Lots going on with house guests and appointments. My show in Woodland is a success. I do have some other work that I need to put up on the blog.

The Hot Stove

In the center of Harwich Port is a popular eatery for families. It is usually crowded with a line out the door. Today I painted from across the street. It was not sunny so I had to stage my lighting. It is extremely humid and takes a long time for anything to dry. In addition the paper wrinkles, but once home in the a/c, it dries out and is fine.
My group did not go out today because of the lack of sun, but since I was ready, I got out and painted all day.

Herring River, West Harwich, MA

I hurried to finish before the rain came and I didn't quite make it. I started painting in full sunshine and put on plenty of sun bloc. Part of the plein air experience is talking to passersby. I love it, sometimes stopping and chatting. That happened while painting last weekend and then they came to my art show in the park on Monday.
My grandchildren left today and I will miss my beloved chums. We spent a lot of time together. Will have more time for painting.
I have been painting on Arches' 140lb cold press and find it wrinkling and never completely drying out. It is damp here on the Cape. I worry that it will wrinkle when framed. I will switch back to 300lb paper which I prefer for lots of reasons.

Bass Maine Lighthouse

This is a redo of an earlier watercolor of the lighthouse. I had it in my mind as I was baby sitting my paintings at Art in the Park. I staged the light from the right so I could bring some color into the rocks. So I whipped out the sticks and knocked off this pesticide free watercolor painting in about 40 minutes. There is something fresh resulting from fast painting. It is like golf; the fewer strokes wins.

Sailing away from the storm

Completed this painting the other day. I was so pleased with the sky. It is stormy looking with nice soft edges. The painting was done on 300lb rough Arches watercolor paper. I painted the sky in solid and then ran water down the paper through the sky, jiggling it back and forth to avoid hard edges. I always paint with my paper vertical, so in doing this the paper does need to lay flat once you are happy with the edges. One advantage to painting on Cape Cod is the dampness in the air. I am not used to it with most of my work done in California and Mexico, but it does allow longer times to manipulate the water/color mix.