Poppenessett Beach

"Poppenessett Beach"

This is a four foot long painting of a beach on the south shore of Cape Cod in the town of Mashpeee, MA. There is good surf fishing along the South Cape beaches. There are plenty of good restuarants and shops in the Mashpee and Falmouth area but the traffic during tourist season is a nightmare.

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Harkness State Park

"Harkness State Park"

The view from the parking lot at Harkness State Park in Waterford, CT.

To the left and along a wooden boardwalk the stairs lead down to a great family beach.

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"The Old Farm"

Another view of the Palmer farm in Voluntown, CT.

See some of my earlier postings of this great old New England farm.

"Mystic Seaport"

A watercolor of the view across the Mystic River of the Mystic Seaport. The Seaport is a restored working shipyard typical of the mid 1800's. Besides the various sailing vessels and small boats, it is the home of the last floating whaling ship, the CHARLES W. MORGAN.

The Seaport is a "must see" for anyone traveling to New England. It has a fine marine art gallery and an extensive marine library.

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"Kingston II" Acrylic

This is a painting of the workboats of the Mystic Seaport, the KINGSTON II and the FLORENCE.

Since I painted this the "Kingston II" has been de-commissioned and sits on dry land at the Mystic Seaport.

"Desert Fire"

A little departure from my usual work.

Something today to match the temperature in Arizona.

"Clematis" Watercolor

They have just finished blooming for this year. Only have to wait another 50 weeks.

"Goldenrod"

This watercolor was painted on the kitchen granite step of our old 1799 colonial home.

We are fast approaching that time again when the goldenrod and joe-pye weed will be in bloom. The complementary colors work well with an old copper pitcher.

You don't see many iron boot-scrapers at the entries of the new houses that are being built. The houses are no longer being built of chestnut post & beam with oak studding and solid maple floors.

It's all particle board roofs and siding with a stovepipe hidden in a wooden box and thin veneer floors.

This old house has three brick chimneys and five fireplaces.

"David's Pond" This is a small pond at the Palmer farm in Voluntown, CT. The old farmer has long since passed away but his son, David, is still maintaining the property. David had the pond dug many years ago for a swimming hole. You will notice the old corn crib at the top of the hill which appears in some of the photos which follow later in this series.

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"Rough Ride" Watercolor

Not much different from rodeo riding. Hanging on for all you're worth. Not willing to spill any air out of the sails. Trying to squeeze every fraction of a knot out of the wind that's available. The wind shrieking, the rigging humming and the hull groaning.

No two days on the water are the same but this is the kind of day you wait for. No amusemant park can top this for excitement.

"After Dinner Sail" Watercolor

What could be more relaxing than an after dinner sail with a light breeze just before sunset?

No phones, no cars, no barking dogs just the gentle lap of water against the hull and the breeeze on your face.

"Ram Light" Watercolor

Boothbay Harbor, ME.

Before there was GPS, LORAN and RADAR there were lighthouses.

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to the crew of a sailing ship after many days on the featureless ocean to have seen the glimmer of light on the horizon on a dark storm-tossed sea?

Some lighthouses showed a 'red sector' to warn that to follow the red light would put the ship on the rocks. Some lights flashed at different rates or patterns. Lighthouses were painted in different patterns and different colors to show the mariner where he was. Each lighthouse was unique and their identities can be established by checking the USCG LIGHT LIST.

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"Lighthouse A"

This is an acrylic painting of no place in particular. It is just a generic lighthouse.

I suppose one like this could exist somewhere.

I rarely paint something that I am not actually seeing unless it is a completely abstract image that I want to conjure up.

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"Stonington Light" watercolor.

Now a museum on Stonington Point in the borough of Stonington, CT.

Stonington is home to one of the few fishing fleets left along the NE shore. A village of small streets and elegantly restored colonial houses it is just a short distance from Mystic.

A few yards beyond the lighthouse is a parking lot with 270 degree views of Stonington Harbor, Watch Hill, RI, Fishers Island Sound and elegant sailboats.

The 'locals' regularly come to the point to watch the sunsets at all times of the year.

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"The Nubble"

This watercolor is of Cape Neddick Light in York, ME and is one of the most photographed sites along the New England coast.

The 'locals' refer to it as "The Nubble".

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"Quiet Pond"

This is a small pond at Pachaug State Park in Voluntown, CT.

Voluntown was an old mill town and is located about a half hour drive from Mystic, CT.

Everyone seems to want to visit Mystic and tourists would have a hard time finding Voluntown but there is an incredible amount of old New England scenery to be found in a very small area around the town.

Old farms, corn fields, an old saw mill, mill ponds, quiet brooks and old farm houses abound for the artist to capture with paint and canvas. But you better hurry for "The Times They Are A Changin'.

"Broken Bridge"

This is the bridge over the dam at Beachdale Pond in Voluntown, CT.
There is today a green metal replacement bridge across the dam.
Wood has gone the way of the old mills themselves.

The colors and tree shapes are not exaggerated. The colors in this painting were as close as I could get them to the actual color of the trees and the green of the "duck weed" floating on the water.
Fall in New England can be a spectacular visual experience.

"Beachdale Pond I"

This was a pond for an old mill that was typical of the small water-powered mills throughout New England in times past.

They are all gone now. What few mills left in the US are now powered with electricity generated with Middle-Eastern oil.

"Beachdale Pond II"

Painted at Voluntown, CT this is another view of the pond.

"Corn Crib"

This old corn crib was at the Palmer Farm in Voluntown, CT.

Corn cribs were used to store food for cattle and were raised off the ground in an attempt to prevent rats and mice from getting at the corn.

I wonder how successful raising them a foot off the ground might have been as anyone who has ever tried to keep a squirrel out of a bird feeder must know.

"Corn Crib Latch" Acrylic painting.

On the door of the old corn crib was a really unique hand made latch the eye of which slipped over a screw-eye and a hand-made iron pin on a hand-made very fine chain slipped through the screw-eye to secure the latch.

This was old Yankee craftsmanship at its best. I can't imagine how many hours were spent making this latch when a piece of wood with a nail through it would have served as well.

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"Susans" is an acrylic painted from a photograph I had taken in Old Mystic, CT.

When I drove by the old barn the next day they had all been mowed down--cut down "in their prime".

There has been nothing there since, only grass. I wonder why?

"The Race Home" is a painting of survival.

I would rather sail than eat and I have in the past put myself in just this position.

The question posed is whether the sailor will make it home safely or will the sky and the sea conspire to make it his last race.

"Road to Krakow" is a painting with a lot of emotional input. My ancestry is from the mountains of southern Poland and I visualize how it must have been when a peasant had to walk with a sack over his back to a village to buy what he could not grow. This necessary trip was lonely and it mattered not what the weather might be, the distance to cover or the time it took. The traveler was committed to a two-way trip, on foot, regardless of the hardship.

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Happy's Garden" was painted at Stonington Vineyard in Stonington, CT.
Harriet (Happy) and Nick Smith own the vineyard and produce some extraordinary white wines.
This painting is of Happy's garden at the vineyard, an oasis of beauty and perfume.

"Barway" was painted at the Palmer Farm in Voluntown, CT.
This is one of the few remaining dirt roads in Connecticut.
It is much more fun to walk along a dirt road than a paved road.
The purpose of a paved road is to get you somewhere faster. Walking along a dirt road, even when you are alone, is like walking with a friend.