Waterfront, seascape, fishing, harbor, landscape, impressionist
For as long as I can recall, I’ve had a love affair with the small harbor towns along the Great Lakes. Untouched and ungentrified waterfront communities are getting harder and harder to find. Over the years fishing ports such as Port Washington, Gills Rock, Baileys Harbor, Grand Marais, and many more have succumbed to real estate “improvements”. If I’m not painting my impression of a straight landscape I tend to seek nitty gritty and behind the scene places that are authentic to the history of a community.
I’ve had the privilege of teaching several plein air painting workshops in the quirky, touristy harbor town of Grand Marais, Minnesota. You get a feeling for the place as you drive into town and along the way see moose crossing signs! Behind the local fish shop, right on the man drag leading into town there still is a somewhat ramshackle fishing dock. This is my impression of that spot. I often use the reality of a scene to tap into the feeling of the place as it might have been years ago. The essence of a place is sometimes best summed up by it’s past.
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