Sunset over Provincetown

 Last sunset over Provincetown for this year.

Watercolor 4” x 6”

Atlantic Spice Palettes

In what has become an annual ritual we visited the Atlantic Spice Company in Truro, MA, and after purchasing a few items I went out to draw the pallets by the loading dock. Unfortunately, just as I was getting started, a large UPS van pulled up and blocked my view. Fortunately, I had taken a reference photo. However, when I tried to reconcile my initial sketch with data from the photo, it didn't always jibe, so there are discontinuities, similar to when stitching software can't figure out where the lines match. It does convey the general feeling, though.

Ptown Haze and Long Point Light

 From last night and this morning:

PTown Haze

Watercolor 7" x 10"

In the evening the Provincetown skyline can become engulfed in mist against the scattered light from the setting sun. Although the inner details are completely obscured, the top edge is quite sharp, revealing tiny silhouettes of houses and trees against the sky. The bay takes on a bright metallic sheen, maddeningly difficult to pull off with watercolor.

Long Point Light

Watercolor 6" x 8"

From where I stand in Truro, the Long Point Lighthouse is a minuscule white rectangle on the horizon, but very prominent against the dark water and the long flat spit of land it sits on. I did a watercolor previously that emphasized its tininess against the enormous sky; this one zooms in to give more equal treatment.

WIP oil panels from the Cape.

Neighbor's Fence, Late Afternoon

Both of these will receive more attention when I get home. They each represent several possible treatments and I'll have to find a way to resolve them. My main interest in the neighbors fence was the geometry and the very orange late afternoon light. The thing is, it's difficult to paint the effect of intensely colored light when the canvas is being illuminated by the same light - it has to convey the impression of the colored light when it's seen under a neutral light.

Breakwater Waves

Oil on linen panel

6” x 8”

I've done the rock jetty a few times before; this time my focus was more on the waves and ripples generated by the interference of the jetty in the surrounding water. I worked on it over two days, one of which was much windier than the other. Besides the wind, I had to account for the tides and the changing light. I attempted to catch the tide at its lowest point, with the sun full on the upper facing rock surfaces, creating dark caves underneath.

Pano view of Provincetown and Long Point Light

 Pano view of Provincetown and Long Point Light from the beach in Truro. This was a challenge to try and fit a very wide angle of view into a small sketchbook, and chance to put the hidden thread double page spread feature of my Montanapolitancroptic sketchbook through its paces.

 This morning this large log arrived with the tide. Had the local crabs petitioned Poseidon for a king?

Pen, ink wash, white ink, white gouache on toned paper.

4" x 6"