Dark Harbour Dory print

I just completed a painting of a dory in Dark Harbour at sunset

The dory depicted in this painting is dated before outboard motors, when the stern board was notched for single-oar sculling, moving the oar back and forth across the stern, while changing the angle of the blade to give foreward thrust.

I will have prints of this available at Market tomorrow and hope to have some in stores soon too.

River Steamer "Majestic"

Excursions along the Saint John River were popular at this time of year a hundred years ago. And one of the steamers providing the river cruise was the popular "Majestic".

The "Majestic" was built in Toronto in 1899, and ran up an down the Saint John River from 1902 until she was retired in 1942, making this one of the last steamboats in regular service on the river. She was the first steel hull steamer to ply the Saint John.

A coal fired steam engine ppowered her screw propeller to give this steamer great dependability on her service about the Saint John River system

Mention the "Majestic" and many of our more elderly Saint Johners will still remember her with the fondness of a pleasant nostalgia

Lumpfish

This is the time of year when a lumpfish turns his mind to thoughts of family.  He not only turns his mind, but turns his skin colour too.

For most of the year, a lumpfish is blue grey in colour, but during the breeding season, the male turns orange.  Not only that, but the male guards the eggs too.

When I was diving, I always enjoyed running into these cute little fellows, so when the Huntsman Aquarium asked me to do a painting of sea life, I chose a lumpfish to paint.

They are not particularly streamlined, nor do they have big fins and powerful swimming muscles.  In fact, quite often when the tide is running hard, they simply cannot swim against it.  Quite often around the herring weirs, we would see lumpfish pressed against the twine by the tide, unable to swim against the current.

"Seal Cove Crick, 1968"

Last week my cousin Marg showed me a painting I had done for her in 1968.  I had forgotten about it, but apparently I had visited with her and her family in Halifax, and in appreciation, I painted them this painting of "Seal Cove Crick".  And no, that's not a spelling mistake; in Seal Cove, it's not "The Creek", it's "The Crick".

Seal Cove, near the southern end of Grand Manan, was a busy little harbour in the 1960's; a lot going on there.  Depicted in the painting, we have a purse seiner tied up at the General Marine boat repair shop, getting some repair work done.

Seal Cove also had its own little sardine cannery.  Tied up to it is a sardine carrier, heavily laden with sardines, ready to unload to provide another day's packing for the workers there.

Marg loaned me the painting to make prints from it so that others could enjoy the memories of the busy little harbour that was "Seal Cove Crick"

And I will have framed prints of "Seal Cove Crick, 1968" at the market too.

"Grand Manan V"

With the ferry "Grand Manan V" resuming summer duties starting tomorrow, this seems like a good time to introduce my painting of this ferry just completed recently

Every ship has some special characteristics that you associate only with that ship.  For me, the most striking feature of the "Grand Manan V" is how little fuss she makes powering through the water.  If you ever watch her sail by, she slides throught the water making hardly any wake at all.  The designers at Knud E. Hansen sure did a great jobs with the hull lines under water to get the hull to part the water so effortlessly.  Accordingly, I painted the ship in very calm water, trying to convey that very smooth and minimal wake.

When she was designed in Denmark and built in the Netherlands and delivered to commence service to Grand Manan in August, 1990, the designers provided an attractive rendering on the funnel of the provincial galleon logo on blue waves, that was copied on the new "Grand Manan Adventure".

And, of course, to give it a universally understood Grand Manan context, I have depicted the ferry sliding smoothly past Swallowtail Light.

I will have prints of this painting at markets this summer, if anyone is interested in seeing them, or perhaps purchasing one as a gift for someone who might have fond memories of the 20+ years this ship has given us.

Merganser and Ducklings

This is the time of year we find mother ducks showing their little ducklings how to forage for food in the tidal shallows of our Fundy coves. 

Here is a print of my painting of a Merganser with her little ducklings.

The female Common Merganser looks like she is having a "bad hair day", with the tuft on the back of her head.

What a steep learning curve for the tiny ducklings to try to learn to feed and fend for themselves in so short a time.

Yellowlegs

Some yellowlegs arrived in Our Cove a few days ago, as they do every spring.  This year they seem to be running a few days late.  We make a note when they arrive each year, and it usually ranges from the last few days in April to the first few days in May.  We enjoy their distinctive call as they scurry about, foraging along the intertidal shore.

So it seems like a good time to feature my "Yellowlegs" print in the shop:

This fellow is depicted standing on a rock in the early mornig sun, with the tide up, waiting for it to ebb and expose the seaweed which hosts all sorts of interesting things a shorebird loves to eat.

The rocks present interesting lighting in sun and shade:

Of course, that makes for interesting reflections to paint in the water:

The early morning sun on the water teases the colour palate choices, which makes for fun in painting:

Our yellowlegs will soon be heading further north for the summer, but we look forward to seeing them in late August on their southerly migration.