red boat(s)

December 16, 2002

Is there a law that says New England waterfront paintings must have a certain number of red boats? Or are there that many red boats in real life? Left is my rendition of the Salisbury waterfront in late afternoon light today. Note how I cleverly worked a blue tarp into the shot. Anyway, Nancy and I recently saw an exhibit of paintings of the Warren (RI) waterfront, complete with red boats naturally. I guess that's what got me noticing that it seems to be an artistic convention. Nothing says "quaint New England waterfront" quite like a red boat. And I'm sure having looked at so many waterfront paintings recently is causing me to look at actual waterfront scenes with clichéd eyes.

Another thing that came up when we were looking at the Warren paintings at the Coffee Depot was what on earth a "working waterfront" is. The text accompanying the exhibit claimed that Warren is Rhode Island's last working waterfront. We looked at each other and both spoke the same thought: "Gee, won't the people in Galilee be surprised?" I'm pretty sure more fishing boats go out of Galilee than out of Warren. Maybe they mean it hasn't been turned into expensive condos and trendy shops having nothing whatever to do with water-related work. I don't know. Not that Galilee has either... I mean neither of them is yachtly Newport...

The brain muses in mysterious ways from the prevalence of red boats in art to the meaning of a working waterfront. Back to Massachusetts: So did somebody moor that red boat outside Stripers Grille and the Fish Tale Diner to make sure passing tourists know Salisbury is a New England waterfront town? Did I photograph it because I've been subliminally programmed to want to reproduce quaint New England images? How does one create an image that is unmistakably New England and not a cliché? Why do I care? When I whine about what a terrible writer I am, Nancy always tells me I have more talent as a photographer. But being the only photographer on the planet who finds more artistic interest in blue tarps than in red boats isn't going to save the day when the Starship crashes and I have to start getting paid for my avocations. Oh, no wonder my family thinks everything I write is dark... Grrr. At least the red boat is pretty.

Today's Reading
Travelers of a Hundred Ages by Donald Keene

This Year's Reading
2002 Book List