Looking back at my
previous post I glanced at the sketchbook painting of the sailboat in Maine and
then at the finished large scale painting “Typhoon at Eight Bell” which is on the wall in my studio. I previously blogged about sketches and
finished painting have a very personal connection…well here are the convoluted links:
- The small sailboat is a Cape Dory “Typhoon” a traditional boat that is a great art subject and fun to sail. Cape Dory built the Typhoons from 1967 to 1986. Laurie and I have a Typhoon in Cape May…
- This particular Typhoon was in it’s cradle along the side of the road a few hundred yards from NC Wyeth’s home “Eight Bells” in Port Clyde Maine. Laurie, my favorite cousins Grove and Kathy (fellow sailors and artists) and I were exploring Wyeth Country last summer and came upon this picture…
- NC Wyeth (number 3 on my list of favorite artists) named his home “Eight Bells” after a very famous Winslow Homer painting. NC built a waterfront studio at “Eight Bells” looking out on the same harbor where this Typhoon sails…
- Winslow Homer is number 2 on my list. We visited Homer’s studio home in Prouts Neck, Maine during the same trip. There are a few Typhoons moored on the waterfront near Homer's studio…Andrew Wyeth (my number 1) painted in the “Eight Bells” waterfront studio…wonder if he ever saw or sketched the little Typhoon?
Anyway, back to my sketch
and finished work…looking at the quick sketch you’ll see the basic premise of
the finished painting with what could be considered goofs but the intent of the
sketch is to get the basics down quickly.
The boat doesn’t appear to sit in the cradle, the connection between the
boat and the dock makes them both appear in the same space…there’s no
perspective separation, the tires appear out of proportion, and the colors are
flat. But the sketch captures the basic
shapes, the important shadows and relations to other things in the area.
Looking at the finished
work, the boat comes forward just by hiding the end of the dock behind the
hull. Deeper shadows and better handling
of the cradle place the boat securely in the supports, the curve in the road, the trees and the aerial perspective of the far shore add depth to the picture…
The initial sketch
painting captured the moment that became the finished work in the studio…
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