Charlestown - Copper Patina

"Walking the Hills of Charlestown - Sunday Morning" (20"X16", Oil on Canvas, $650)

I did this after I started taking Sunday morning walks in the town across the mouth of the Charles River from me: Charlestown. I used to feel that the North End was the only place I should focus my love of old buildings and ignore the Back Bay (as mentioned in my last post) and Charlestown. After all, I live in the North End and it needs the love. As I've come to realize, the city of Boston is full of beautiful buildings, and history besides. One of the most beautiful streets in Charlestown is the one that leads directly up to the Bunker Hill Monument, and this painting is actually of 60 Monument Ave. This building is on the corner at the top of the hill and it's quite stunning. I actually had to squeeze the building a bit so that it would fit on the canvas. I may do another that shows the full height in proportion to what's actually there, but I like this one for now and I've gotten lots of great comments about it. It was also actually used on the Charlestown homepage for a website that promotes the arts in all the various towns in Boston.

The bright morning light here shows the home to good advantage and the copper on the front is a design element that always looks good to me. The wide overhang of the roof is another thing that adds to the drama of the building. I like that the picture includes the little dark bay window above the next entrance down the hill. Its structure echoes and works well with the dominant bay window up the hill, the focus of the painting. I look forward to exploring the hills of Charlestown in the future and making more paintings from what I find there.