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| Heavy Weather, underpainting, by Carol L. Douglas |
For this painting, I am trying to envision a sailboat being hit broadside by a large wave, with the question of whether it will capsize or right itself left unanswered.
My own sailing has been seriously curtailed for decades. That means that if I have questions about what a boat might do under sail, I have to consult an expert. My go-to guy is my cousin Antony. Not only does he get to sail in the southern Indian Ocean, but he’s in a totally different time zone, so hopefully he will answer my questions while I sleep.
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The Gulf Stream, 1899, by Winslow Homer.
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This morning I was looking for photos of boats in heavy weather. I came across the following, by a blogger who identifies himself only as Joe:
Sometimes the sea can be a very scary place.
A very, very scary place.
Before you undertake a voyage to adventure, make sure you are well trained, have some real sailing experience, and know how to survive if things go wrong. Believe me things can go wrong. Thank God I have my Navy training.
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| Fishermen at Sea, 1796, J.M.W. Turner |
Don’t assume that the guy sitting in his flight suit on the ready alert is going to come and rescue you. You might be out of range.
For God’s sake, learn how to read the weather!
For home work, I made my sailing students keep a notebook chronicling the daily weather. It had to have the forecast from the newspaper with their own observations.
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The Fog Warning, 1885 by Winslow Homer
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That might be a great idea for my painting students, too.
Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2015 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.