w/c 11th September - More Cape Cod seashore

"Kite Surfer at Chatham Light" 11.09.06. 6pm
8" x 10", pencil and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The pastel workshop finished at 4pm each day. So, if I got my stuff packed up and stowed away reasonably quickly (which as many pastels artists will know is easier said than done!) I could get out in the late afternoon and early evening to sketch in the surrounding area.

The workshop was based in Chatham, so the first evening I went to see Chatham Light and its beach. (warning - parking is very difficult). The lighthouse was a bit too close to sketch easily - but looking out to sea I could see some people in the water. It turned out that they were kite surfing - using the kite as their sail and periodically taking off about 20-30 feet in the air. I'd never seen kite surfing before but it looked far more exciting that traditional surfing or even kite flying - even if the kite surfer I watched only managed to land and continue surfing in about 1 in 3 take-offs. The bit where he took off though was absolutely spectacular. I even managed to get a photo of a kite surfer in mid air which I was pleased about.

The evening light on the beach area was also pretty spectacular, so after some initial efforts at sketching kite flyers quickly (not easy!) I decided to combine the two - and waited until the next take-off in the area on the sketch to get the approximate scale of the kite surfer and the way the kite billowed. This was a very fast sketch as it was early evening by then and not warm when sat out of the sun - as I was.

The Jetty 12.09.06. 5.15pm
8" x 10", pencil and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The following day I sketched in an area north of Chatham near where I was staying at Pleasant Bay. The sky was brilliant blue and was having a tremendous impact on the colour of the water. For those not familiar with Cape Cod, both sketches show places which look like ponds and, in fact, in the case of the latter was actually called a pond however the water in both sketches is actually the Atlantic Ocean. I'm assuming that maybe Crow's Pond has actually lost land due to coastal erosion on the seaward side and was maybe an inland pond at one point.

There are cetainly a lot of ponds all over Cape Cod which excellent subjects for artwork. However, getting anywhere near them with a car is another matter - even out of season! I parked by the side of the road for the Crows Pond view. The road was just above one of the holes on the local golf course and the bit where they stand to drive was just to the right. I think I saw a golf ball whistling past about 20 feet in front of me!

Crows Pond 12.09.06. 6pm
pen and black ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Link:

• British Kite Surfing Association

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