We are half way now dear readers and patrons. For the second half of this year’s Granary show let’s actually get ourselves up to that island of Martha’s Vineyard. Roll that car off of the ferry and make a quick stop at Net Result for some sushi to go. We are heading up island.
We are going to spend the rest of the show strolling along Basin Road heading down to the beach with some hidden views and familiar interiors and we will be there just in time to catch a moment in history as the old makes way for the new.
Let’s head down the hill and see what’s up first…
The Paint Box – 30 xx 20
This came from one of those serendipitous shifts in the atmosphere
that only happen when you are not looking.
I’m quite certain there will be some of you
reading these Painter’s Notes
after viewing The Paint Box
who will say…huh
I never noticed that house either.
Coming down the hill
into the little village of Menemsha
even if you obey the 15 mph speed limit
by the time you start the curve to the left
and the final descent to the stop sign
your mind is on one of two things
lobster
or chowder.
Well for me it’s three
because I’m getting ready to look to my left
to see if Jane’s light is on.
OK if you are a fisherman
you might be wondering about the wave heights
it won’t matter but you might be wondering.
And if you were Herself
you’d already have your hand on the swimming bag
and would be thinking about fried clams.
But you get the idea
that the focus on that last tenth of a mile
is on what lies beyond
not what sits to either side.
Last October,
after decades of Octobers
we were driving up out of the basin
and turning left at the stop sign
to go up the hill…
and BAM
there was a shaft of light
that shot right onto the corner of this house
which I had never seen before.
Knowing what I now know
about how quickly the light can come and go on this island
I turned right around.
Came back up the hill
threw the car as far off the road as I could
and walked up to investigate.
Click click click with the camera to record the moment
then some intense visual sketching for reference
and just like that the light was gone.
Came back home and reviewed the days scouting.
And there on the camera screen
was what I was too busy on site to see…
the dear little painted doorstep sign…
The Paint Box
Gotta love ’em
My Muses
