Monday, October 17, 2022
Walpole's Iconic Dog Rock
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
JB's Bench/Bird Park
Plein Air painting at Bird Park usually means being watched while I work. Passerby often stop to chat, comment or just watch. Today was one of those days
“JB’s bench”is a 5x7 oil done Plein air painting at Bird Park this morning. I went with Lisa to grab a bit of the first sort of cool morning in a while after weeks of oppressive heat. As we were painting, a gentleman stopped by, excited to see us painting. It turns out he grew up in Walpole and that the bench I was about to paint is his father’s bench. I went over after finishing and took a photo of the plaque. It felt like serendipity that we picked that spot today. Love to make people smile.
Having spent years visiting the park when I was a child in the1950's & 60's, it is like a magnet for me when it comes to subject matter. I have painted the bridges, gates, pathways and music court. I have painted the old cement benches that were there when I was a child. The trustees have been replacing them with these more modern benches and this is my first attempt at the new benches. The landscape design with it's meandering paths, sloping hills and contrasting mowed and wild areas creates many compositional possibilities. Mature trees, ponds and wild life offer a plethora of choices. Scenes that are primarily greens I find challenging to paint. The red tree on the upper left and the reddish sidewalks helped create a nice color harmony and influenced me when choosing this spot. The water level in the pond was quite low as it had dried up from the drought. I chose to paint it as I remembered it with the water level up and duckweed floating on the surface picking up the light values in the birch branches further down the path.
I hope you like it!
Saturday, April 9, 2022
A Peaceful Oasis
"A Peaceful Oasis". 16x20 Oil-2022
Summer on Cape Cod can be hectic. There are a lot of tourists and a hum of activity most places. I often go out to catch a good sunset or sunrise and there are many others doing the same thing, cameras in hand and children and dogs in tow.
There is a little park along Bass River that we walk to where peaceful contemplation is a break from the frenzied tourist scene. In this painting, I wanted to convey a sense of calm and peacefulness that I experience there. Benches are located at the top of the steps from this little beach. Here one can sit, relax and watch the boats coming in and out from a day on the ocean. Once in a while children come and dig in the sand looking for treasures in the sand. A 1700's Windmill is adjacent to the benches. If you are so inclined, you can make an appointment to tour the Windmill. This scene is from late August. Orange seed pods have replaced the once aromatic pink beach roses. The horizontal bands in the overcast sky create a sense of calm. The little boats are lined up as though resting and awaiting another day and another outing.
Friday, March 25, 2022
Salem's Abby Road! First Day of school 2021.
Remote learning was hard and unprecedented in my lifetime. It was especially hard for the students.. As a former teacher myself, I am so amazed at the teachers that persevered through covid, with the daunting task of remote learning and constantly facing the unknown of-“WHAT’S NEXT?” I was in awe of Miss Powers as she provided daily inspiration and love to her students through it all. I was happy to be retired and able to be there for Elouise. She missed her friends. She missed Salem.
After 18 months of remote learning and being away from friends and classmates, Elo and her friends finally returned to school in Salem. They were together again-at last! Elouise and her friends met to walk to school together. The exuberance they displayed and the joy at being together once more was a feeling I wanted to capture. Hopefully, the situation that caused remote schooling,(covid), is in the rearview mirror. Hopefully they will always feel excited to return to school in the fall. The excitement on this day I felt needed preserving: So I painted it.
An added bonus is Webb Street’s resemblance to Abby Road. Thanks to Don Seiffert for taking his life in his hands to capture the moment with his camera and for sharing his photos of the girls from that morning. Thanks Don for allowing me to take liberties with your photo. (Sorry to the young man I eliminated. ) The resemblance to the Beatles Abby Road album cover was too good to pass up. I changed the colors of the houses for a more harmonious painting. I used reds to help move the viewer's eye though the scene. To establish a sense of the times, one girl is wearing her mask, one has hers dangling from her wrist and the others have theirs in their backpacks. Little did I know the controversy that would result from the masks!
I hope to preserve a bit of history for the girls. Each girl (as well as Elo's teachers) received a print of the painting.
I hope this painting brings you a smile. We all need one.
Magical moments in Rockport.
It's an annual event!
Merry Christmas! |
Hull Lifesaving Museum Juried Show
9x12 gallery wrap oil Evening Solitude |
11x14 oil-Dynamic Trio |