In Between – En Plein Air Watercolor Painting Of Boats

“In Between” – 11″ x 15″

This en plein air painting shows two boats up for repair in the boatyard at Gloucester Marine Railways in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  It was painted on a late summer morning. Gentle light was falling on the yard and these two boats revealing their shape and an interesting pattern of shadows.  A scene too good to pass up.

I wanted to be sure the painting captured the sense of quiet – quiet light in a empty, quiet boatyard.  A combination of  a narrow value range and a dominace of cool hues – green/yellow-green/blue-green –  reduce contrast, supporting a look of calm and quiet.

The tarps draped over the boat on the right were of special interest. I wanted to show how the tarps revealed some important part of the form of the boat underneath. For the most part, this was done by showing the subtle changes in value that occur where the tarp falls across different parts of the boat.  The tarp was a gray/silver color. For the painting I used a combination of Cerulean Blue and Cadmium Red Light. When mixed, these colors make a dense but light gray. These colors tend to separate and settle in different ways, creating beautifully subtle and visually random changes in a wash. Perfect when one is trying to create subtle changes in light on a form.

The boat to the left is the Phyllis A – an historic fishing boat that worked out of Gloucester. It is owned by the Phyllis A Marine Association and is currently under re-construction. 

The painting is 11″h x 15″ wide and is available for purchase.