Late Light in Portsmouth

Portsmouth is a really great town on the New England seacoast. It's the biggest port in the state of New Hampshire.

I've always loved this place. It is old. It has great alleys, buildings and streets. It's a destination for visitors...

...and the biggest town in my neck of the woods.

So when I was feeling like painting in a downtown setting last week...

I headed for Portsmouth and set up my easel right behind my car in front of the post office.

There is very limited parking in Portsmouth as it is a real busy little hub...

....so I painted fast ! Today I had two hours to set up, paint and break down.

I was more than lucky with the weather; it was quiet, sunny and warm.  

This spot picked me. I was going to set up in Market Square to paint the people walking around.

Pencil sketch,4x6 

No way!  While driving down the one way street into the square I saw this view and yelled "Stop - this is it !" 

I moved fast. After my initial pencil sketch, I put my brush into paint and laid the design in.

The streets were humming with cars and people. I had to concentrate on what I was doing. 

It was nice to have my car parked next to me. It created a buffer and I only had to make sure I didn't step out into traffic in the road.

Everything down the street into the square was back-lit and side-lit as the sun went down in the south west. 

Canyons... was all I could think of.  I've only painted canyons during the brief time I visited out west.

Obviously it had a big effect on me.  When I'm in cities with tall buildings they remind me of the canyons in Arizona, Wyoming and Utah. 

Yes. This is unusual for me to be seeking out a man-made landscape.  Buildings?   And lots of buildings? 

Yet it seemed like the place to be even with the parking restrictions in the prime painting locations.

It's like I'm backing into my subject matter these days instead of heading straight at it.

I'm not thinking "Oh I'd like to paint buildings."

It's more like, "What does that place look like in the evening or after dark ?" 

I've found that it doesn't look like I think it will !

You can never tell.  Lighting makes all the difference 

I think I have a perfect place and great view picked out ....to discover later as the light changes that I have what I want for 15 minutes if I'm lucky .

And now after one quick outing on the streets of Portsmouth I realize I'm barely scratching the surface...

...of the hundreds of paintings waiting to happen here.

Of course I need to have those great lighting conditions for some of them.

And it doesn't hurt to have a warm feeling for this lovely old port.

Daniel St Sketch, 12x12 oil on canvas panel

PAINT EAT SLEEP

Painters at Turbat's Creek

Turbat's Creek in Cape Porpoise is a piece of southern Maine coastline that has the same look as 40 years ago. The cluster of traditional fish shacks is still there. The water in the creek is cleaner now than it was then. 

It's a favorite spot for painters. When you visit you will know why.

Island View, 16x20, oil

At low tide the creek is so shallow you can wade through it and walk out to the nearby island.

All kinds of old dock pilings poke out of the sand on the edge of the creek near the fish shacks.

It was sunny and warm on this day. I chose this location for a meeting of Plein Air Painters of Maine. When I arrived Ellen And Flo were already busy painting.

Flo had a big solar umbrella that kept both her and the easel out of the direct sun, so she could see her colors clearly.

Barbara arrived and tucked herself in under the shade of some small trees for a good view of the back of the fish houses.

Carol went out on the pebbly beach near the harbor. Painters were all over the place! It was a hub of productive activity on the creek today.

I spied a nice patch of marsh grass with tidal pools looking toward Vaughn's Island. 

I sketched my design in pencil.

Next I painted in the view on my panel in burnt sienna. I marked my dark areas and looked at the shapes I was placing. 

I put in colors and kept building the shapes in a three dimensional form as I went.

The day started out perfectly clear. In the early afternoon clouds began to fill the sky. 

It was actually nice to have some relief from the sun. The cast shadows made the landscape look more interesting.

When I had arrived at Turbat's Creek in the morning the tide was low and still going out.

Recently I've been painting larger on location. Today I was painting a mid-size painting and finished most of it on site. 

My husband Marcus arrived by mid-afternoon and set his easel up by the boat launch near a fish shack. 

Painters arrived and departed all day long, some came early, others came late in the day depending on their preference for lighting conditions.  Suzanne arrived to paint the late afternoon light from a nice vantage point on the the rocky beach. 

There were many visitors coming by all day. It was great! I saw friends I hadn't seen since last summer. I'd stop to talk to them then continue on with my painting. 

The sun dropped lower in the west, and the colors on the land, sky and water were beautiful. This is my favorite time of the day to paint. 

Long shadows stretched across the sand.

I had recorded enough information to call it a day. I can finish the painting in the studio.

I went to over to the beach to tell Suzanne I was heading home.  She and I were the last painters left. 

Suddenly a police car and big red truck towing a boat pulled into Turbat's Creek Road. I  had to move my easel out of the boat launch area - fast!  

The police launched the boat in the water and took off for Vaughn's Island - hot on the trial of some outlaw reported to be over there. 

It was an exciting day at Turbat's Creek. I was happy to head home with an almost finished  painting! 

PAINT EAT SLEEP