Captains, Cranes, Boats and a Bridge

Sometimes you have a perfect day.

That happened last week when I set up to paint in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

I've been having a great time painting this winter.  For the past 8 weeks I've been in Portsmouth, New Hampshire painting subjects that I've never painted before...

...man made objects, buildings, machines, ships, bridges, metal, industrial things....dark,  gritty, heavy, non-cozy, non-pastoral stuff.   

Not really what you'd call friendly, or human-sized, it's the substance of big industry. 

I'm painting this industrial landscape with fellow painter Barbara Carr who is just as interested in this new subject as I am. 

We pick a general location every week then scout around to see what has shown up. Portsmouth is a busy seaport, the setting changes all the time.

 Right now the well-known and well-used Memorial Bridge, an aging drawbridge, is being removed so a new one can be built in the same location.  

    

Unusual looking tug boats have appeared to move the barges and cranes for the workers as they dismantle the bridge.

Its a big deal. Hundreds of people love this bridge. It's the only one you can walk across to get to Kittery, Maine. Everyone comes by to see the "de-construction".  

We were lucky to find a quiet corner.  

Barbara wasted no time locating her spot and setting up.

I sketched in my design.

It wasn't easy. Not only did the barges move around while we were painting...

...but the reason they were moved soon became apparent. A huge ship needed to get up the river, and one barge was in the way.

It looked like a tight fit getting through the channel.

 The ship was so big that the tugs had to keep the barges and cranes in place as it passed.

All kinds of frameworks are being put in place to dismantle the remaining sides of the bridge.

A visit from Captain Leo Smith of the tugboat "Miss Stacy" made our day! How often does the captain of your subject visit you? 

Then as if that wasn't enough... the next group of experts to arrive were from the barges. Emmanuel Jefferson(on right) is the operator of the monster red crane I was painting ! 

These ironworkers usually work in the Chesapeake Bay region and wanted to see what these northern artists were painting. 

Heck ! The pressure was on. Get those painting done. Back to work!

Its a real party scene down by the bridge. People pour in all day, looking, chatting, taking pictures and watching everything the workers do.

Jeff Weaver stopped by after finishing a painting he started the day before when the crowds were so thick he couldn't even find a place nearby to park. 

We kept painting until sunset. 

The scene on the river keeps changing. Tugs, cranes and barges move around.



 When they stopped work for the day the two tugs tied up on the barge anchored in the middle of the river. They were all lit up. It looked like a small industrial island.

Food for the Palette

I've discovered that painting is an endurance sport, especially if I'm outdoors painting for long lengths of time.  I notice that if I make good choices and eat enough food I'm fine no matter how long I'm out there.  

I change what I eat according to the season. We are having our first snowfall in Maine as I write this. The really cold weather hasn't arrived for real... yet. 

Back Road Field Study 8x16 watercolor

This morning I changed my breakfast to my cold weather menu.  I had a huge cup of steaming hot decaf coffee and a slice of baked oatmeal. Yum !  It's the best stuff ever!  I'm hooked!

I'm trying it out as my new cold weather breakfast. I can have it packed and ready when I have to dash out early in the morning to paint.  

Ogunquit River Field Study 8x16 watercolor

This week I'm doing some big chunks of studio time in-between my plein air trips. 

Carvers Harbor Field Study 8x16 watercolor

 Vermont Pasture Field Study 8x16 watercolor

I'm finishing up some paintings I started outdoors and beginning some new larger paintings from field studies.

My wonderful husband Marcus was home today and fixed lunch for me! I eat the same thing almost every day and never get tired of it. 

My field sketches are so important when I am painting in the studio. I paint large paintings en plein air finishing them on location and sometimes in the studio.

I also paint large paintings completely in the studio using my field studies as the basis for the paintings.

Clouds Moving Out Field Study 11x14 watercolor

For years I was only a studio painter, then I was only a plein air painter. Now I do both. The two have merged and I am really focusing on this development.

Lobster boats in N'oreaster 8x16 watercolor

I have a super lovely studio. It's all bright and airy. In the summer it's cool and shady. It is also warm and toasty in cold weather. On sunny winter days it fills with light. 

I travel a lot in warmer months to paint on location so I don't often get to spend much time in my studio.  In winter I usually paint closer to home so I can work on large paintings in the studio.  

Winter Marsh Field Study 9x12 oil

I'm coordinating my winter indoor/outdoor schedule so I get enough fresh air and studio  time every week...I'm looking for that nice balance.

Marsh Evening Field Study 11x14 oil

I notice I burn a lot of fuel when I'm painting outdoors in the cold. And I notice that I have to eat hot food at the beginning of the day and the end of the day to feel right.  If I eat cold food for breakfast or a salad for dinner I get chilly.  

I keep my studio temperature in the 50's.  If it is too warm I become overheated while painting.  I'm always moving and walking around when I'm at the easel.  It's a habit. When I'm outdoors I walk away from the easel to get a view of the painting from a distance.  I do the same thing indoors...I like staying in motion.

Moon Night Field Study 8x16 oil 

PAINT EAT SLEEP

MEADOWOOD ~ A VERMONT FARM

In southwestern Vermont there are some really beautiful places to paint. 

Open meadows are plentiful because farmers have kept the land clear. You can see for miles and miles.  

Chickens, 6x8 oil

Meadowood Farm is a lovely place on the upper slopes of West Mountain in Shaftsbury, Vermont

Jane Ramsey and I were invited by Cliff and Donna the owners of Meadowood to paint on their property. 

Not only did they invite us to paint, but they insisted that we also come for breakfast.

They operate an elegant Bed & Breakfast inn at the farm.

We arrived at the house and were treated like royalty.

Jane immediately started sketching our breakfast. 

It was a 5 star breakfast cooked to order! It was so perfect and delicious it felt like a dream... we had to keep pinching ourselves.

After breakfast we were ready to paint ! The hen house seemed like a good place to start. The chickens were lively and friendly. 

I made a large variety of sketches.

The chickens never stopped moving; running around eating bugs and little things in  the grass.

We tried to gather them in one place so we could paint them.  Ha ! Ever hear of "herding chickens" ? 

Jane and I set up near the fence to paint them in the yard.

They promptly took off, jumping the fence and running all over the lawns and woods. 

Jane had some crackers in the car... so we tossed them bits... to tempt them to come back.

Some of them stuck around long enough for us to sketch and paint them.

We were working fast... it's difficult to paint chickens-in-motion. 

I  finally knew what "herding chickens" really means !

Chickens Too, 6x8 oil 

Soon Cliff came by with his bucket loader to carry our gear to our next painting location.

Jane and I walked down the stairs to the large open meadow below the house.

This farm is pristine. It has everything, a babbling brook, acres of hardwoods, open meadows and a river.

Cliff drove through the woods on a road he built down to the meadow. 

It was a perfect late summer day in Vermont... the Green Mountains were dusty blue in the distance.  

For the past two weeks Vermont had a ton of rain. Flooding was everywhere. Why was this meadow so perfect ? Cliff had built a berm at the top of the meadow where the river curved and he managed to keep it from flooding the meadow.

Is this man amazing or what ? The farm is a reflection of his care for the land...not to mention how thoughtful and kind he and his wife were towards us.  

Jane painted quickly with her watercolors.

The shadows steadily crept across the meadow.

We decided to call it a wrap. We were expected back at base camp, Taradin, for an art opening that evening. 

We packed our gear and Cliff drove it up the hill delivering it to our cars.  

The meadow was now all in shadow.  

The tops of the trees caught the last rays of the setting sun. It was the end of another perfect day on West Mountain in Vermont.

PAINT EAT SLEEP