As a kid, our family had a house on Scraggy Neck…a flounder-shaped piece of land connected to Cataumet by a causeway. Just north of our Neck is Wing’s Neck. Both of these summer-house sections of Cape Cod were home to stately summer “cottages,” beautiful seasonal properties built facing the bay, whose seabreezes cooled hot summer nights. A book was written about one such house, The Big House, by George Colt Howe, a family from Wing’s Neck, who we had known somewhat through our Neck’s proximity to his.
I came across this place on East Chop Drive, in East Chop (Martha’s Vineyard), and saw in it the same qualities of the older summer cottage Howe wrote about in his book, written about his old summer place, and the difficult decision his family made to let it go. I borrowed it’s title for this piece. “The Big House” 30 x 24
I ride by this stand of trees every time I’m on the Cape, biking down the mile-plus stretch of West Dennis Beach. The beach is separated from the lagoon by a thin strip of low dunes and cedars. These trees stand in an incredibly beautiful place, but see the worst of weather…conditions we would never choose to stand out in. They are inspiring in their ability stand strong, to fight off and endure whatever’s thrown at them. David Gray was on loop in the studio during the completion of the piece. The song “Mutineers” inspired the title. “Mutineers” 30 x 20
Color is often as much the subject of certain pieces as is the central element of the composition. In this piece, I knew I wanted the facade to be a light shade of red, not too light, but not too dark. As the painting evolved, the rosy tones of the underpainting seemed just about right, so I left them, and painted over with thicker pigment, but with little modification to the underlying color. The overall palette of the piece came together as the painting progressed, with an effort to keep that initial color front and center, and worthy of becoming the subject. “Rose” 48 x 48
The strip of small cottages that line Old Wharf Road in Dennisport, Cape Cod, and sit close to the shores of Nantucket Sound, are some of the last of the old humble summer places the Cape has always been known for. The simplicity and strength of their construction have allowed them to sit where they are, and survive storms, hurricanes, Nor’easters, and brutal winters. This little place maintains a safe distance from the sea by way of a small strip of dune that shifts, recedes, and expands each year. “Beach Dune” 36 x 36
I’m frequently asked how I choose my palette, subject matter and titling. Love the question, but struggle with the answer. It’s like being a writer, trying to answer how you choose the words you use, the settings you imagine, and the characters you develop. In that sense, my work is pure fiction. Based in reality, but reimagined along the way, to become something recognizable, but not real…and hopefully more interesting.
In this piece, the palette came along as it always does…by on-the-fly choices made with zero color theory in mind (I don’t like the concept of color theories). The scene was based on a real place, but modified to be what I wanted it to be. And the title comes from a marine park on Cape Cod I worked at as a dolphin trainer many years ago…whose name seemed to fit with the finished piece. All real, but all fiction. “Sealand” 16 x 20
When scouting inspiration in rural areas of New Hampshire and Vermont, I look for interesting scenes where architecture and landscape seem to coexist naturally. The barns, sheds and outbuildings built decades ago, now often abandoned, sit naturally where they have for years. They seem to be an almost organic part of the landscape, but have a definite presence that reinforces the sense that they are just temporary visitors. “Presence” 54 x 48
Martha’s vineyard is divided by two unofficial designations…up Island and down Island. Chilmark, Aquinnah being two of several Up Island towns, Tisbury, Edgartown and Oak Bluffs being Down Island. Whether up or down, the entire island is rich with old farms, many maintained to preserve how they looked hundred or so years ago. This piece is based on one such farm, one that I used to pass every day on my drive from up Island to down. “Down Island” 40 x 30
For three years, I lived on Martha’s Vineyard, year round. In any season, inspiration was unlimited, as the Island is one of the most scenic pieces of land you could discover. And as you would expect of any Island on the New England coast, lighthouses are plenty. I’ve painted the lighthouse at East Chop, West Chop, Edgartown, but never painted the most iconic of all the Vineyard’s lights…the Gay Head light, in Aquinnah. A few years back, it was rescued from the edge of the famous clay cliffs, and a documentary on that process brought back memories of having lived in Aquinnah (the westernmost point of the Island, called Gay Head when I lived there). The town is perhaps one of the most visited tourist locations, as the historic (and protected) clay cliffs are a geological marvel. Though you can’t see them in this piece, they erode like any coastal area, and that process put the light at risk. Moved back, and now secure, the light is safe for (they say) quite a few years. “Above the Cliffs” 36 x 36
When I lived on Martha’s Vineyard…a truly magical island in many ways…one of the greatest, and most magical, annual events was Illumination Night at the Camp Meeting Grounds in Oak Bluffs. If you haven’t seen it, you should, as it’s otherworldly. The small Victorian cottages that line the great circle around the Tabernacle cover almost every square inch of wall and porch with paper lanterns, of all colors. While finishing this piece, the light hitting the right side of the barn, as well as the overall varied color palette, reminded me of this annual event. “Illumination” 40 x 30
Most of our roads in rural New England are expanses of pavement that cover what had always been dirt or gravel lanes, created by cart, carriage, and then car. The deeper you go into the country, the less the roads are paved, and the more they remain as they have for decades. Came across this location while up in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire recently, and while the road is now paved, you could sense the existence of its unpaved ancestor beneath. “North Road” 24 x 24
