Upper Town Dock

Upper Town Dock is my kinda subject. Reflections, pilings, lobster traps, rusty drums and yellow ropes. And only one surly fisherman who thought that the town dock was no place for sketchers. Despite that, this was one of my favourite locations in a fantastic week of teaching on location with Madeline Island School in Bar Harbor, Maine. We were lucky with the autumn weather too — one day of rain followed by four glorious sunny (and cold) days.

It can be chilly in Maine in October, but I appreciate that everyone in my group came prepared with layers of sweaters and jackets, hats and gloves, and also that no one complained about the cold or left early. (Maybe they read my post from September about having to buy a hat and gloves in North Norfolk!)

We talked a lot during the workshop about using limited palettes in watercolour, and that’s mostly what I used here — a blue, a yellow, a bit of burnt sienna, and then just a few dots of red at the end. More Maine sketches coming tomorrow!