Boats in Nantucket

Boats in Nantucket, 10X10 in, o/l

Available on Etsy

I visited Nantucket with my family last summer. The island is surrounded by beauty everywhere you look. These rowboats were docked in one of the alleys near the main town area.

Initial sketch from reference photograph

Design notes

The water looks green under the shadows of the little houses on the pier. A good contrast to the red boat.

I sketched the scene from my photo reference. After this, I made some compositional changes, mainly I reduced the space between the boats so there is an overlap. I simplified the background poles and logs, so the focus is on the boats. The ripples in the foreground water add a nice path for the viewer to enter the painting.