Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Blakely Breakwater, 8x10


Blakely Harbor, Bainbridge Island....

....was once the site of the largest sawmill in the world, and the largest town on the island.  The harbor was lined with boardwalks and filled with tall masted sailing vessels of all types.  Now it is a sleepy place with a few homes along the edges.

Walking in through the woods this is what you see.  I don't know if it is really a 'breakwater' or just the foundation from an old bridge that connected the two sides of the harbor....or maybe something else.

What my eyes saw was all I needed to know about it when I decided to stop and paint.  Just cool and warm shapes, a few reflections and the occasional Fall leaf floating on the surface.  It took me a while to see the right color for the water behind the rocks.  My 'head' said it was dark green or blue but finally my eyes opened up to the deep reddish coloration.  The painting wasn't successful until I figured that out and stopped being a 'timid painter'.

Noelle was finally happy too as she thought I had taken 'waaay tooo looong' to paint this.  Those are her words, not mine.  In one small spot there are only so many things a dog can smell.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for recalling my memories, Darrell, in such a sensitive manner.

    ReplyDelete

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