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| "This Storm Too Shall Pass" by dkeil 27x34 acrylic on canvas over masonite - plein air 2011 |
I did this plein air painting at a yacht club on the Hudson
River in upstate NY.
I loved the lines on the mast of this older sailboat.
A sailor spends most of their time thinking about wind
direction, windspeed, heading, and current. I've always loved sailing
and wish my circumstances in life provided more opportunity to shout "Gybe Ho!"
Something about capturing the power of the wind in full sails and
containing it, redirecting it, transferring it to an entire vessel- is
so exciting; when the boat leans precariously on its side, sails
tightened; full speed ahead! A sailor spends a awful lot of time looking
up at the top of his
mast, checking the wind direction, so that was, in part, the motivation
for the composition. Symbolism in the rest of the composition exists
but I don't feel like going into all that right now. I thought about
how to construct this piece for quite a while, circumstances presented
themselves favorably at the Shattemuc Yacht Club this summer to make it
happen. This is a plein air painting; I painted it out on a dock in the July sun. It was great! I love watching how the marina changes as the tide comes in and goes out. The biggest challenge I faced with this piece was the constant movement of the dock underneath me as I painted. The line work on the rigging was an exercise in patience, as I waited for calm moments in order to continue.
Someday I'm going to sail around the world. A
few people actually believe me on this one- they also happen to be part
of my crew. I'm not in a rush, really. It's going to have to wait until
the storm passes. There's too much piracy and danger at this time; but
when the time is right, I'm going! It's going to be a fantastic adventure, one I've been thinking of since I was a boy. I used to love reading adventure stories; and one of the best was an article published in the October 1969 edition of National Geographic. It was the story of 16 year old Robin Lee Grahm, and it
was his adventure to sail around the globe in his small boat named "The
Dove." By "small"... I mean small. The Dove was a 24 ft. fiberglass
sloop. The kid was pretty much nuts. It was one of my favorite stories
as a teenager- but I only had half of the story! The National Geographic
article was a "too-be-continued" article. I always wondered if he made
it.
Well, last year on my cross-country art trip, I
happened to find myself in some little country town around the
Texas/Oklahomah/Kansas area. I can't remember the town's name, but it was a good stop. I visited a number of little downtown
antique stores with a mission- find cool antique tools. I was looking for some interesting old handtools for a series
of paintings I'm working on. I found a couple wrenches; but I also struck "gold!" I noticed a
huge stack of National Geographics organized by year. I thought, "Hey,
maybe they have the rest of that story about the kid who sailed around
the world..."
So I looked in the 1968,1969 section- and
there it was!
April 1969, the continued story- featured right on the
cover! The nice old lady sold me the magazine for a dollar or two. Finally, fifteen years later, the adventure completed! It was
great. Robin made it to the South Pacific, met a pretty girl, they fell in
love, she followed him from port to port (his challenge was to sail
solo), they got MARRIED in South Africa, etc.etc. I couldn't believe it-
a great real-life adventure with a happy ending! He sailed all the way
around the world by himself and lived to tell the tale.
Robin wrote a book about his adventure called "The Dove" and
Hollywood produced a movie by the same title in the 70's. I bought the
book on Amazon and enjoyed it; it was light adventure reading- a feel-good
book. There are a few other books that I've enjoyed on the topic- the
famous "Kon-Tiki" by Thor Heyerdahl (absolutely THE BEST- google it!!)
and "Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea" by Steven Callahan.
"Kon-Tiki" is probably my all-time favorite adventure. A team of
Norwegians set out to prove that a raft constructed of balsa tree logs
can sail across the great Pacific Ocean. Their expedition took place in
the late 1940's. A classic Academy Award-winning black and white
documentary came of the adventure as well as the book. Both are
excellent.
Sailing around the world is obviously a
huge undertaking, one that I'm certainly unprepared for at this point.
But as the saying goes- "you have to have goals to reach them." I know
that in due time, it's a goal I will reach. Solo isn't the plan either;
I'll have a great crew of friends to share the adventures with!
Do you like the painting? Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Then you would go from cool reader-person to super-cool commenter-person!
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