Captain Jack's Wharf 2009...

A trip to Provincetown would be incomplete without a painting of Captain Jack's... so I did it again. This 7x9.5 version was painted when the sky was starting to pick up some pink hues from the approaching sunset. The shiny low tide made for some nice muted reflections. The Marsha Savage pastel collection I brought worked nicely for this last painting on our last day on the Cape.

The first time I saw Captain Jack's was twenty-five years ago. Since this was before the self-isolation days of the iPod, you were carried along the dock by music played from an LP. The speakers were set up discretely among all sorts of groovyness. We didn't stay there, but I do remember the music being the type that would make any pirate want to come to shore with roses for his mate.

Incoming....

About five o'clock one afternoon, I walked over to the Moors to see what I saw. It had been a cloudy, rainy day so I was pleased to see that the lowering sun was making a presence as it prepared to go rest. When the tide comes into the Moors, it comes in fast!... so, with no easel this time, I stood with paper in hand to do this 6x9, Pastel/Sanded Paper. About a half hour into it, a fine mist of rain started leaving small pock marks on the surface of the paper. I had the basic info I needed to pull it together, so I packed up, went back to the cottage and finished it at the table.

Painting In The Dunes...

Photo-Ken Tackett

Since I decided to pack light for this vacation to Cape Cod, I took a set of Terry Ludwig pastels that I thought would work best for the local terrain, 60 Deborah Paris' Plein Air. This collection has a great assortment of sandy and grayed colors plus a nice. limited range of greens. I found I was getting frustrated by the tones I was seeing versus what I was putting on my paper. It wasn't until I finished this 7x12 on Sanded Paper that I realized I had packed a different set!... the 60 Marsha Savage Southeast. This is a beautiful collection, nonetheless, and in hindsight, I see my mistake took me literally out of my box and made me look for accurate values using what was on hand.

Plein Air, Cape Cod

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We are in Cape Cod for the week. I am traveling light this year with only a box of pastels, a few sheets of sanded paper, and no easel! I actually thought it might be a vacation where I would do everything except paint. I am having a great time with my friends, running into old acquaintances and making new ones, but I started getting a little on edge with the "not painting idea". I took about an hour this morning before lunch and walked over to the Moors to do this 6x9, pastel/ Sanded Paper. This is a spot I have painted at many times before, and was only too happy to be here again looking out toward the dunes and painting...

Plein Air, Bonnet House...

I got an early start painting today with my friend Janet, at Bonnet House. I did this 6x8, Oil/Linen Panel, Raking Light. We both walked away from my painting spot a few times during the process and found it extremely funny how my painting seemed to keep getting smaller and smaller each time we came back upon it.... My plan had been to do several small quick 6x8 studies today. Instead, I got captivated by the Banyan-like tree... probably a ficus, of sorts... with its multiple trunks and the glowing yellow trim of the Bonnet House as the morning light crept up on the bank and across the lawn. Next time we are setting a timer to limit ourselves to an hour for each 6x8 canvas ....

Tarpon Bend Morning

In this 12x6, Oil/Gessoed Panel, I wanted to emphasize the high key of the clear morning light as it contrasted against the lower key of the cool shadows. I quickly put in the sunlit areas first to hold the shadowed areas in place... amazing how fast the sun rises, leaving a very small window for this sort of view.

Plein Air, Tarpon Bend

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It was a bright and beautiful morning here today painting with my friends, so this 8x10,

oil/canvas had no choice but to be bright, clear and fun ... just how I saw it, folks.

Wet Paint, In The Studio...

The tropical weather made my friend Janet and me take a raincheck for painting at Bonnet House today. So instead, I did this 10x8, Oil/Canvas, of my friend and painter, Eden Compton, with sketchbook in hand, roaming one of the breezeways at Bonnet House on one of our earlier paint days. You didn't know I took your picture, huh, Eden?...

Still working on getting the abstract forms, I also turned the canvas and reference photo upside down to keep from falling into the bad habit I have of lingering. Again, old dog, old trick, but it really helped me keep looking at the shapes and values as opposed to the subject matter. I found this especially helpful in seeing the drama of the reflections in both the floor and the archways.

Pastel Self Portrait...

