North End, Boston - Old North Church

"Salem Street Summer Evening - North End" (14"X11", Oil on Canvas, SOLD)

This small painting is one of my favorites. Having one of the most historic sites in Boston ("one if by land, two if by sea") socked right up against the brick tenements of a later time is the type of juxtaposition that endears the area to me. The long, low shadows of early evening and the purple reflected light on the white wooden steeple are what makes the painting work for me, along with the tightly packed buildings leaning in over the narrow street below.

The architectural details of the windows and facades on these "low-rent" buildings are surely things that would be out of the question on modern construction, no matter what the budget might be.

I like making a record of the old buildings of the North End, trying to get a feel for the generations of families that have lived in the rooms and walked up the stairs to their flats, making them well-used throughout their century or more of existence.