Everyone has their favorite place to be…the mountains, the lakes, the ocean. Often it’s a place where memories from childhood were first formed. For me, it was the Cape. We had a house on the beach, on the shores of Buzzards Bay, on a flounder-shaped island called Scraggy Neck, connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Summers were idyllic…the beach, sailing, lobsters, clamming for steamers and fishing off the jetty. I came across this cottage recently, and while it’s down the Cape considerably from my childhood summer place, it reminded me of the those utopic summers. “Utopia” 48 x 48
Often the old architecture of New England and the Northeast (or any rural area) is shrouded by wild vegetation–weeds, brambles and vines– that create a beautiful contrast between the geometry of a structure, and the unpredictable, organic shape of overgrowth. This contrast became the focus of this latest piece…”Pasture” 20 x 24
It’s that time of year…mid August…where the Cape summer slowly reveals hints of fall. Cooler mornings and evenings start and finish otherwise hot, summery days. At the height of the season, mid-day, when the sun is high and colors are brightly illuminated, there’s no better time of year, on the Cape (or anywhere). Here’s a piece commemorating that brief period at the peak of the summer season…”High Summer” 40 x 30
On a recent drive through Bell’s Neck preservation in Harwich–a beautiful drive down a dirt road that extends off Rt 28, into marshlands and woods–I came across an old, seemingly abandoned house and barn. The property is classic old Cape Cod architecture…and while the house was impressive, and worthy of becoming a painting…it was the old barn with the abstract shadows from the adjacent trees that caught my eye. “Summer Light” 48 x 48
I had completed a piece a few months ago…wasn’t sure I liked a significant part of it…a road, specifically, that dominated the right hand side of the composition. The subject was confusing…was it the structure? or the road? It went to a gallery, came back, and sat in the studio for a couple weeks until I just got tired of looking at it and debating about the road. So, out went the road…and the entire composition changed. Reworking a piece is sometimes necessary to uncover what should have been painted in the first place. “Highbank Farm” 48 x 36
Postcards in and “Peter Batchelder: Summer Places” show coming up fast! Reception Saturday July 20, 6-8 pm for new work at Left Bank Gallery on Commercial St in Wellfleet. Hope to see you there!
Took a drive last fall to the bayside “elbow” of the Cape, to Paines Creek Beach in Brewster, where the marshes that prevail in that area extend out from land and connect to the bay. This scene caught my eye, partly for the simplicity, but also for the mystery of the jeep road that seemed to extend out to the middle of the marsh, and then suddenly stop.
I was recently driving down 6A, on the way back from Wellfleet to Dennisport, and caught a glimpse of an expanse of marsh and salt ponds in the distance. On the very distant shore of the farthest pond were two old boathouses, side-by-side, perched on the water’s edge. I suspect these are on some remote piece of private property and unreachable, but from the breakdown lane, I was able to grab a quick, grainy reference shot. After some refinement through a quick pencil sketch, a composition was completed and ready to paint. “Salt Pond Bay” 20 x 20.
I’ve been to California only once, a short visit to the Sonoma and Napa regions. Aside from the obvious beauty of this part of the country, the hills and valleys of wine country seemed to have a soft, warm, haziness that cast the scenery in a golden light. Many years later, I found a reference to a scene from this area, and attempted to capture the light I remembered. “Golden Light” 36 x 36.
The next town over from ours, Mont Vernon, sits at the top of a hill, accessed via Route 13, which ascends steeply straight up for about a mile from the valley below. On the way up, several farms line either side of the road, with this one tucked into one of the foothills. On a recent trip back from Lake Sunapee, the back-road route I take brings me down the hill from town, and right past this farm, which on that day, was a blast of Spring green. Taking some liberty with color and composition (there was another outbuilding in the foreground, which I chose to edit out), the result…”Spring Hill” 48 x 48.
