My Romance With The White Skiff

White Dinghy Bow 5"x7" oil on gessoboard

I've painted this boat at least six times. And taken many pictures of it, as it turned on it's mooring in Casco Bay. It was built by a local lobsterman to take him to and from his lobster boat, the Foxy Lady. It's a classic skiff, one of the more common type of boat used by lobstermen. Skiffs have a flat bottom, pointed bow and flat stern. They can travel in shallow water, which makes them easy to take ashore. They are a subset of dinghies, whose name comes from their use rather than their shape.

Waiting for the Lobsterman 6"x6" oil on canvas panel

Above is my first painting of the white skiff, from about six years ago. This is the only painting where I included the engine, which was fun to paint, with it's chunky shape and tiller. I also love the red water line on this boat, very cheerful. And I was drawn to the shadow side being just a little darker then the water.

Dinghy in Blue 6"x6" oil on canvas panel

Above, I decided to go a little crazy with color. That's one of the great things about painting. As long as you get the values right (how dark or light a shape is), you can use any color you want for that shape. I often work from a black and white photo to do this. In this case, the canvas was toned bright pink, some of which shows through both the water and the reflection. I couldn't resist painting the boat yellow, and setting it off with a bright violet blue.

White Dinghy Stern  5"x7" oil on gessobord

I think this is the most recent painting of my favorite skiff, it's from last summer. Maybe it's time to paint her again. Every painting of this boat I've created has been sold. So either she's a beauty, or my attraction to her makes me paint at my best. She features in two of my note card sets, available here on my website.