Plein Air Fundy Paintout - Day 5

This is the last day for the Plein Air Painters of the Bay of Fundy paintout. However, because I intend to use today for getting organized for the show, yesterday I painted what's most likely my final one. I went out to the Head Harbour Light with the intention of not painting the lighthouse. There's a wonderful herring weir visible from the lighthouse parking area, and the fishermen were repairing it and getting it ready for the herring run.

"Fixing the Weir," 9x12, oil

To me, this is an interesting painting because of the strong diagonals created by the weir, the boat and the waves. In order to balance this diagonal, I had to add some 'horizontal stabilizers' to the water - the horizontal brush strokes near the top, just behind the weir. The opposing diagonals created by the three loose stakes, just behind the boat, help, too.

By the way, when you're painting in a working harbour, it's important to lay your initial sketch in quickly. The boat, unattended and tied up to the weir by its bow, changed its position by 90 degrees moments after I made my initial sketch! It continued to rotate throughout my two-hour painting period.

(Not sure what a weir is? Check out this link and then this one.)

Tomorrow, Sunday, is the big day. Artists drop off work between 8-10, and we hang between 10-12. The Artists' Reception is from 2-4. Hopefully, it'll also be a big sale day!