Jackknife Cove, Chatham

Dear Readers,
Here are two paintings that I did as demos for my workshop this winter at The Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis. Because of the running water of the bay, the water in the background is darker than the foreground. I love to paint images with either shadows and/or reflections. And there are plenty of shadows on this road to the beach.
When demonstrating painting pine trees, I try to explain that most of the needles grow up even if the branch is hanging down. Also very few individual needles need to be painted in order for the viewer to know that it is a pine tree. I squint my eyes and look at the masses of needle and then paint the mass. Afterwards I add the individual needles where needed.

The Peek-a-boo House, Cornhill

This Cornhill painting is an acrylic on a 14" x 14" canvas. I was struck by all the fencing to protect the dunes at Corn Hill, in Truro on Cape Cod. I started with a tomato red canvas(Cadmium red light). I then painted the blue sky and the pale sand(mainly white mixed with yellow ochre). I added the house and then the grasses and the fences. There was not a cloud in the sky. The bright sunlight produced sharp shadows. The boarded up house peeked right out of the hill. I placed the building so that there was one-third sky and two-thirds land and I made sure not to put the building in the middle either vertically or horizontally.

Racing Day

Today I am showing you another watercolor of the catboat race. Again I have chosen a view where I can break the horizon line by the vertical sailboat.I started out with Winsor blue (pthalo)with French Ultramarine blue in the foreground and also a wash of cadmium red to dull the blue.. When dry, I added the darker waves with more ultramarine blue. I used the Incredible White Mask to mask the staves and the small boats and then painted ultramarine blue over large sail and then masked the edges of the sailboat before I painted the water.
Happy sailing!

The Catboat Race

Every August at Aries Pond there are catboat races among the members of that boatyard. This year I was able to get on the top deck of a fishing boat( I think it is a fishing boat?)and take photos in order to get some images to paint.This watercolor I did as a demonstration last fall at The Old Manse Inn.
Again I try to break the horizon line with some vertical masts of the boats. I use Winsor Newton, winsor blue to paint the water starting with the bottom portion of the paper , the foreground making it lighter in the background as I paint the blue. I then add ultramarine blue to the foreground, with a final glaze of cadmium red to dull the water. I finally add small wavy lines with ultra marine blue using Winsor Newton. (They have the best French ultra marine blue but NOT the Cotman series.)

Puddles

Dear Reader,
Here is a copy of one of my new cards that hasn't even been posted on my website yet. I have shown you the painting before but wanted you to see the poem that my husband wrote for the front of the card. On the back of the card he writes how even a puddle can evoke memories. In many of the painting workshops that I teach, I try to teach that with still water the water is darker in the foreground as it is in this painting. But with running water, such as the bay and the ocean, the water is darker in the background.
I have four other new cards that I also hope will be posted soon on my website.

By the Bay at Cape Cod Sea Camps

Here is an oil painting I painted years ago at The Cape Cod Sea Camps. It is for sale hanging at The Beacon Restaurant in Orleans, Massachusetts. I have an attachment to this setting and camp because I worked there as the arts and crafts counselor for nine years. I painted this 24"x 30" oil near the boathouse. I can't say enough about this camp. It is so well run and filled with many good memories for campers and counselors alike. I feel that this painting works because of the trees crossing the horizon line and the way they are silhouetted against the sky give it a more dramatic view.

Bass River ( As Seen from Union Street, South Yarmouth,MA)

Today's 20" x 14" watercolor is a view right down the street from The Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth. I see this inviting image every time I leave the Cultural Center. I am having this painting reproduced on a card that will be out in April. It was painted as a demo for my workshop at The Cape Cod Museum of Art .

While painting this demo, I explained to the students that I first masked the white fence on the left and small white shapes across the river. First I painted most of the sky with Winsor Newton cerrulean blue. Then I painted the Winsor blue water being very careful not to make it too dark. I started painting VERY PALE yellow ochre on the shore across the river and on the tree trunks . I then blocked in other areas with a cadmium red light wash being sure to go up the tree trunks to prevent a horizontal paint line coming through the vertical tree shapes.

I find seeing the trees without their leaves this time of year exposes some beautiful parts of nature including the beautiful tree branches!