Rocky Cove, 2005
oil on canvas
private collection
This is a view from Monhegan Island that I decided to paint from some sketches and photos of a place a little ways above Christmas Cove. I blocked out the composition in black on a white ground and generally filled the water and sky areas in first.
Then I began to fill in the rocks with a base color, in this case a cold grey. I also started to consider the water and the effect of the somewhat still waves rolling into the cove. In cropping a photo of the scene I found that I liked the rocks in the foreground, to give the viewer somewhere to stand.
I worked in some other colors, the greens and off whites as well as some deeper shadows of the rocks next. The brush strokes were still sketchy and generalized without much interest in details.
Next I worked on the water, trying to create the movement without the intense drama of crashing waves. It was a stillness that got my attention that morning when I saw the place.
In what I thought would be the final stage I worked the whole image over in colors and heightened contrasts. I was pleased in how much depth the piece had using the glazing techniques of layers of colors as I used to use with acrylics.
After letting this painting sit for several months I began to get bugged by some of the sky and distant water areas. I popped it back up on my easel and reworked the sky over as well as a few other spots and brought it to a close at last.
