Marine Railways at Rocky Neck

Marine Railways, Rocky Neck, Gloucester. 18x24 inches, oil on linen canvas.  A seascape with a lot of wood, a boat, and no water. 

Marine Railways

 The Marine Railways at Rocky Neck in Gloucester, MA. 24x18 inches, oil on linen canvas.

A Complicated Composition

When your painting needs a tug, try a complicated composition.  This is from the Gloucester Marine Railways at Rocky Neck in Gloucester, MA.  18x24inches, oil on linen canvas.

Asymmetrical Symmetry

A painting of the Marine Railways at Rocky Neck in Gloucester, MA.  The chaotic, asymmetrical symmetry appeals to me.  18x24 inches, oil on linen canvas.

The Ephemera Series

A painting I did for the fun of doing it. The beginning of the Ephemera series of things that don't last long.  It's a view of Gloucester harbor from the Marine Railways.  12x16 inches, oil on linen panel.

Out Of The Water

This one of boats out of the water I did at the Gloucester Marine Railways in Rocky Neck.  6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.

A Quick Pier

A quick depiction of a pier seen from the Gloucester Marine Railways in Rocky Neck, Gloucester.  6x8 inches, acrylic gouache on mixed media paper. 

Explorer IV

The Explorer IV in dry dock at the Marine Railways, in Rocky Neck, Gloucester, MA.  16x20 inches, oil on linen panel.

Watery Work

The frequent rain has granted me time to work on this watery painting, based upon the recent plein air work I did at Gloucester, MA.  16x20 inches, oil on linen panel.

Docked And Missing

A docked boat at the Marine Railways at Rocky Neck in Gloucester, MA. When I arrived to paint the plein air version, on which this painting is based, I encountered a short, stocky man of retirement age looking at the boat.  I asked him if it would be leaving.   He said knowingly that it would be there for a while.  Then he volunteered that he used to own a boat, but he sold everything and moved to NH.  Now, he said, I've come back.  I sensed that he missed his boat.  16x20 inches, oil on linen panel.

Liberty Star

To take advantage of the plein air paintings I did at Rocky Neck in Gloucester, I'm doing some studio paintings based upon them.   This is the first, the Liberty Star in dry dock at the Marine Railways.  16x20 inches, oil on linen panel.

Wharf Holes

This was the first boat painting from my time at Rocky Neck in Gloucester, MA.  The water level was slowly going down, so I blocked in the wharf first to preserve its relationship with the middle boat.  The "wharf holes" I found appealing, especially how they lined up with the boat windows.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

Rising With The Tide

The other day I found myself in a bar in the Northeast Kingdom in northern Vermont where the television was showing a golfer demonstrating how to hit a golf ball.   He had a multitude of tricks and gadgets to improve one's swing.  If only I could learn everyone of these tips, acquire everyone of these lessons, and absorb each of these ideas, I too could become a Master.  

The painting depicts parked boats rising with the tide at Marine Railways at Rocky Neck in Gloucester, MA.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

Paralleling

Another view of the Liberty Star in drydock at the Marine Railways in Gloucester, MA.  Her two masts are stretched out in front of her paralleling the rusty barrier. 9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

 

The Blue Sail

The Gloucester painter that I admire the most is Charles Movalli.  He could capture all the stuff that is visible without getting too specific, whether is was an old farm or a boatyard.  His paintings are like quick glances, which slowly acquire solidity and meaning.  They reward slow viewing.  This scene of part of a large, parked boat with a blue sail at the Marine Railways reminded me of his work.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

Hauled In At High Tide

My mind is still in the boatyard nevertheless, as I count down the paintings I made there.  Large boats are hauled out of the water at high tide on wooden ramps for repairs.  The high vertical beams with narrow walkways and tall ladders that surround a large boat make for interesting compositions. 9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

Cursory Markings

By the time I reached this point in the painting, it was raining.  I painted quickly to get there.  The cursory markings for the planks and concrete pit in the foreground effectively set off the more developed boat.  12x9 inches, oil on linen panel.

A Fragment

To paint this small boat I squeezed myself between the Marine Railways building and several other parked boats.  Its jumping fish profile was quite appealing.  Being so close to the boats, looming overhead, I quickly realized that my panel was too small to do what I wanted.  So this is a fragment.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel. 

Saved

It was a foggy, cloudy, rain-threatening day when I painted the Explorer IV.  The front end of the boat had a yard-long hole from hitting some rocks.   I was told that a water compartment at that location, capable of being shut off, and not usually found in such boats, saved it from sinking.

Liberty Star

The schooner Liberty Star from Boston was out of the water at the Gloucester Marine Railways last week. I witnessed the masts being re-installed but missed the boat being moved back into the water.  Later when we asked a crew member how it went,  he said that the boat was taking on a little water, a surprise to a novice like me, and we could see the pumps working.  He said the wooden boards shrink when the boat is out of the water, and all would be ok as soon as the hull was newly acclimated to the water.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.