Come, Take a Walk With Me-Part II

Rock Climbers
Oil on Canvas 20" X 16"

It was March 21 when I did Part I of this series. It was still winter then, so things have changed to say the least.
That blog ended at the northerly end of the beach we have a couple of blocks from here called Willard Beach. So now I start at that end of the beach on a trail that runs above it. The structure you see is a remnant of Fort Preble which was built during the Civil War to protect Portland harbor from the British, who you'll recall, sided with the Confederates. The openings for cannons are still there as are portions of gun mounts which were added later during WW II. This end of the old wall has long since crumbled, the result of the many storms that rage through here now and then. What's left is a jumble of rocks which blend with this rocky portion of the beach and provide a temptation for the intrepid and/or foolish who think they can climb their way into the old fort without going up on the trail and around as I am doing here. I must confess that I climb the rocks occasionally, too, but they can only be accessed at low tide and then you have to wait a couple of hours for them to dry off. Otherwise, they are impossibly slippery.
But even following on the trail you have to climb up a set of stairs over a long abandoned bunker where this view awaits you:

Spring Point Light from Ft. Preble Overlook
Oil on Canvas 20" X 16"

This is the first of two lighthouses that guide the mariner into Portland Harbor. It is a big metal "drum" and is the only one of the two that still functions (though ceremoniously, I suspect). It originally stood in the water, but later a long jetty was built for fishermen and visitors to the light. It is a l-o-o-ong way out and I tried to show that with the figures. I go out there often as there are nice breezes in the summer and it brings you very close to the big tankers and cruise ships that come into the harbor. In the foreground is a continuation of the old fort as seen in the first picture. I like the way it seems to zig-zag to the lighthouse. In the distance on the left is another old civil war fort called Fort Gorges, pronounced "gorgeous" for some reason. I also show some islands in Casco Bay including Little Diamond to the right rear. It helped to put in some foreground grass, I think, again for scale.
Moving on, I walk through a massive marina, an area with condos and then a tanker docking area which is used by 1000' tankers to unload oil to a pipeline that serves much of northern New England and parts of southern Canada. The marina has interested me when it is empty (see my painting "Sticking It Out"--Feb. 21, 2009)which it isn't now with literally 100s of sailboats and pleasure crafts at dockage there. I haven't gotten much inspiration out of the tanker area yet as they aren't very pretty! Some time I'll look at it all as an artist and see what I can do with these as subjects.
Now we come upon the second lighthouse which guides the final turn into the harbor.

Bug Light
Oil on Canvas 20" X 16"

It is called Bug Light, again, I don't know why, and is the focal pont of a nice park area that was developed by the town of South Portland and some wealthy benefactors out of a former industrial area. This is a great kite flying area, again with the breezes,and the light marks the beginning of the Eastern Trail which will eventually reach to Key West. This time of year I bike all of this and more and in the winter I walk about four miles of the beach and these areas every day that I can. Bug Light can be fearsome in the winter when it is zero or below with howling winds that drive you insane.
I should also tell you that most of the area I cover here was a huge ship building complex in WWII which produced something like 300 so-called Liberty Ships of which I believe there remains but one survivor. The ship business died out after the war, of course and it took a long time for this land to become "civilized." And now I feel fortunate to live in an area that provides so much interest to both the man and the artist.

Come, take a walk with me--Part I

House on Preble St.
Oil on Canvas 20X16

Fishermens' Shacks III
Oil on Canvas 20 X 16

View of Spring Point From Willard Beach
Oil on Canvas 24 X 18

Willard Beach Solitude
Oil on Canvas 20 X 16

During the winter, I take a 3 or 4 mile walk every morning. (In warm weather I bike 15 miles more or less--that's another blog, if spring ever comes). Most people have an idea of what they think Maine is like, but actually it is very diverse. Where I live, my walk takes in several different worlds--all of them interesting and stimulating. I traverse a neighborhood, a beach, a working waterfront, a college, a marina, a seaside park and a couple of lighthouses. So I invite you to join me and let's see what we see.

My neighborhood is in the Spring Point section of South Portland, on the other side of the river from Maine's largest city, Portland. It has a wide range of residents ranging from artists, to aging hippies, to fisherman, working folk, soon-to-be tycoons, retired people, college people and others undefined. It also has very diverse architecture--winterized beach houses, triple deckers built in the 40s for shipyard workers, MacMansions, large homes converted to apartments, and some oldies but goodies such as the mansard roof Victorian above. So I start my walk with a good ration of architectural eye candy, and a few "Mornin's" to passersby who must wonder where this guy is going every morning, all bundled up with sunglasses. My wife says I look like the Unibomber.
Then I head down to the beach, called Willard Beach. It's a crescent beach, probably 3/4 mile in length, but somewhat shorter when the hign tide covers a portion of it at each end. The first view is of these shacks out on a point that are painted by artists all the time. It is said they were (and are) fishermens' shacks, but they have a wonderful weathered and run down look. But it looks as if someone makes an effort to keep them standing, even as they often are battered by the northeast storms that roar through here. I've painted them several times. The one shown is from last summer. The beach is also loved by dogs whose owners congregate here in the morning while the dogs frolic in the sand. Naturally, there are people who don't like the dogs on the beach--it's a big controversy actually--but I enjoy the dogs and I'm glad their people are getting outdoors.
I usually walk on the hard sand, except when the tide is high. As you look to the north you see the Spring Point Lighthouse which marks the entrance to Portland Harbor peeking over the remnants of Ft. Preble, a Civil War military post now the home of Southern Maine Community College. This painting is from a couple of years ago when I was in a "blue period." I since have learned a lot about ocean water and skies, but a friend said she loves the colors, so I gave the painting to her.
When you get there, the view from the north end of the beach to the south normally reveals another lighthouse, Portland Headlight, but I left it out of the solitary figure picture, because I was fascinated by the particular situation of the lone man with the setting sun on his back.
I've gone halfway by now and I'll take you the rest of the way another time. Please stay with me.