Tails of Two Giants | 12×16 | Oil on Linen Panel

Inspiration for November Tails of Two Giants

On a glowering, frigid day in early December, I started painting Tails of Two Giants en plein air. That day, not just one, but TWO behemoths of the high seas graced the port of Pensacola: the Nor Goliath and the Sampson. Despite my Florida boy’s aversion to painting en plein air when it’s freezing outside (“freezing” here used in a strictly non-literal sense…but it was pretty cold!) I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to set up my easel and start to capture the imposing duo in paint. I particularly liked how the subdued hues of these vast bulks were interspersed with the little twinkling lights within their superstructures; like fairies playing on the faces of cold, weathered giants. What can I say…twinkle lights in all contexts make me wax lyrical—I blame it on the surpassing magic of Christmas lights as a child.