Image of the Week: Portrait of a Seagull
© Durga Yael Bernhard
This humble watercolor painting is only about ten inches high, and was done while sitting on my favorite boulder beach along the rocky shore of Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Here is where I was taken as a child, and where I climbed on these very boulders that have scarcely changed in over half a century. At high tide, the waves fill the gaps between the rocks, leaving a perfect perch for seabirds above the rushing water. This seagull held still just long enough for me to sketch his outline. Harder to capture were the fleeting plumes of spray from the breaking waves.
Watercolor lends itself to working quickly and simply, with loose marks that suggest motion. A few dark lines were enough to articulate seaweed clinging to the rocks. A few green blobs suggest the vegetation on the island. Really, it's just a color sketch. This is an art unto itself, cultivated by watercolorists as a spontaneous interaction with a moment. To a watercolorist, less is more; the painter must evoke, not control. This is definitely not my primary path as an artist, but it's refreshing to dabble in it from time to time.
In the distance, Thatcher's Island sports two lighthouses – deceptively small in this view, but quite tall when seen up close. A neutral sort of light prevailed over the scene, creating a great opportunity to set up a relationship between the periwinkle water and pinkish sky. Like ocean and air, the two colors are separate but related. A blot of a paper towel on the wet wash of color served well to suggest the milky sky so typical of Cape Ann. The afternoon light was just beginning to fade, and the sea was calm. I felt a certain kinship with this bird who shared the tranquility of the moment – content, like me, to sit on the rocks that remain so patient, so still amidst so much ceaseless motion.
Well wishes to all my readers in the week ahead.
D Yael Bernhard