Notes from an Artist in Residence, February 28 through March 12, 2022 at the Truro Center for the Arts at Edgewood Farm from Mark Richards.
From a young age Mark J. Richards learned to paint from a plein air realist and impressionistic tradition. Being a Truro Artist in Residence allowed uninterrupted time to create and practice these skills.
Each day Richards was able to explore draw and paint. This is a brief record of his time in Truro.
The blue of the Atlantic Ocean is a breath of fresh air and was his first sojourn after arriving. Richards was able to create the first beach scenes in oil in preparation for the large canvas he had brought with him.
Balston Beach was where in 1991 the Atlantic Ocean breached the Cape. That breach through the dune barrier made Provincetown a temporary island. This has happened previously in geologic history and the Pamet River and The Little Pamet are remnants of this history.
The light was beautiful the wind fierce. Ukraine had been invaded a few days previously. The Pitch Pine creatures attracted Mark’s attention immediately. A blue and gold statement. Color as a political statement.
The Pamets offer long meandering walks over giant dunes covered with flag worn defiant physiognomies of Pitch Pine and Scrub-Oak. Forests that defy the winds. Twisted Birch and Alder crowd the marshes before giving way to cat tails and marsh grasses. The occasional crackled bark of Plum trees limbs are broken from the direct assault of winter storms.
Nothing man made lasts. Only change persists.
In sketches and drawings the stroke of his pen addresses some of these ideas: jagged, sharp, graphic and dark enduring strokes. Like the scarf of the dunes etched constantly by surf.
Thanks to Goya for personal guidance in drawing and expressing emotions.
Thanks to Marsden Hartley for writing Cleophas and His Own, A North Atlantic Tragedy.