"Wauwinet" in the Works

I have been working on the painting  "Wauwinet Road", which is a painting right where we go every summer for a brief respite these days with our son and family. I have fallen in love with this windswept, fairly unpopulated part of Nantucket at the Head of the Harbor, and it has been a real muse for me these last few years. The view from the front of the shingled old summer beach cottage is of this bay, and from the back deck, of the ocean. Pure paradise.

 But I really I keep fighting with myself to keep to my current vision and keep the work, this painting for example, simple. A comparison of the first image of the painting  from a previous posting is atop of one as it stands now, a few days later..

It probably does not look much different to you, and of course the camera lighting is different each time I snap a photo, more accurate in the first image I would say, brighter,as it really is. But there are differences --  I have made an effort to use values to create more of a focus, especially brightening up some of the color blocks; I have softened the greenery, often by graffitti, the knife, to make it simpler and less fussy; and added the hint of houses upper right about where "Squantum House," OUR house (!! we wish!!) is. I also added some slashes of glimmering light in the spit of land in distance, on the bay beach sand, and the road (which is just dirt and sand),and  some of the geenery.  I think will call it finished or else I may fuss it up, and move on to the next piece.


Here is my family plus daughter-in-law's brother, wife and baby, three summers ago from the front deck overlooking the bay in the painting.

Back: Son-in-law Bob and MRT's daughter Francesca, Jen's brother MRT and wife Robin and baby Nicky, daughter-in-law Jen with our granddaughter Lily, daughter Rebecca with our grandson Nate, son Mike; front row, grandson Aidan and granddaughter Eloise. Head of the Harbor in the background!