Ars Longa Vita Brevis

Yarmouth Boat Yard

I spent the holidays in Maine with family. We arrived in time for the big Christmas storm that battered the Northeast and we returned in early January to heavy rains in California. While in Maine I did a little painting. The work shown above was inspired by some of my walks.

The scene is the Yarmouth Boat Yard at the time of the winter solstice in December. The view is from the town landing on the opposite shore of the Royal River estuary. The day I did this was overcast and cold but with a bright glare.

I like this spot because it so central to the history of the town. On both sides of these facing shores, just 150 years ago, were busy shipyards. From them Yarmouth builders launched some 300 sailing ships between 1790 and 1890. On its way here the Royal River tumbles over four waterfalls as it passes through the Upper and Lower villages. For 250 years those falls powered almost 60 mills in Yarmouth.

On this day the river and tidal flats are partially frozen over. Patches of darker, open water show in places. A scattering of small seabirds bobs mid-river. A few larger ones wheel above. Small black dots, smaller black dots.

Even the Color Has Flown

A lone pickup truck tends the maintenance building at the boat yard. Few people are about, none outside. Docks and floats lie in indistinct piles by the shore. Boats line the lot, hauled out, propped in formation and cocooned in shrink wrap. The masts of sailboats pierce their plastic strait-jackets like syringes. Wire stays snap, shudder and twang in the wind. The boat ramp is a bridge to nowhere.

My initial thought in painting this scene was simply to capture the stark contrast with the place I know in summer. The boats are up. The people are gone. Even the color has flown. But as often happens, the painting took over. I realized as I worked that the real object would be to capture what I felt that early winter morning, a feeling many of us experience as the days get short and the light grows dim.

So this turned out to be not only a painting of a boatyard but an expression of emotion.

It is a picture of melancholy.

*****

This painting is framed to 16" x 18" in pickled ash with a warm white mat and Optium anti-reflective, anti-UV glazing. The image area is about 11" x 13".  $1,300.

*****

At the Gallery

I currently have five works on exhibit at the Thos. Moser Gallery and showroom in Freeport, ME. The most recent is a painting of the Town Landing in Falmouth. An earlier, different view of that spot, in the town where I grew up, sold through the gallery two years ago. Another piece at the Moser showroom is a small piece called Shorecaster. This grew out of my interest in painting the Wyman Power Station on Cousins Island. The power station is the most conspicuous, if least lovely, landmark in Casco Bay and not often painted. While offline most of the time, the oil-fired power plant provides spare capacity when needed to the New England grid, most recently during our great Christmas storm. I thought it deserved a nod.

Prints

An economical way to get into art collecting is through prints. I have fine art prints available at two sites: www.geogalleries.com/ddpearcefineart and https://www.etsy.com/shop/DDPearceFineArt. At the geogalleries site, there is a wider selection, including options for framed pieces, but shipping is extra. Etsy is a newer site and has fewer prints on offer, but shipping is free. I will be adding to both in the coming year.