Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Fort Williams Park: Many Delights

 Going to Fort Williams Park has become my Habit. This morning, accompanied by brisk September breezes & powerful surf I had the luxury of taking a longer walk & then sketching on one of the benches along the path. To describe how I was feeling: A toddler person in baseball cap (with his Dad) was speed-toddling. Down the path he went, partly animated by gravity, pad pad pad pad, with his arms raised, humming with his mouth open so his aaaaaaaaaah became ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah with the bounce of his steps. As he passed me he slowed, we made eye contact, & we laughed, we just laughed. I suspect he experiences this kind of stuff in a lot of his young life. But for me, when such moments come, moments of open full joy, I treasure them.

What I tried using my David Dewey concepts: To vary my values (could have done it more...)To leave white to show the lovely rhythms & lines of the foliage, to simplify it. To not use my colors in full intensity from the tube. To use a few warm colors as highlights. And, simply: To capture the view before me. Palette: Cerulean blue, Winsor blue, Cadmium yellow, Hooker's green, and touches of Cadmium red, Alizaron crimson & Raw sienna. (The blue ocean in my sketch is actually not quite as aqua as my camera wants to make it.)
 Last night, we went for a walk at the park. As Monsieur J was taking my picture, a passerby very seriously separated from his companion. As if on a mission he started climbing the rocks behind J. I thought maybe he was going to offer to take my photo from a higher elevation. But no, when he reached the top, he put his fingers in his mouth, pulled it sideways & did that old kid trick with his tongue, making like a lizard (or is it snake?): Lalalalalalalala! Snap, J took the photo not even knowing why I was laughing.  I'm still laughing! A little gift from a stranger...

 Boats punctuate the blueness of the sea so beautifully. This one was pulling a huge barge, also mostly red, toward Portland Harbor.

Sunset on the rocks that are to the right of the little beach. One of the delights in the morning & the evening by the sea is watching the changing light & colors. Just one of the delights....

7 comments:

  1. So nice to see a photo of you, Rita. I also like the photo with the red boat.
    Polish lesson for today: Piszesz coraz lepiej po polsku (in Polish, nouns begin with a capital letter, e.g. Poland, and adjectives begin with a small letter, e.g. "po polsku").
    P.S. as for the meaning of the word "Polonica" and my knowledge of Italian, I replied to you under my post. Have a great day.

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    1. Jak zawscze, dziekuję Pani Zosia. Tak, pieszę więcej po polsku, thanks to you & online dictionaries... I went back to read your first Italian post & left a note there. Above, that is me, in very "casual" attire...Rita

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  2. Where's the picture of the 'tongue'. hahahaha Always like to stop by the mansion too.

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  3. Gift from a stranger...tell me about it!
    Ever get tiny red glasses?
    Adorbs!

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  4. What talent you have, Rita. Your descriptions are as rich as your sketches!

    Bises,
    Genie

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  5. Hi Rita,

    Thanks for your visit to my blog!! :) Here's another bit of wishful thinking for me - to keep a journal sketchbook like you do. Your sketches are gorgeous! I love the lines and the colors and the writing - it all fits!!

    Oh, and the purple flowers in my blog post were heather - it was in full bloom and so pretty!

    xoxo Silke

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  6. Hello Rita,
    Thank you for your comment on my last blog post, after which, my computer crashed.
    Love this expansive sketch, and I hope you enjoyed the teaching of David Dewey, an amaaaaazing artist!
    I got up to my cabin on Deer Isle for a week and a half, which was better than nothing, and got some paintings done I like...some ho-humm. Love your ink line, and use of color.
    Keep on painting!
    Bill

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