Weather–fabulous. Traffic–high. People–diverse and appreciative. Effort–out of all proportion to sales. Sales–zero.

But nothing can spoil two good days spent outside in great company, with interested visitors, and best of all, two new paintings. Each day I started on a blank canvas, using as reference two photographs taken on an Ogunquit trip of a month ago. That makes three Ogunquit paintings, not counting the actual plein air painting done from Marginal Way, with which I am not happy and which you will not glimpse until I am happy with it.

My first Ogunquit painting-from-photograph depicts a view from a floating pier underneath the main action. I mention it now because I’ll probably not get a better chance to make it relevant to the discussion. It’s a bit on the abstract side.

Untitled, 11×14

Saturday’s painting is of a duck motoring out into center of a body of water that lets out into the ocean (Perkins Cove). I was looking down at her from the pedestrian drawbridge that spans that outlet (inlet?), mesmerized by the beautiful effect of the shapes of the eddies and reflections. (I just hope that oil leaks from the heavy boat traffic had nothing to do with creating the beauty.) Passersby kept telling me to stop working on the duck. . . the duck was perfect. . .and finally I agreed. Two people mentioned Van Gogh, and I happily agreed to that too. Very satisfying painting.

Perkins Cove Duck, 11×14

Sunday’s subject was roofs, also as seen from that pedestrian drawbridge. Since the sunlight is coming from the South, you can tell this scene was captured just before lunch. That building with the white globes hanging near the window might be a restaurant, but that’s not where we ate. Now I am wishing we had eaten there–makes a better story.

I’m thinking of adding more utility wires after the paint has set up a little. I like wires.

Ogunquit Oceanview, 12×16

These three paintings represent three very distinct and different takes on water. I hadn’t planned it that way, but isn’t it a fun way of thinking about these three? One really shouldn’t be surprised when water figures importantly in every view of a seaside resort like Ogunquit.