Watch Hill Pier, oil on stretched canvas, 4x8I made the first version of this small painting on Sunday, after painting a larger one that included more of the frozen bay. There was something amiss in the larger one, but I couldn't suss out what it was.
I got closer with the smaller one, but still, something was wrong. So yesterday, as the snow swirled and blew and covered everything again, I went down to the basement and began to paint. Working from my Sunday paintings, I did a third one. It was better, but still, I was missing the mark.
It wasn't until I was about to put these all aside and start on something else that I realized that the perspective on the pilings was just as wrong as it could be.
Sure, that didn't fix the myriad other problems I'd noticed. Repainting the pilings didn't teach me how to get the reflections to dance, or teach me how to make the water both flat and choppy - but I believe those skills will come.
For my eyes, repainting the pilings fixed the painting as a piece. Now, the lines draw me in, and bring me to those curves of open water. Now, I want to look down at the reflections. Now, I want to follow the edge of the ice and think about what's happening.
Thanks for reading!
