Michael's Dairy. Oil on canvas, 11x14. First of a seriesI'd looked forward to today for most of the week, being a person who trusts weather forecasters. And then, the day dawned cool and cloudy, and seemed that it would never hit the predicted high 50s. No wonder, either. The water in the Atlantic, just up the road, is a brisk 34 degrees.
So I plunged into computer work and, hours later, uncurled my creaking limbs and noticed that the sun had come out.
I headed off to paint, and found myself in New London where, wonder of wonders, Fred's Shanty has already opened. It was too windy along Pequot Avenue to paint, but I began to wonder whether Michael's might be open - and so I found myself on Montauk Avenue, looking at the closed, but surely soon to open, ice cream parlor.
Michael's and Fred's (nee Mar-Gra's) are touchstones of childhood for my brother and sister and myself, and probably every other kid who grew up in New London. Sure, they've changed, in some ways. But in the essential ways, the ways that mean summertime, they're the same. And when we go there, in some ways, we're the same, too.
I'm not truly thrilled with this painting, and intend on trying it again - and again and again, if need be. But the subject matter made me happy, so I post it for all who were lucky enough to have lovely, happy childhoods.
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