Waldo Lake, Kayaks
I am not a nautical type. Though I grew up near Lake Huron, walking the boat docks of Grosse Pointe City Park in the muggy midwest summers, and even heading out on a sunfish now and then, that’s about extent of my marine experience. My limited boating expertise is with canoes and kayaks — feeling more kinship with the slow moving style of a bird watcher than the running wind swept sail boats and noisy alarming speedboats.
Still, there is something about a boat – architecturally, visually and metaphorically. There is a parable I love that tells the story of a traveler on the water, minding his own business, when he sees a boat coming straight for him. He can’t turn, and the oncoming boat is heedless of his shaking fists and shouts of anger. Closer and closer, until, bang! the other boat hits his. It is empty. Who is our traveler to yell at? There is no one there, just the empty boat.
In Massachusetts, I have sketched (and then painted) Scituate Harbor, Marshfield’s North and South Rivers and the Kennedy compound on the Cape. In Oregon, I painted our empty boats on the shores of the remarkable Waldo Lake. And more recently, in Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington — I captured Point Hudson Marina’s amazing array of fisher boats and heritage sail boats. From a purely visual aspect, the strong primary colors, the reflecting water and sky, and the impossible verticals of mast and sail make my heart happy.
A boat series in the making? Perhaps. But for now, enjoy the sketches…
Point Hudson Marina, Port Townsend, Washington
Suttle Lake, Sisters, Oregon
South River, Humarock, Mass.
Blakely Harbor, Bainbridge Island, Washington