Boom, boom, out go the lights. The sun drops and you’re done.
Yesterday might have been too brisk for normal people to spend the day at the shore, but it dawned with that crystalline light that is the hallmark of Maine. It was the first outing for Plein Air Painters of Maine’s Northern Chapter. This is my home tribe in more ways than one.
Ed Buonvecchio’s painting of boats waiting to go in the water.
Peter Yesis called the first paint-out almost in my backyard, at Rockport Marine Park, known to some as the public dock. Edward Buonvecchio, whom I first met at Ocean Park, was also there. In addition, I met an acrylic painter, Gwen Sylvester, who lives just down the road in Rockland. All three are very fine field painters. Painting with such good artists raises my game.
Peter Yesis painted across the harbor from the beach.
Stonington, ME is stunning even in photographs, its old buildings laid out across the water in picturesque formation. Rockport isn’t quite so perfectly organized, but there’s great charm in that. There are infinite painterly moments in its village view.
I’ll go back and finish it today.
I whined to Ed, “I’m not in the mood to draw this morning,” and then spent the next three hours happily doing exactly that. When I left, I had a partial underpainting of the boatyard across the water. But the wonderful, great blessing of my current life is that I can just go back and finish it today. I no longer need to measure off my Maine moments in tiny, borrowed fragments.
Yes, it was chilly on the dock, but not nearly as cold as these fellows out setting the harbor right for spring.
I invited my pals to see my new studio when we broke for lunch. That’s another great thing about being here—my now-famous bathroom is just five minutes away.
Gwen Sylvester’s sweeping tree shadows.
In the afternoon, Gwen and I took Peter to see Beauchamp Point. Alas, the seasonal blockades on the dirt road leading to it weren’t yet down. Gwen found a simple frame house overlooking the water and proposed it as a substitute. I couldn’t really see it, but given the hour it was there or never.
Peter Yesis caught the early spring green of that lawn.
Bam! Sometimes you can’t see a scene until it emerges under your brush. So I’ll head back there to finish that this afternoon, weather permitting.
This being Maine, several passers-by remarked, “It must be spring; the painters are out.” See what I mean about it being my tribe?
Peter forgot his palette, so he used a 5X7 canvas all day. My fingers ache just thinking about it.
