August 29th, 2014
Old Granite Pier, Rockport MA
Oil on Canvas, 16 x 20 in
(sold)

I felt like I’d been a bit of a wimp, leaving out all those buildings, boats and piers in my previous painting so reluctantly I decided to include a sampling of houses in this one. I think my degree of interest and sincerity in portraying them is evident in their execution*, unfortunately. So now I will quote a poem to deflect attention from something I feel I do poorly:

Man’s ingenuity was good.
He saw it plainly where he stood
Yet found it easy to resist.
—Robert Frost

(* – They were permanently executed this morning, September 1st, and I’m much happier with the painting now. There’s still one distant house on the far peninsula, for those who like that sort of thing.)

August 8th, 2013
The Old Granite Pier, Rockport MA
Oil on Canvas, 16 x 20 in
(sold)

Again, working on rocks. There were some dazzlingly beautiful weeds growing around the rocks. This photo looks a lot more “blah” than I think the painting looks in fact – will retake another day.

August 7th, 2013
Halibut Point Quarry, Rockport MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in
(sold)

There’s some reflection in this photo that dulls the subtlety of the clouds and sky, which is unfortunate as they really set the tone for the entire painting. Will retake. However, this is another step in the right direction. After being at my beautiful lake, then coming back to what feels like captivity, with all these trees everywhere hemming me in, I felt a lot of pathos for that still, deep green quarry pool – sitting so close and yet so far away from the wild wide ocean beyond.