This is a sketch from a photo that I snapped last weekend in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The location is the small canal that connects Great Harbor to Eel Pond. The Eel Pond Draw Bridge is used to allow Water Street to cross the canal and is located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
The drawbridge was rebuilt during the winter of 2008-2009. I chose to make a tonal study of this sketch. Faber-Castel Pit Art pens in Black and shades of Grey in a 9 x 12 Alpha Series Stillman and Birn Sketchbook.
We had an impromptu dinner date tonight with our best friends Keith and Katherine to celebrate her birthday. They had spent the day on Martha’s Vineyard and we met at the Quahog Republic in the hamlet of Onset, Massachusetts. It is a great little casual restaurant across the street from the water in Onset. A quick ink line drawing in my Alpha Series Stillman and Birn.
While cleaning and preparing the fountain in our yard for this season, I noticed a Spotted Salamander. I have never seen one of these before and it was about 6″ long. They are stout, like most mole salamanders, and have wide snouts. The spotted salamander’s main color is black with two uneven rows of yellowish-orange spots run from the top of the head (near the eyes) to the tip of the tail. The spotted salamander usually makes its home in hardwood forest areas with vernal pools, which are necessary for breeding. Spotted salamanders are fossorial, meaning they spend most of their time underground. Holbein watercolors in a 5″ x 9″ Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook.
Real Bodies store in Falmouth, Massachusetts specializes in women’s clothing and accessories in beautiful Batik fabrics from Bali. This was sketched on location with watercolor added later in the studio/ Faber-Castell Pitt Art pens with watercolors and accents with a white gel pen in a Stillman and Birn 9 x 12 Alpha Sketchbook.
This Buckboard was located in front of a Elliot’s Farm Stand in Lakeville, MA. A Buckboard is an open, four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with seating that is attached to a plank stretching between the front and rear axles. Buckboards were typically used in rural areas from the 18th century until the early 20th century. An interesting subject but also very difficult to sketch and paint. This particular one has signs on the sides from Betty’s Neck Company, which is the original name of a Cranberry growing company founded by my wife’s relatives. Faber- Castell Pitt Art pens with Watercolor in a Stillman and Birn Alpha Sketchbook.
Traveling back from New Jersey today, I stopped in Milford Connecticut on a recommendation that there was some great architecture in town. This is a sketch of the North Coping Tower. Milford honors its founders and Native Americans with the 1889 bridge on the site of the city’s first mill. The Memorial Bridge, across the Wepawaug River along today’s New Haven Avenue, was built as part of Milford’s 250th anniversary celebration. The bridge features a tower and 29 stones inscribed with the names of local settlers, as well as an eclectic collection of local artifacts. Faber-Castell Pitt pens with a combination of watercolors in a Stillman and Birn Alpha Series sketchbook.
Another design project through the office at Baltusrol Golf Club in Summit, New Jersey. This is one of the premier country clubs in the United States that we have been renovating for years. This is the Golf Pro Shop building in the Tudor Revival Style. Faber-Castell Pitt pens, Pelikan watercolors and Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Another site visit to one of my projects at Glen Ridge Country Club in New Jersey. This building will be replaced with a new Golf-Tennis Building. Faber-Castell Pitt pens and Pelican watercolors in my new Stillman and Birn Alpha Sketchbook.
Last page of my second sketchbook. The Bolton Public Library’s building was the gift of Misses Emma and Anna Whitney in honor of their father Captain Joseph Whitney. Its native stone and tile exterior, arched windows, and oak-paneled Gothic interior lead some visitors to guess that it was once a church; in fact, it has always been a library. The building was formally dedicated in 1904. Faber-Castell Pitt Pens in an Alpha Series Stillman and Birn Sketchbook.
This bucolic hay farm is located on Grove Street in Middleboro, MA. The farm is beautiful with the rolling fields, tree lines and large rolled hay bails. I tried to simplify the drawing into simple shapes of color. Faber-Castell Pit Pen, Utrecht and Holbein Watercolors in an Alpha Series Stillman and Birn Sketchbook. Photo courtesy of Lisa Jacques.
A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY 