These two boats were tied up in Rock Harbor, in Orleans.
The day started out nice enough, but clouded up fast and got pretty windy. The tide was going out and dropped pretty fast.
For me at least.
Not used to that.
The light totally changed on me when the rain clouds moved in from behind me. I almost chased it but caught myself doing it and managed to hold onto the light of the earlier, sunnier skies.
"Rock Harbor Pair", 11" x 14" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
$950. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner
20 comments:
Frank, I just discovered your blog and have enjoyed prowling around it. Your paintings are masterful, worth coming back to visit again, something I will certainly do.
Hi Dianne. Thanks, and welcome to the blog.
Those little flashes of red in the midst of all that cool just zing me! Dianne's right- masterful.
I enjoy all the movement in this piece...no flat ho-hum color to be found.
Another great painting Frank. You're so right about chasing the light, easy to do that when you're painting plein air.
He.. hee.. love this post. It reads like a fast action film ;o)
Well, If you don't tell me all you went through, there is no way I could of guessed that. This is a beautiful painting.
I love the boats, they look so intricate and you did a wonderful job with them. I find the colors on this one a bit different that your usual color scheme, and I like it too.
If I had to do a bit of detective job with it and see what you mean about the weather turning out on you and what is about to come, is by the sea. The strokes evoke turbulence. Very well done my friend :o)
Fantastic plein air! Quite impressive considering the drastic weather changes you had to endure.
Love the expressive brush strokes, clean color and dynamic composition.
I like the way the water reflects some of everything we see, except for the soft sky, and a lot that we can't see, and how you reveal to us that the soft sky is being overtaken by weather coming up from behind.
~Solveg
(the other painting remained my shield and quick reminder, today, too)
Thanks Susan.
Thanks Dean.
Hi Barb, yes, it is easy to get trapped into chasing the light as it changes.
Alicia, Ha ha, a fast action film. Hmmmm
Thanks. The colors are quite different. I used a different yellow in this one and I dont have overcast skies reflecting around very often.
Good detective work finding the storm clouds reflecting in the water and the small chop of waves from the wind behind me. I barely realized that myself. It goes to show you, just paint what you see.
Thanks Jennifer! Had to get one in before the weather turned sour on the first day. The urgency to finish before the light was gone may have something to do with the expressive strokes.
Solveg. Like in the "East Dennis Marsh" painting, the reflection of sky in the water can tell a lot about the type of day. Monet used that so many times in his paintings.
Glad that Orleans painting has made such an impression on you.
Thanks!!!
Nice one, Frank!
You're right about the tides. Not only do we plein air painters have to worry about chasing the light, we have to worry about chasing the tide, too! ;)
Thanks Michael. Yeah, I caught myself doing that a few times too. At least I figured it out in time.
Another beauty, Frank.
I find that my first PA painting is usually crap and the second one is better, especially at an unfamiliar site. Once I've screwed up the first one, I'm wiser to what I need to pay attention to first and what's going to change on me. As an experienced Plein Air painter, you're obviously more attuned to what to look out for.
Note to self, watch out for the tide change.
Thanks Bill. I find the same thing. I was quite surprised that I did not have one stinker from the whole trip. Got some nice toned canvases that took me a while to paint though : )
The site is not that unfamiliar. I paint up there quite often. I just always need to remind myself that those boats go up and down even when they are tied in place. The tricky part is if the pier is going up and down with them.
I found myself questioning my drawing skills when each time I looked at the tops off the boats the tree line had changed.
This one almost ended up in the water, but that would have been littering. I was able to fix my issues with it once the first day's paint had set up.
I still think that I could improve on it if I were to tackle it again.
that "littering" part of your reply pulled a big smile out of me. and a laugh, too.
big blue-water thanks for that!!!
~solveg
Precious littering then.. can you imagine someone finding your beautiful painting like a message in a bottle in the middle of nowhere? :o)
Hi Solveg. Seriously, it had crossed my mind to just toss it in the harbor. Too many people were watching though.
Alicia. I don't think it would last too long in the water before it fell apart. Besides, I don't think that it would have made it very far, probably just get stuck under the pier or float into the marsh.
I tried twice, today, to say that I giggled at the comment, "precious litering, then." But, twice, my comment went into poofland. But, now that you two are no longer speaking, perhaps it's unsavory of me even to bring it up.
: )
~Solveg
oops - litTering.
~S
Hi Solveg, Blogger was doing weird things yesterday, I had a hard time posting a few comments too.
I'm glad you got a chuckle at my expense. I mean, being betrayed by someone you thought was a friend is no laughing matter.
:D
Again, so funny, your response!
...and, though I have no professional merit to back up my viewpoint, I disagreed with her comments on the other post............but, I'm sure glad she wrote them, because through them I got to see your great wit.
~Solveg
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