Perky Boat

Here's a perky, little boat in Gloucester harbor that I couldn't help but notice, with its slanted windows like a cap tilted over its brow.  And the reflections in the water were so lively and colorful.   Another 12x16 oil on panel.

Capt. Joe

A 12x16 oil on panel of a large fishing boat tied up to a pier in Gloucester.  The boat is the Capt. Joe.  This view from the wharf is like looking down onto a stage from up in the rafters.  There are lights, cables, balconies.  Even a gas grill.

Gloucester View

This Gloucester  view appealed to me because the two boats are pointed in opposite directions and the adjoining building on piers is showing its venerable status.  It's a 12x16 oil on panel.

Slowly Rising

When I was working on this painting, I sensed that something was changing.  Finally it dawned on me that the boat, which appeared to remain perfectly still, was ever so slowly rising, as the dock behind it started to disappear.   This is a 12x16 oil on panel.

Beacon Marine Basin

This is a different view of the crowded boats next to the Beacon Marine Basin in Gloucester on a sunny day.  It's a 12x16 oil on panel.

When I was painting near the North Shore Arts Association last week, several people visited me during the week to see what I was doing.  When I was working on this painting, I could see another painter below to my right working on a large canvas.  Later he came by to see what I was up to, and I recognized him from an earlier visit.  What I didn't realize then is that I didn't really recognize him until I started looking at Gloucester paintings on the Internet.  He was the painter Jeff Weaver, probably the best painter working in Gloucester today, who has done some magnificent paintings of the Beacon Marine Basin.

A Jumble of Boats

On a gray day in Gloucester last week, I went down to the Beacon Marine Basin to paint boats, a jumble of boats.  If I achieved nothing else, I certainly captured the sense of complexity.  A 12x16 oil on panel.

At the End of Pirates Lane

Last week I did this painting on site at the end of Pirates Lane in East Gloucester.  There's a parking lot there for the North Shore Arts Association and a couple of boat docks.  It's a convenient place to paint.  The painting is a 12x16 oil on panel.

Large Fishing Boat

It's apparent when looking at old paintings of Gloucester harbor that the appearance of where the land meets the water has changed dramatically over the years.  Buildings, wharves, and ships have all disappeared.  Nevertheless, what is there today is still quite exciting to view.  This large fishing boat I found behind a lobster warehouse across the street from where I was staying.  It's a 12x16 oil on panel.

Beacon Marine Basin at Gloucester

This past week I was able to paint in Gloucester, MA, the site where many prominent artists have lived and painted for a long time.  This painting shows an old building, known as the Beacon Marine Basin, which houses people and boats in East Gloucester.  When I did this painting last Sunday morning, I was on the grounds of the North Shore Arts Association.  This is a 9x12 oil on multimedia board.

Dark Pond on the Mountain

When I drove up Mount Greylock yesterday, the sun was shining, but it faded away by the time I reached the top.  So, instead of painting a long view, I went to the dark pond on the mountain and painted this 12x16 oil on panel.  The only sky appears as a couple spots at the bottom, which I think are important to the composition.  This time I was in a place where I could hear hikers, but most of them never saw me.  The frogs, however, were aware of my presence.

Looking North into the Haze on the AT

The haze never quite burned off after I reached the top of Greylock yesterday morning.  The spot where I set up is on the Appalachian Trail next to the road.  The view is looking north towards North Adams, MA.  I met several hikers, both women and men, all walking by themselves.  I asked them where they were going.  "Maine."  I asked them where they started from.  "Georgia."  This is the time when they should be going through this spot if they hope to make it to the end.  Some didn't linger, and some spoke for quite a while.  All were interesting people.  This painting is a 12x16 oil on panel.  I hope to revisit this spot on a clear day since I want to paint those humpy mountains again.

A passerby in a car asked if she could take my picture.  I asked her to send it to me.  You can see the guard rail separating me from the cars.

A High Point

One could say that I've reached a high point in my painting: this 9x12 oil on linen I did yesterday at the top of Mount Greylock.  The painting looks southeast towards Adams, MA.

A Lobster Boat in the Sun

An oil painting of a lobster boat in the sun in Perkins Cove at Ogunquit, Maine, on a 9x12 piece of linen.

The Surface of the Pond

As I worked on this painting, coincidentally I read an essay by David M. Robinson on Thoreau's Walden.  He writes, "...the description recreates the pond surface as a medium of cognition, an ideal analogue for the completely perceptive mind.  The line of demarcation between two different realms, water and sky, the surface is also the place at which these realms meet and merge, recording and thus comprehending each such event.  Perception, as represented by Thoreau through the perfectly impressionable pond surface, is thus a process of merger or unification."

The painting is an 18x24 oil on canvas of the small pond located on Mount Greylock.

A Splendid Prospect

Mount Prospect offers a splendid prospect of Williamstown and the Taconic Mountains in the distance.  I reached the clearing, which is on the Appalachian Trail, using the short hike accessible from Notch Road.   It took twenty minutes even though I carried up my painting gear.  Being so high up, I thought I would be an interesting sight for through hikers, but I only met one, who was in a hurry.  This painting is a 12x16 oil on panel.