Capturing Coastal Serenity in San Francisco: Resting in the Harbor

Phase 3 of… many

This oil painting was created at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. I grew up in Florida spending lots of time on the ocean, in transit or deep-sea fishing. When I stumbled upon this spot, it immediately looked to me like a well-deserved moment of peace. Ocean work is, of course, visually stunning, and provides a sense of aliveness as you’re out with the elements. But there is always wind to battle and navigation to tend to on top of — in this case — fishing lines to cast and reel in, all while working up a sweat in the hot summer sun. At the end of these types of days you experience a heavy-body fatigue, the need for a big meal with salty flavors and a sweet drink, and anticipation of rock-solid sleep, just as you would after a day-long hike, or hours of surfing, or several runs down challenging ski slopes. That’s what I saw in these boats: they had returned safely to the harbor, and were relishing their much needed moments of respite.

I built this painting from the background forward. Knowing the harbor water had a green hue, I began with a warm reddish wash of gesso. This technique of using complementary colors as an underpainting adds depth and life to the final image. I enjoyed many moments of color-mixing for this piece — like creating those rust colors that drip down the sides of the blue fishing boat, and the various shades of the old crusty anchor. You know you’ve hit on the right color when you can feel it in your gut — you want both to admire and devour it! The variety of materials in the image — metal, rock, glass, cloth, rope, water, wood — provide many areas for your eyes to explore. Lastly, the highlights — by far the most fun to paint. There are some surprises that show up better in person than in the photograph, but what a fun experience to add, literally, a dot of color (usually a bright orange or bright light yellow) in an area and see the depth and focus of the entire image transform!