Painting What I've Missed

After an absence of 8 months, I get nostalgic about the sights and sounds of Maine.  The little village of East Boothbay consists of a couple of boatyards, a restaurant that hangs out over the water, the post office in an old gray shingled structure at the bottom of the hill, and a general store and the Methodist Church at the top of the hill.

Since it was Sunday, and the post office was closed, I could park my car in front where I had a good view of the hill leading up to the church which presides over the small hamlet.  The road crosses a reversible falls which flows in and out of Mill Pond at high and low tide.  (I think I'll save that for next Sunday!)  The sounds of the seagulls and the gushing water tugged at my heart, and I spent a happy two hours painting the familiar sight that I see every day.

Getting the perspective right was the major problem in this painting.  The horizon level was very low, about at the point where the road begins to rise.  Everything above the horizon line slants downward.

As usual I painted a light wash as the underpainting.  You can see the first especially on the road, but also realize that the trees had a first layer of yellow green which I built upon in the next glazes.

The red foundation of the old church conveniently provided the complement to all the green foliage, and helps the viewer focus on the church.  The shadows across the road keep it from getting too uniform.  I even made up a shadow at the bottom of the paper to keep the composition from running off the page.  (More on the use of shadows in compositions at a later time!)

Paint, write, sculpt what you know and love.