On my way to an art lecture on Cape Cod and decided to head down extra early so that I could paint. Claflin Road is a offshoot of scenic Shore Road in Chatham, MA – quiet, beautiful, and no parking restrictions. The harbormaster and local walkers seemed to most use the path as their beach access. Right away I noticed some plump seals perched on their sand bar and I was tempted to quickly start a painting of them. That temptation didn’t last as the tide was rising so quickly that the seals were gone within ten minutes. A classic – and less volatile – subject caught my attention. These dinghies and kayaks were much closer than the seals, and made a serene picture under the cloudy skies. I used a generous amount of quick dry white with an ever-so-small amount of naples yellow, cadmium red and cobalt blue, to create the cloudy sky. The strokes of sky color was applied with a palette knife. The threads of color barely show up in the photo, but they are plenty noticeable in person.

About an hour had gone by when I felt raindrops. I retrieved my large patio umbrella with the broken spokes. It worked well enough to keep the easel, painting and palette from getting too wet as I finished up and packed. As I loaded the painting into my vehicle, relaxed and satisfied, I thought, “this painting is somewhat dull.” Back in the studio under full light, I changed my mind. It really captures the day, and is a product of standing in a gorgeous spot doing what I love to do – the primary goal of plein air painting!