This painting of our house is inspired by a watercolor workshop I attended in California in the fall by Carolyn Lord. It was a great workshop, beautiful location and fantastic instructor. Holbein and Daniel Smith watercolors on 300# Fabriano cold press watercolor paper.
Built in 1880, Stage Harbor Lighthouse is Cape Cod’s youngest lighthouses. It was built at the entrance to Stage Harbor to help the Chatham Light since Chatham is one of the foggiest points on the East Coast. An automated light on a separate tower was built in 1933 and the Stage Harbor Lighthouse was decommissioned. The light at the top of the tower, the glass enclosure and the roof over it (called the lantern room) was removed and the keeper’s house and remaining tower was sold. The lighthouse is best viewed from Harding’s Beach. Holbein and Daniel Smith watercolors on Fabriano 300# cold press watercolor pater. 10 1/2″ x 13 1/2″.
We were in San Francisco during Fleet Week and Columbus Day Holiday. The city hosts a 2 day air show featuring the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s precision air team. Growing up, my dad and I would go to a couple of air shows a year and I have always loved seeing the Blue Angels. This was my first experience in a city. The sound reverberating off of the buildings was amazing and you could not tell what direction the planes were. This was just practice for the weekend show. Still really cool seeing the planes over the city and flying low over the bay. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Bulletproof black ink and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Plein Air watercolor and ink sketch of the Carmel Mission. The Carmel Mission is one of the missions established by Father Junipero Serra in 1770. The main structure dates from 1797. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Bulletproof black ink and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Chatham Railroad Station The historic Chatham Railroad Station is located on Depot Road in Chatham, Massachusetts which houses a railroad museum. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Bulletproof black ink in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
The annual Flattest Century in the East was today. The bike ride starts at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and has distances of 30,54,62 and 100 miles. It is a very well organized ride with around 2,000 riders. I only rode the 30 miles this year due to knee issues. The architecture at the campus is classified as brutalism. The buildings and master plan were created by Paul Rudolph, who was sometimes referred to as the worst architect in America. The buildings are all formed concrete with no warmth or human scale. Faber Castell Pitt Art pens in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
On the site of the historic Falk’s Market, Julie and Jeff Kinney (Writer of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid) have created a cornerstone in downtown Plainville with an indie bookstore, a café and an event space. An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café is a beautiful new community gathering place where you can meet amazing authors, enjoy breakfast or lunch, or relax with your new book and a beer (or glass of wine). Previously owned by Merrill Falk – a beloved Yankee general store owner – the market served as a nerve center for the town. Taking care to honor the building’s history, we’ve made it our mission to rejuvenate this sense of community. Falk’s Market, which was originally constructed across the street, was built in the mid-1800’s and it housed numerous businesses since its inception. Part of our unlikely story is our evolution from general store to pharmacy to tearoom to restaurant…back to general store and now into bookstore and café. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Bulletproof black ink in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
This great little building was a Carriage House for Henry B. Metcalf in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. In 1867, Metcaff helped to form the Boston Button Company as the firm’s senior partner. In 1886 he was elected to a seat in the Rhode Island state Senate, but his ardent stand for prohibition led the liquor industry to oppose his re-election, and he was defeated after only one term in office. Despite the defeat, Metcalf was a leader in pushing for a constitutional amendment to ban the sale of liquor in Rhode Island. To this end he also served as the president of the Rhode Island Temperence Union. In 1893, Metcalf was the Prohibition Party’s candidate for Governor of Rhode Island, winning some 7% of the total vote. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Bulletproof black ink in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
The Bristol County Superior Courthouse was designed by architect Frank Irving Cooper from nearby Bridgewater and built in 1894 in the Romanesque-style. The stone structure contains a 170-foot tall central tower capped with a copper dome. The building’s large hip roof is also entirely clad in copper. The dome was originally topped with a large copper flame, which was taken down in the recent past for fear that it may fall. The superior courthouse is the fourth courthouse to be located on or near this site since 1747, when Taunton became the shire town (country seat) for Bristol County, Massachusetts after Bristol was split off from the Bay State and became part of Rhode Island. Stylist marker with Faber Castell Pitt pens in a Stillman and Birn Sketchbook.
A wonderful day spent on Cape Cod including visiting a couple of galleries of artists that we like. This is a view from Commercial Street in Provincetown on Cape Cod looking towards a church on the hill overlooking town. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Bulletproof black ink in a Stillman and Birn Beta sketchbook.
A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY 