Scotty's Cove

This painting was inspired by the small town legend of a man named Scotty and the cove that was named after him. The following story is true...but quite frankly I can't confirm it..but it's a good one anyway.
I grew up in the small sea side town of Winthrop, Massachusetts and in the 1990's I rented a small studio right across the street from the Atlantic ocean. My back yard butted against a small cove that overlooked the Boston skyline and the Winthrop, Yacht club. It was in this cove that I met one of my neighbors, a very funny sign painter named Rick. For a fee, he would carefully adhere the name of your boat on the stern with vinyl lettering. The day I met Rick he was shit-faced and telling filthy jokes. He handed me one of his business cards which included an itemized list of the services he provided: "Vinyl Lettering, Wood & Billboard Signs, Airbrush & Pinstriping | Auto, Truck, Boat, & Van, Banners, Auto Graphics, Wood Signs, Parquet floors and Belly Rolls". I didn't know what "Belly Rolls" were and when I asked him, he lifted his shirt and started rolling his belly. The guy was hilarious.
Because I lived on the cove I would see him from time to time, usually just a wave and sometimes a quick belly roll.

Rick was an alcoholic and he was going through a bitter divorce battle. It was soon followed by a bitter custody battle over his only son. He lost everything in the divorce, including custody of his son, Rick Jr. His drinking became worse and there were nights when the police had to break up domestic altercations on his ex-wife's lawn. A restraining order soon followed. His ex was so bitter over it all she threatened to legally change the name of their son Rick Jr. to spite his name-sake...eventually she actually went through with it. Her son's name was legally changed from Rick Jr. to Scotty. needless-to-say, Rick Sr. was pissed but there was nothing he could do in the courts, he no longer had custody. He had no say.

...Or did he?...Rick Sr. changed his name to Scotty too. Brilliant! His wife still lived on the cove with her son and to spite her he made it his mission to re-name the cove, "Scotty's Cove". To boat owners who were docked in the cove, he offered discounted vinyl lettering if they allowed him to add the words, "Scotty's Cove, Winthrop, Mass" on the stern. On the route 145 road signs that lead through Winthrop he added in small letters, "Scotty's Cove 1 mile". That's true. If you're ever in Winthrop on rt. 145, take a close look and you'll see the words..they're still there. Eventually boats all over town had "Scotty's Cove" written on them and it soon began to be known town-wide as Scotty's Cove. His Cou'de Gra came when "Scotty's Cove" found it's way on to an official Winthrop, Mass map.

Several years later, Scotty Sr. passed away in his lawn chair in his front yard on the 4th of July. Independence day.

David Baker (1941-2009)

My Father-in-law passed away three days ago..I'm profoundly saddened, sick over it and simply still cannot believe it. He was a salt-of-the-earth goof-ball and I loved him and miss him already and can't believe I'll never see him again.

He had back pain just after the new year and an MRI revealed that he had a metastatic tumor that was spreading rapidly. My poor wife was the one who told him..how horrifying?! Less than eight weeks later he died in Exeter hospital surrounded by his family and friends. I just can't wrap my head around how quickly is all transpired..all of this.

Five of my favorite David Baker memories:

1) In 1998 I bought an engagement ring and decided I was going to ask Alison Baker to marry me just after the new year..and in the tradition of courtship, I was going to ask her father David for permission to marry his daughter. At that time I worked as a chainsaw sculptor, carving bears and eagles on Cape Cod, it was a very cool job. My plan was to trade one of my carved bears for his daughter. David had a great sense of humor and was a woodsman and I knew he would appreciate it. I snuck the bear into his basement and the exchange went something like this:
Me (standing next to the bear trying not to laugh): In the tradition of the pioneers who traded skins, furs and pelts for the Indian chiefs daughters, I would like to trade you this fine wooden bear for one of your squaws.
David: which one?
Me: The medicine women (Alison was in medical school at the time)
David: I'll give you Kristen (Alison's twin sister)

2) David came to visit Alison and I when we lived in Philly and he was bragging about his artistic ability and how he was going to switch careers and become an artist. He wanted an honest critique of his art and showed me a stick figure drawing of a bird. I played along and gave a rave review and agreed that he should switch careers and hang up the fifty years he worked as a fire fighter and sell his tree service that he owned since 1967. We had a brief chuckle, he flew back to New Hampshire and I never gave any more thought to the stick bird. A few days later as I poured a bowl of cereal for myself a piece of paper with a stick bird drawing on it fell into my bowl. Dave tucked it in the box before he left..I phoned him, we had another chuckle, I thought it was over. The next day Alison was reading a book and a stick bird came out of one of the pages..another one was found wedged between the stacked dinner plates..another in my sock drawer, underwear drawer, several shirt and coat pockets, shoes, utensil drawer, cups, mugs, countless books, etc..we would find them weeks, months and even years later. The last was about two years ago wedged in the pages of another book. The later we would find them the funnier it became.."Oh my God, Alison, I found another stick bird, the man is nuts". He later revealed he thinks he made over a hundred of them and spent hours making them. I've never more looked forward to finding another one.


