Sailboats in Boston Harbor

"Last Water Taxi of the Evening - Boston Harbor" (16"X12", Oil on Canvas, $450)

This is the last of the paintings that I've done of Boston Harbor to date. I guess that makes the title kind of appropriate. Some of these boats are a little larger than I usually paint in the harbor, but the trainers are in there at the back. The Control Tower at Logan Airport that I mentioned in the previous post is here, but at a little more foreshortened angle, bunched in with other buildings under the sunset-reflecting haze on the horizon.

The piling at the end of the gangway I was on makes an appearance at the left, and is echoed by the line of pilings that support the pier all along the far shore.

The subject of this painting, the hard-working water taxi service is on the scene, picking up the sailors that pay their fee to use these moorings. The option is to pay the higher fees charged to park your boat in of the limited slips at the Sailing Center. I like the idea of this for a painting, since it seems to come under the heading of wanting to enjoy the harbor and the ocean, but not having the extra cash for a private parking spot. It's the final task of a sailing day for the "middle class": to hail a taxi and transfer all your gear into the little launch, put on your life preserver and hold on for final leg. Make sure you didn't leave anything on your sailboat, since you won't be able to simply walk down the gangway and retrieve it, like all the other swells in their slips.