Last week I focused on painting boats. Boats are great subjects because of their compound curves, their watery settings, their big shapes, and their delicate rigging. A boat has a purpose, whether its fishing or sailing, and that comes out in the painting. I painted these two boats from a photo, trying to keep them loose and wet so the colors would merge. I started by painting the outline of the boats in yellow, then I used a big brush and lots of paint to lay in the big shapes of the hulls, painting right down into the reflections all in one wash. I finished up with the rigging and a few vague indications of other boats in the marina. This is the way I’d like to paint boats.
On Wednesday, my son Guy and I took the ferry to Seattle and joined other painters with Northwest Watercolor Society at Fishermen’s Terminal. There are hundreds of boats to paint, of all sizes and shapes; a painter’s dream. These two boats caught my eye so I set up my easel and went to work. I like the painting, especially the blue boat, but I think I got too caught up in the details. Still, I like the way the eye goes to the boathouse on the right. When we finished, we joined about twenty other painters to show our paintings to one another.
On Thursday I drove to the Port Townsend marina and boatyard that is chockablock full of boats. I picked out these two vessels and started to paint. At noon I took a break for a bowl of chowder at Sea J’s Cafe, a lowbrow cafe a few steps away with homemade tables, faded bumper stickers on the wall, and one hardworking young woman acting as cook/server/dishwasher/cashier. The chowder was delicious; lots of clams and bacon.
With a cup of hot tea supplied by my thermos, I finished my painting. It wasn’t bad, but I thought I could do better, so I painted a second version that you see here. I like the shape of the Karolee and the focus on the white cabin, and the reflections aren’t bad. But I got balled up on the details again. It’s so hard to simplify.
When I finished, I showed the paintings to the young woman in the cafe, and she approved of them. Taken altogether, I’m pretty happy with a week of painting boats.
Yes, you should be happy with your results. I especially like that you can capture the reflections in the water; it’s like upside-down painting. Did you ever think when you were building boats that you would someday paint pictures of them?
Thanks, Warren. Painting reflections is hard because you need to mirror the boat shape without being rigid. I think that my time working on boats in Alaska helped train my eye for painting them today. Who knew?
They all look nice. Brings back memories. A friend of mine and his wife used to take my son and I out sailing all the time. They’ve moved and my son is grown. But these painting bring back such wonderful memories! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like some good memories, Carol. Aren’t boats fun?