Harper’s Farm & Garden is a fourth generation family farm owned and operated by David Harper. The farm was originally located in Greenwich, MA and relocated to Lancaster, MA in 1903 by the great grandfather William Harper. This farm stand located on rte 117 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. The farm is displaying pumpkins and some late mums on the exterior late in the fall season. Lamy fountain pen with Noodler’s black ink in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Today we visited the Truro Public Library for an Art opening sponsored by our favorite art gallery – The Addison Gallery in Orleans, Massachusetts. The opening was for “In Hopper’s Town” – Celebrating the work of contemporary artists inspired by Edward Hopper and Truro, the town he chose to build his home and to paint for decades. It was a fantastic event with wonderful artists and their works. Amazing talent. This is sketch of the library entrance as dusk was falling. I like the richness of the foreground building with the layers of colors. The scan washed out some of the depth overall, but I should have darkened the entire building more. Faber-Castell Pitt Art pens with Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A view of some of the local shops in the quaint village of Orleans, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. I was sitting in the parking lot of Savvy on Main (part of the foreground sign) sketching the shops across Main Street. Lamy Safari fountain pen with Noodler’s ink and Pelikan watercolors in a 9″ x 12″ Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook.
This s a quick sketch of the Sea Girt Bathing Pavilion across the street from the lighthouse. The pavilion is closed for the season. This area is on the famous Jersey Shore with a wide sandy beach running for miles and miles. Prismacolor Art Pens with Pelikan watercolors in a 9″ x 12″ Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Another trip to New Jersey for business. Sea Girt Lighthouse in Sea Girt, New Jersey, flashed its first light December 10, 1896. The beacon, which could be seen 15 miles at sea, guided countless mariners in their journeys and contributed to the state’s economic growth and helped make sailing through local waters safer. The lighthouse was built to illuminate a blind spot midway in the 38½-mile stretch between Navesink Lighthouse (Twin Lights) to the north and Barnegat Lighthouse to the south. It also served as a landmark for nearby Sea Girt Inlet and Wreck Pond. The red brick structure with a tower rising 44 feet was the last live-in lighthouse built on the Atlantic Coast. A live-in lighthouse has the tower integrated into the living quarters. Sea Girt was equipped with a fourth order Fresnel lens, which was 30 inches high. The multi-sided beehive-shape lens had a bulls-eye prism like a big magnifying glass in the middle of each side. Lamy Fountain Pen with Noodler’s black ink and Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Today I had a couple of hours of time between meetings in New Jersey. I headed to the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey. It is a pretty nice zoo, although growing up in Southern California I compare everything to the San Diego Zoo which is on of the best in the world. It was mid-day so many of the animals were hiding pretty well. I took some photos of the Peacock, Red Tailed Hawk and Bald Eagles. I am pretty happy with these sketches except the beak on one of the eagles make it look more like a parrot. Whenever you think of a peacock, you always think of the beautiful tail feathers, although the coloration of the head and body of the birds is amazing. Lamy fountain pen with Noodler’s Black ink with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, Massachusetts, is a beautiful, large beach close to the center of the picturesque town of Chatham. It is located across the street from a small Coast Guard Station and the Chatham Light lighthouse. This area was not much of a beach until the Great Barrier Beach broke due to pounding storm swells and hurricanes. The Chatham Break, as it is called, is a growing ocean channel between Nauset Beach and Monomoy Island. This new channel has shifted a significant amount of sand from the north to the south and created this magnificent beach. Nauset Beach protects it from heavy swells, but you can watch the waves crest about 200 yards away at the break. Beach grass, small dunes, and million-dollar homes surround the vast sand beach. Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A beautiful drive on Cape Cod and we came across a great farm stand. The forty-acre farm is run by Howard Crowell his son Paul, and grandson Jason. In 2016, we will be celebrating their one-hundredth year of providing fresh produce and other local products to our community. It is one of the only farms on Cape Cod to grow apples (15 unique varieties!), pears, peaches, and sweet corn, locally known as “Crow Farm Corn.” In 1916, David and Lincoln Crowell purchased forty acres of farmland and began a family tradition that has continued into the next century. The current farm stand opened on Route 6A in 1960. Lamy Safari fountain pen with Noodler’s black ink and Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Another road trip to New Jersey for work and another visit to Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. I borrowed a cart this time and had a different view from the driving range. It is a beautiful structure with real slate roofs, stone, brick and some half-timber construction. Pilot Namiki Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s black ink and Pelikan watercolors.
A beautiful early fall day on Cape Cod. While Lisa was walking along Falmouth Heights, I sat on the seawall and enjoyed the view of the entrance to Falmouth Harbor. The sun was very bright and created a silhouette of the jetties that form the mouth of the harbor entry. Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook.
A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY 