"Scituate Afternoon" pen & ink 6 x 9 #urbansketchers #dailydrawing

Between some afternoon errands, I spent a bit of time observing the boats in the local harbor.  One fishing boat was coming in during the afternoon dusk.  That is some serious cold work, and takes a hardy soul on an afternoon like today, gray, rainy, raw.  The boat in this little harbor "cul-de-sac" have a backdrop of tall reeds during the mid to low tide.  It's an unusual looking arrangement, as if they  have a wall behind them.  The jumble of boats is appealing as they bob and shift in the tide.  
This is my forty-fourth daily drawing.  As always, thank you for taking the time to look.
 

"Salt, Sea, Sun" 6 x 6 oil

This month's Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge was "ritual".  Usually, when I hear the challenge, a thought jumps into my head... not this time.  I mulled over daily rituals, the difference between "ritual" and "routine". Then I thought about annual rituals, seasonal, occasional.  We read "Night Before Christmas" every Christmas Eve and each open one gift, a ritual my family has carried over from my home as a child.  Yes, we use the Arthur Rackham illustrated version of the poem. His illustrations are beautifully eerie and convey the magic of that night.

Back to ritual...  My conclusion is that there is something spiritual, or centering, grounding, about ritual vs routine.  One dictionary definition is "a ceremonial act or a series of such acts".  I love to rise earlier than my family on weekends, sit with coffee and my book on the porch - that's a ritual.  I feed the kittens, and provide fresh water each day - more of a routine. The idea of spirituality and centering brought to mind my annual summer sojourn to the rocky coast of Monhegan, where I sit on the rocks, surrounded by sea, salt, and the sun, painting what I hear, taste, smell, and see and even touch.  It is a ceremony, a ritual, in which I joyfully participate. 

   Here are the other GJWP challenge entries.  Check out these interesting and varied takes on "ritual".  

As always, thanks for looking.  Love to read your comments.

"Exodus" oil 8 x 11

Each summer, as we leave Monhegan Island, I take a photo or two of our party taking the last walk down to the dock.  There's something appealing about the consolidation of belongings, and the unified energy of departure.  It has been a decade now, and I know I'll be taking a few more photos when we leave again in a couple of days.  

This month's challenge topic for Girls Just Wanna Paint was "travel".  These three girls are traveling,  about to embark on another leg of their trip ... over the last rise, down the hill, onto the ferry and back to the mainland, paved roads, pace quickening and heading home.  Is that technically, "untravel"? Unravel, unwind, rewind... back again.

  Thanks for looking.

"Over View" 9 x 12 oil Monhegan

One of the reasons I love the New England coast is its topographical variety.  Up, down, around, in, out, over, under... the foreground and background constantly shifting in their relation to one another, providing a myriad of exciting views. 

Remember all those Hanna- Barbera cartoons where the Flintstones, for example, were driving in their car, and the background was zooming by?  The foreground was moving at a different pace than the background and conveying speed.  I was fascinated by that relationship of the front and back when I was a child.  Still fascinating.

"Over view" is a painting from up behind the Monhegan schoolhouse, looking out at Manana and the mainland 10 miles distant.  Walking along Monhegan's coast provides that same fascination.  Every couple of steps provides an entirely new arrangement of foreground to background.  So exciting.

Thanks for looking.  Feel free to comment and to share.

Oh, and here's the Flintstones opening segment.  It'll all come flooding back to you.

"Flintstones, meet the Flintstones..."

Back to Monhegan Island

 I am back on Monhegan Island, Maine this week, excited about the opportunities to paint, especially to paint my favorite subject here, Manana.  So far, Manana hasn't shown itself through fog, except for a few minutes last night.... I'm looking at fog's colors, yellow, pink, orange, and recalling many trips to London where the weather soundbite was often, "It's brightening!".. it's brightening here, off and on. I'm enjoying the variety of views... boats appear and disappear, the ferry's rumble arrives way before the ferry shows itself just yards before the dock, seagull silhouettes along foggy roof lines... what an interesting week it will be.  Here are a few of my past paintings of Manana.  Posting new ones soon!

"Setting Out" oil 6 x 6

My latest in a series of working boat paintings. Sun, salt, sea.  I love the lines, angles, and power of these purposeful workhorses. Each of these boats is a minute dot on the ocean surface, and lobstering is a physical and dangerous occupation.  I have been closely cropping the boats to convey their mass, their strength, their volume.   These boats are beautiful. 

Spring is finally arriving here on the east coast and I am heading back to the water to paint.

As always, thanks for looking.

"Distant Manana" and a spring show

I have written before of my fascination with Manana, across the harbor from Monhegan Island, ME.  "Distant Manana" is another view of the small, (mostly) uninhabited island, as seen from the rocks at Dead Man's Cove, a beautiful spot to spend a few hours.  An occasional hiker happens by, lots of gulls on a nearby rocky outcrop, waves, the ferries passing in and out.  
Last night, I had dinner with a couple of friends.  They described a day they spent together on the coast last summer.  The conversation bounced back and forth between them as they relived what they termed "the perfect day".  I listened, and responded, but a part of my brain was sitting in Dead Man's Cove having my own "perfect day".

"Distant Manana" is on view at the South Shore Natural Science Center  in Norwell, MA in the invitational show "Spring Stirrings".  The exhibit runs March 27 - April 30th.  If you're local, hope to see you at the opening reception on April 4th from 6 - 8pm.  As always, thanks for looking.

"Quiet Cove" oil 12" x 9"

 $125 + $10 S&H  

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 Painting destinations.  Where to go?  Lately I find myself traveling the nearby roads and byways as a quiet meditation in preparation for the next outing.  It's an interesting visual exercise, thinking about light, wind, surf, tide, access, all from the quiet of an armchair. 

When I began painting on site a number of years ago, I would head out to explore with a few uninterrupted hours ahead of me, looking for an alluring spot from which to paint.  As often as not, I'd spend the time driving, and exploring, and never settle anywhere.  Now, I have a mental catalog of places and subjects, coastal interstices, woods, glades, architecture, cityscapes, etc.  Each visual in my cranial catalog is filed with footnotes about parking, seasonal availability, class access vs. solo access, shelter, etc.  I try to make space for a few minutes in this visual meditation each day - quiet, intentional, brain-clearing. 


This week, I added a new destination when I went painting with my friend Nancy Sargent Howell.  We clambered the rocks, and settled into this surprisingly sheltered, glorious spot on the coast during mid-April in New England.  We were both prepared for penetrating wind, and happily found the layers unnecessary.  Lovely day, with lovely company.                                                

Island Retreat, 12 x 9, oil

For many years, I have been blessed to spend time painting on the coast of Maine. This is a study from South Bristol.  This tiny island had a wooden causeway to the mainland near my location, perhaps 50 yds long. While I was painting, someone wheeled a garden cart full of groceries across the little bridge; and later, a lawnmower.  Lawnmower?  From my vantage point, nail scissors could have done the trick.  Lovely day. I liked thinking how my life might change if I had a wooden footbridge rather than a driveway.

Come check out Island Retreat the North River Arts Society's Holiday sale this weekend. Saturday and Sunday 10 - 4; more details here:

http://www.northriverarts.org/events.html