Edward Hopper's House, Acrylic, 14x18

On Tuesday, a gorgeous summer-like day, I hit the road with these guys in search of Edward Hopper's house in Truro. We wanted to paint it before the McMansion ("Hey, they paid $16 million dollars for it- they can do what they want!") next door goes up. We don't oppose anyone's freedom to do what they wish, but if you look at this area, it seems the wiser choice would be something more seamless in the pristine landscape. Here is Mary Sheehan Winn (see blog link, right) and Ros Farbush, and Paula Villanova (blog link on my Daily Painting Blog), posing with Hopper's house in the background. The house sits on a HUGE bluff, which drops away to Cape Cod Bay, with gorgeous views from Wellfleet to Provincetown. Being here you can see how his surroundings influenced his art.

This is my piece, which I'm fairly happy with. I may go back in and work on the house a little, but I'm going to let it sit before I decide.

And here is the work of the day from the group. Top right - Ros Farbush, lower right - Paula Villanova, bottom left - me, top right - Mary Sheehan Winn.

And this is Paula Villanova's hand, holding Ros' painting :)

Pizzeria Regina, 9x12, Oil

This painting took 1st Place at Fall River Art Juried Show 6/08 - my very first 'Blue Ribbon'

This was done on location on Margin Street in Boston's North End on Friday. I thought a weekday would be kind of quiet, but I guess it's never really quiet there... at least that's what some of the 'natives' told me! This is my favorite pizza spot in the whole world (and that's saying something). The pizza crust is thin with a crunch to it, the sauce is flavorful, and the cheese is tasty but not too heavy! Painting this, about a thousand (yes, I'm exaggerating..) people asked me where this or that landmark was, where a good place for dinner was, where the subway was, how to get to Quincy Market, etc., etc,. etc. The dogwalker weighed in on the painting, the tourists did, and some older man stood looking at it silently, then 'harumphed' and walked away, muttering that it was 'almost professional'. :) Plein Air... you can't beat the experience!

September at the Snack Shack, Oil, 11x14

Today I painted at Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA. There were litereally less than a dozen people there, although it was a gorgeous day. It seems so barren and forlorn, with the empty parking lot and the deserted snack and changing area. I loved all the picnic tables piled up against the back of the Snack Shack, and the pay phone. While I was painting I thought... geez, it seems everyone has a cell phone today, I wonder if they really need that.... and just as I was packing up a woman rode up to it on her bike and made a bunch of phone calls.... although WHERE she was riding from, and how she knew there'd be a phone there is kind of mysterious.... Anyway this was painted on pastel board - what do I know? I thought it would just be a lovely ground, but the board sucked up all the liquid from the paint as soon as it touched - made for VERY tough painting! It was wrestling the whole time, and between that and my two tubes of dried out Permalba White Paint... well, it made me question the joy of Oil Painting quite a number of times.... Off to Utrecht tomorrow, I promise myself!

Sunset Race, 8x16 Acrylic

SOLD

This was the work up of the plein air study done on the Cape of Bass River at sunset (funny, I painted this one as the sun was coming UP!). It's acrylic, with a loose feel to it. Tim has already 'claimed' it for his office :) which is one of the 'perks' for being married to an artist!

More Cape Paintings

This is the first painting of the trip. We were sitting in a cemetary in Dennis, I believe, looking down a slope, across a marsh, to this little house which was catching late day sun. I've painted in this location before (even lost a favorite earring here), and there's really only one view worth painting (IMHO), and this is it. It was a good way to jump-start the painting trip.

SOLD

This is a 12x12 oil... the last morning on the Cape...the epitome of late Summer by the sea. I loved the collection of buoys hanging on the shed and the heavy headed sunflowers.... I want to halt time right here in early September because everything is just so perfect and beautiful. I call this one "Oh, Buoys!"

Cape Cod Plein Air Week

I painted this week on the Cape and the weather was AMAZING. What a sendoff for the end of Summer. This painting was the first, at the Dennis Landing. We met a nice woman who was involved with developing this area for public use, as there had been some abandoned buildings there. But I'd painted this same area last year, and really liked the piece, so I tried again. I may do this on a larger canvas, as it is a 9x12, oil painting. We 'marathoned' it, 3 paintings a day - WHEW!

Tiverton Lagoon, 6x12, oil

No, there are no actual lagoons in Tiverton, RI, but in this little cove there was a couple of vine-covered straggly trees that 'became' palm trees as I painted them. It's actually Jack's Cove, and I MAY turn the trees back into 'scrub' trees, but for right now I'm liking the whole palm tree thing. WISH I WERE THERE! :)