3) The day we moved back from Philly, David was so happy to have Alison home in new Hampshire again..he spent a large part of the summer mowing the words, "WELCOME HOME ALISON" in a grass field behind his house. It was about a football field long..not kidding.

July, 2003: Alison standing in the middle of the "Welcome Home Alison" field. David had lifted me in his bucket truck to take this photo.

4) Blueberry picking in his secret spots...I had only picked blueberries on mountainsides prior and didn't realize his secret spot was chest deep in a blueberry bog..great fun though..we got gallons.

5) Target shooting competitions in Davids woods..the targets were bear bottles and he would sometimes call me asking to help him make targets. He was a better shot than I was and I suspected he would would sometimes dog it and lose on purpose to make me feel good..I didn't care, I just genuinely enjoyed his company and being with him.

I miss you David.

Baseball #5

Pitchers and catchers have reported for duty in Florida so it won't be long before I'll be haggling with a scalper outside of the Cask n'Flagon for an obscenely expensive Red Sox ticket. I can't wait. This painting has had me in the spirit lately.

Someone had seen my miniature painting called "October" and commissioned this slightly larger (4x6") painting of the same ball for her husbands birthday. it prompted me to do a few more original baseball compositions which I'll be posting later this week.
This is "Baseball #5" (4x6") Oil on wood panel.

More work in progress

I thought I would post what I've been up to in the studio these days. I've had to skip several studio days to attend to family matters but I did manage to get to a lot of under paintings and works-in-progress. Today, I'm posting the monochromatic under-painting of an 18x24" version of a painting study called "Ol Red". you can see a little of my set up in the foreground of the photo, I've decided to leave it in and chat briefly about my process, tools and pallet. That small bottle of light-brown colored liquid on the lower left is a nip of Baileys Irish Cream. Just kidding! Thats my bottle of Alkyd medium; Liquin. I use that in the early under painting stages to help the paint dry quickly. I'm using a wood pallet these days but I also use a glass one at home. My colors have been about the same for the last three years..from left to right as you see them layed out on my pallet are Titanium White, Cad Yellow, yellow Ochre, Raw Umber, Cad Orange, Burnt Umber, Cad Red, Aliz Crimson permanent, Dioxozine purple, Ultra Blue, Cerulean Blue, Cad Green Light, Permanent green, Viridian, Sap Green and Ivory black. Not shown are the colors I was using to do this under painting: Winsor & Newton Under painting white, Mars Black and Raw Umber. I had my full pallet out just in case I was feeling audacious..I wasn't. I use a lot of different brushes but for the under painting I use hog hair bristle brushes (various brands) and a few sable varieties to soften edges. I don't use any turps or add oils at the under painting stage. Actually, thats a lie..After I seal the charcoal drawing of the boat with a spray fixative I apply a "whisper thin" coat of refined linseed oil to the entire canvas to improve even flow but thats it! Then I cover the canvas with a thin layer of Raw Umber and use a rag to wipe away my lights. I build up the lights further using the under painting white. this keeps my lights opaque and thick while maintaining thin and transparent darks. I work the darkest darks with a thin wash of Mars Black. Thats it really. I'll chat more about my process when I post the next image of the progress of the above painting.

I put this work-in-progress painting in a frame and set it on an easel by my work station so I could sneak peaks at it throughout the day..hoping to find resolution to the issues I posted last time. I got some creative emails from some friends of mine..my old college roomate Dan sent me back this image with a shark fin behind the boat. The truth is, I'd love to go with that one but my brillaint frined Beaman suggested I crop it..I may go that route.

here is what my set up was like while working...you can see some of my really cool studio too. I'll try and post a panorama of my studio in the future, I absolutley love working there.

All the best for now.
Todd

Work in progress

I have been busy on several compositions that are currently in several different stages of completion. This is an 18x24" oil painting in my studio that I still have to resolve..that vacant upper left corner gives me the hee-bee-gee-bees..it's just unsettling. I'm going to put it in a frame and set it on a nearby easel and get cracking on something else. I'll let this marinade while in my periphery for a while and hopefully a resolution will come from being away from it for a period.

Rest in Peace Andy (Andrew Wyeth 1917-2009)

The Lake

This is another one of the Larger (large for me) paintings I recently finished and am just getting around to photographing and posting. I called this "The lake", it is 18x24" oil on canvas.

I'm looking forward to the spring and summer to get out to the lakes and do more paintings of the shallows and shores. The variety of colors and textures in lake water imagery is stunning and makes for endless subject matter.

For me, this paintings success relied on depicting the rocky shallow water and getting those beautifully rich, earthy colors that make it distinct.

