Looking Back

2014

92" X 48"

Oil on Panel

SOLD

There is a tradition on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

At the end of the day
any given night of the year
the place to be is Menemsha.

People stop at one of the fish mongers’ shacks
to pick up some chowder, a lobster,
and maybe some freshly steamed steamers…
and then make their way down to the end of the road
and on to the sandy beach.

It is a terrific place to sit and watch the sun set
over the hills of Aquinnah
with the steady comforting twist of light from the Gay Head Lighthouse
and the clink of metal and swish of rope
from the riggings on the big boats anchored along the basin.

On particularly fine evenings there are ripples of applause
as the last of the daylight sinks behind the horizon.

In the autumn of 2012 I ventured to the other side of the inlet
to the tiny mooring at Lobsterville beach
where I spent almost every early evening
climbing the dunes and exploring the view.

I thought I was there
like all those other folks
to ogle at the western sky…

But when I turned around
those sunset hues were streaming across the boats and shacks
of the tiny fishing village
bringing it to life.

Refracting in the clouds
and reflecting off the water
the depth of color was stunning.

I’ve taken that lesson to heart.
Point yourself in a different direction.
And now I pause each night
and take just a bit more time…

Looking back.

There are two more passages, of note, to mention about this painting.

As is often the case some of the hardest decisions
when working on a final composition involve what to leave in…
and more importantly…what to take out.

In keeping with the romantic palette of light
I wanted to speak to a more vintage Vineyard landscape.
It’s common for me to take out telephone poles
and almost always people
and most of the modern detritus.

But this time I went further and streamlined the docks
removed most of the motor boats and some of the engines
and even hid some of the more contemporary houses behind the autumn foliage.

What is left are my favorite boats
and an honest respect for the fishermen who work them.
So, when I saw one that was new to me on the horizon I did some research.
I found an article in the MV Gazette, written by Ivy Ashe,

(Click Here to read)

reliving a record catch by Tim Walsh, the captain of the Helen L,
(that spiffy looking blue boat on the far left in the painting).
Ivy retold the story of Tim landing an 1,100 pound Atlantic bluefin tuna
the old fashioned way with a rod and reel.
Something pretty rare in any waters now a days
and something special for the Menemsha Fisherman to brag about.

After reading I noticed the date of that catch, October 9, 2012
which was the very day that I had caught the boat tied up along the early evening dock
all safe and snug with one heck of a story to tell.

The other end of that history is the passage…into history…of the Strider.

I had painted it in surrender several years ago,
but early in May of this year the Mayhews took it for one final spin
out of the port of Menemsha before its final sale.
Olivia Hull wrote a nice piece in the Gazette,

(Click Here to read )

to mark the occasion and I’m sure there were many lovers of that boat
fishermen and artists alike
who were saddened to see it go.

We get the paper a week or two late
so it was jarring to take a break from painting
to open the paper and read that article
about the boat having already left the dock
as I was bringing it to life on the canvas.

An artist, unlike a photographer, has license to cheat a little.
While Alison won’t have the chance to take anymore shots
of the sun setting on her wheelhouse windows…I can pretend.
And I suspect that the rusty blue hull of the Quitsa Strider
will forever leave a whisper of its reflection in the waters of her safest harbor.