In Search of Color – Finding It on Monhegan Island
LOCATION / ILLUSTRATION / PHOTOGRAPHY / PAINTING / COLOR / LIGHT
FYI – January 1st is the day to book a rental house / cottage on Monhegan Island – check out a few options here. There are also hotel options here and here. I originally posted this in February 2010 – too late for booking… This time, plenty of warning, no?
What do Skagen, Cape Cod and Monhegan have in common with NYC’s Union Square you ask…?
In Denmark, the village of Skagen is known for its extraordinary quality of light, a feature of the northernmost tip of the Jutland peninsula that has attracted artists for over a century. The works of the Skagen school of painters, of whom Michael and Anna Ancher, Holger Drachmann and P. S. Krøyer are most well-known, are collected at the Skagens Museum, and are celebration of the area’s sun-amped vistas and vibrant colors.
My attempt at gouache painting - Monhegan Island
On Cape Cod, Mass., Edward Hopper found his place of inspiration at Truro, the sandy and rolling stretch between Wellfleet and Provincetown. Captivated by its views of the sea, salt air and brilliant light, he returned and painted there for forty summers until his death in 1967.
The ocean reflected light of the island of Monhegan, Maine has also been a magnet for artists, going back to Eric Hudson in 1897 and later followed by Rockwell Kent, George Bellows and Jamie Wyeth. Situated eight miles from the mid-state coastal town of Port Clyde, and accessible only by ferry, the island continues to be a place of exceptional beauty and tranquility, drawing a loyal following of would-be-Wyeths and designers each summer.
From my office in New York City, I am fortunate to have a great view overlooking Union Square Park. For the last few years, while the northern end of the park was undergoing reconstruction, the green market was relocated directly below me and I was treated to the sea of colors that was the vivid fruits, vegetables and flowers carted in from upstate New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut farms. Unfortunately for me, the market has now returned to its original location, and the view, while still enviably leafy by New York standards, isn’t what it used to be.
Which brings me back to finding inspiration. For the last several summers, I’ve traveled to Monhegan and spent time looking, sketching, photographing and painting. This isn’t because I like twee paintings of lobster cages and lighthouses, but because I invariably come across shades and patterns that I’ve never noticed before. Not being surrounded by blues and greens in Manhattan, and newly deprived of the oranges, reds, yellows and purples from the market, I find and record these colors wherever I can.
View from Burnt Head - Monhegan Island
Red House - Monhegan Island
Lighthouse - Monhegan Island
It’s usually in January that I realize how deprived I am of light and color in the city, but by that time, most of the rental cottages on Monhegan have already been re-booked by regulars, leaving only odd weeks in lesser properties for newcomers and latecomers.
For this year, I have my eye on a trip to India, but a walk to the other side of Union Square Park may have to do.
Trackbacks