St. Pat

I found this old fishing boat docked at St. Andrews Marina. It looked as if it had many stories to tell. That’s one of the reasons why I enjoy painting these old boats here in North Florida. The bright sunlight was casting a warm glow on her side creating a spectacular contrast against the cool dark water. In addition, the two green trim pieces running down the sides, along with the orange rust stains, added some interest to what would otherwise be a boring white plane. I'm constantly on the lookout for such elements when scouting a new subject. Did I mention the side of the hull read “St. Pat?”

St. Andrews Marina

Days like this are great excitement for me. An impending rain storm can create some pretty interesting skies and lighting effects that are seldom seen otherwise. The obvious challenge is trying to capture the dramatic light and trying to do so before the weather makes it impossible. When I started this canvas there were some gray clouds dancing around but nothing too threatening. I knew from the forecast that things would be changing soon and I would have to work diligently. Sometimes, when painting under these circumstances, an artist is forced to abbreviate and suggest the supporting elements in a looser less labored manner, thus, allowing the main subject to take center stage. While this is usually the goal in a painting, it is often easy to loose sight of the goal when afforded unlimited time, like when working in the studio. Nothing sharpens your painting skills like working from life.

By the way, we made it back in the jeep just as the rain started. That was fun!

Ingenue

The pictures above show my painting "Ingenue" (the name of the boat) as it progresses. The location was at St. Andrews Marina in the panhandle of Florida. For the most part, it was a pretty good day to paint. The only real obstacle was the bright glare on my palette as can be seen from the pictures. It was too windy to use an umbrella (as it usually is). While I would prefer to not have a glare, I've learned over the years to compensate for such lighting conditions. The yellow color in the unfinished areas you see shows the color I "toned" the canvas with. I usually use a light wash of yellow ochre for this when I'm doing a sunny painting. You will see this color peeking through in small places throughout the painting, especially in the sky, where it helps to "warm" the sky, thus making it appear sunny. If the blue in the sky is too "cool" it will read as an overcast day--not what we want here. The final picture shows the completed painting. You might notice how I have chosen to edit and omit certain things in the background. These are the kinds of decisions that artists have to make in order to create a painting that best conveys the experience, as opposed to a lifeless photograph. Hope you enjoy and as always, I welcome your comments.

Gale Force

My friend James and I were cruising Watson Bayou in a boat, looking for that perfect subject to paint when James looks over his shoulder and yells "look at that." It took about two seconds for us both to agree this was what we were going to paint. So, down went the anchors and out came the brushes. Once the initial drawing phase began, it became evident we had chosen a challenge, especially with the afternoon sun slowly getting closer to the earth, as to say, "who do you think you are trying to tackle such complexity within the time limits I will allow." We tread on. I was actually making good progress with a steady pace that was beginning to show signs of fruition when a couple of gentlemen appeared on the fishing boat (Gale Force) and began moving things around. I saw this as a good opportunity to snap a couple of photos of the gents to include in the piece later. Then it occurred to us that they were untying the boat. Yes, as my usual luck has it, the boat pulled out, leaving the empty spot you see in the photo. No big deal though, since I had blocked it in and would be able to use my photo to add the details later. I continued to paint diligently and got the piece about three quarters finished while on the boat and then the sun started to fade so we headed for the boat ramp and called it a day. I added the finishing touches the next day in my studio while everything was still fresh in my mind. In the end, I think this painting captures a little taste of the "Old Florida" that still exists on Watson Bayou. By the way, James' painting turned out quite nice as well.