This 12x9, Pastel/LeCarte Sanded Paper is my first attempt at doing a portrait with pastels. I used a combination of both hard and soft pastels while staring, obviously, into the mirror with great intention. Each time I use them, I am astounded by their richness of color and vow to use them more often. For the soft pastels, I used Terry Ludwig 30 Portrait Collection as well as several others from his Plein Air Collections.

Plein Air, On Track...

Why is it that the best views are always in the middle of the road or in this case, in the middle of the railroad tracks? Standing next to the downtown tracks with my friend and painting partner Janet Onofrey, we both did this view looking north to the water tower. For this plein air, 10x10, oil/linen panel, I again concentrated on painting the abstract shapes while paying close attention to my values.

Wet Paint, Pickled Okra...

Working on this 10x8, Oil/Canvas today, I approached it by treating all the shapes as abstract forms... laying in areas of color, shaping up with the negative spaces and building up to the highlights. A common practice for many, but it was a different and purposeful approach for me with this painting today. This method simplified the act of painting the subject matter and allowed it to flow freely without getting bogged down. It is funny how freeing it was in being mindful of this approach... duh.

Thanks to our friend Judy for the pickled Okra... now we can eat it!

Wet Paint, Ripe Peaches ...

After several weeks of a head banging dry spell, I decided it was time to get over myself (once again) and make something happen. These ripe peaches set against a handmade rice paper with leaves seemed to be a good challenge in the studio today. I felt it was important to get the feel and texture of the paper, so I used a combination of brush work and palette knife while paying attention to the natural imperfections of the pressed leaves. The vivid ripeness of the peaches allowed for some bold color choices, rapid brush work and lots of paint in this 20x16, oil/canvas.

Wet Paint, Plein Air ...

  

   I did this quick little 10x8, oil/canvas this afternoon in the back yard as a rumbling thunderstorm was blowing through just to the north. I worked with a limited palette of Titanium White, Ivory Black, Cad Yellow Medium, Cad Red Light, Ultramarine & Ceruleun Blue. I used Liquin as my medium. The sunlit edges of the dense clouds shined against the blue of the sky. I also liked how the sunlit hotness remained constant on the blowing bamboo and kept the heat of the reflected light in the shadows.

Wet Paint, Plein Air...

                                                        

    These red Bromeliads seemed an appropriate choice for this 10x8, oil/linen panel painted on the Forth of July. The intensity of the hot day added vigor to my brushwork in this attempt at catching the morning's backlight.

Plums

  

  Summer has arrived, bringing hot humid days and frequent thunderstorms. It is perfect weather for painting indoors with a glass of iced tea. This still life, Plums, 10x15, oil/linen panel is the first of what may become a regular series here in the studio during these coming hot, dog days.

Little Prince

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Despite the fact that this little Buffo Frog has a face only a mother frog could love, that he has an abundance of upholstery, and that he is poisonous to dogs, I had to do this 6x6.5, oil/linen panel, anyway. This guy showed up here one day, sat still long enough for me to take a photo and then went on his way... no harm done. There is a lesson here somewhere...

Wet Paint, Plein Air...

      

    The back lit glow of the early morning sun was my main interest in this 8x10, oil/ linen panel.

Wet Paint, Plein Air...

     This 10x15, oil/linen panel was an exercise in looking for the warm and cool values on the dormer and roof while keeping the colors clean. The simplicity of the subject matter was deceiving once I began dealing with the perspective and all the various reflections in the glass, the roof and even the shadowed areas ...

A Clean Start

   

  I see this gentleman every Saturday morning when I paint downtown. He skillfully washes away the residue of Friday night's celebrations and provides a clean start for those who see the morning light. This is an alla prima oil/canvas, 18x18.

No Wake Zone

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    The rains have set in here in South Florida, so I have been working in the studio lately. No Wake Zone, 24x24, oil/canvas is the result of my efforts. I painted it while holding on to the  Italian phrase " il dolce far niente " or, " the sweetness of doing nothing "...  time well spent, in my opinion.

  The photo I took one afternoon last Summer, provided the info I needed to work on the glowing effects of the sun as it reflected on the water and backlit the idle guys. I used a limited palette and enjoyed the challenge of  finding and combining the neutrals with the "glow" in what I hope is a harmonious manner.