Pony

I painted this Pony for my four year old niece Emma as Christmas gift. It's 4x6" and is oil on linen, mounted on panel.

A different subject matter for me but Emma has been asking me to paint her a Pony since the spring..great fun knowing that it was for her.

The Humble Trapper (30x40")

I finished this larger version of "The Humble Trapper" painting in December and I am just getting around to photographing and posting it now. It's the largest oil painting I've done to date at (30x40"). It was a lot of fun to work at this larger scale for me and I've already gessoed another 30x40" wood panel with the intention of doing another.

This painting is currently available (please email me at tmbonita@gmail.com for price).


"The Humble Trapper" (30x40") Framed.
I'm standing next to the painting to show it's scale. I may go even bigger before the year is out..

Web sight update

Happy New year! My web sight was just updated with new images to start 2009 off fresh. Thank you Wade Settle for your work on this. You can contact Wade at: wsettle@gmail.com if you would like some web sight design of your own. Click here to go to my web sight: Toddbonita.com

Colour, Obsession, Joy and Torment (New book)

I'm proud to have a page in the beautiful new Daily Painters book colour, obsession, joy and torment. Priced at $39, the 165 page book is 8" x 10" and features over 500 images by 146 artists from around the world.

Follow this link to learn more about it at Dailypainters. You can also order direct from Amazon.com or Createspace.com.

Max sketch

This is a sketch I did for a painting of Max that I hope to finish before Christmas..it's a gift for Alison..it's charcoal on a piece of gessoed and sanded wood. I don't want to rush it so we'll see what happens. I'm going to start an under painting right over this drawing and then lay some color down when it dries.

Down East

I titled this painting, "Down East" because it reminds me of the Great state of Maine. More specifically, the wonderfully gritty and earthy, blue-collar, hard-working, sea-fairing Maine. The mud, the fog, the muddy-water stain on the side of the boat, the seaweed hanging from the rope, the tattered buoy and overall weathered mood..it's all in there..wonderfully-gritty Maine.

This is a larger painting for me these days, it's 18x24" and painted on canvas. My tribute to the Pine Tree state deserved a grander scale. If you read this blog, you'll note that this is a larger version of a small study I did in September called "Muddy Cove Dory".

This new version was part of my recent open studio art show at The Button Factory. Fun weekend with a nice fix of friends, family and art. I met a lot of people and I am extremely grateful for all of your nice comments and kind words.

I'll post some of the other paintings from the show this week. thank you for looking. All the best,
Todd

"Down East" Framed (18x24")

Button Factory Open Studio 2008

I rent an art studio space at the Button Factory in Portsmouth, NH and they are having their annual "OPEN STUDIOS"..woo-hoo...the 22nd year. this will be the second time I will participate and if you are reading this you are invited. Please come if you can, it's a very cool thing to do on the first weekend in December. I've got a bunch of paintings I'll have on the walls and there are over 70 other artist to see in the building..tons of art..a very good time. Wine, cheese, art and laughs...a fellow couldn't ask for anything more.

I'm posting another miniature painting along with a copy of the Open studio invite. The Miniature doesn't even have a name yet...lets call it "Cow #3 until further notice. It's only (2.5 x 3.5") oil on wood panel. I framed it with a very cool little frame I bought on Ebay. If you would like to purchase this little painting for $100, I will sell it to the first person who emails me at tmbonita@gmail.com.

I will be having an online pre-sale next week for subscribers to my oil painting blog.
I will give subscribers a first look at the new works and an opportunity to purchase the paintings that will be in my Open Studio show in December. If you would like to be on my oil painting email list and be part of this pre-sale, please send me an email at tmbonita@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the heading or body of the email somewhere.

thanks again for looking and I sincerely hope to see some of you at the Open house..please introduce yourself and have a glass of wine with me.

All the best,
Todd Bonita

Ready

I finished this 8x10" oil painting I'm calling "Ready". It feels wonderful to post again..I feel like I've neglected an old friend by my absence. I've just been swamped with work and life and simply didn't find the time to post. I've got a bunch of things in progress that I would love to put up here and ponder..I just need to find some time.

October

"October" (2.5x3.5") Oil on wood

Thats right, just two-and-a-half by three-and-a-half inches. I started this as an experiment with paint..trying out technique and exploring the medium on the smaller scale. I can accomplish experimentation faster this way.

I'm calling this October for the obvious reason that the image is a baseball and October is what it all comes down to in the American past time. This worn out ball pretty much sums up the season by the time October rolls around..injuries, emotional roller coasters, wins and losses, etc..it's all in there. If Red Sox fans look closely, you can see the scar from when the Sox traded Manny earlier in the season. it's right next to the series of scars left by Ortiz, Lowell, Beckett, Ellsbury and the severe beating handed down by the Rays. Not to mention the late games and the five and a half hour marathon game over the weekend that anti-climaxed in a late night (early morning) Sox loss.

Anyhoot, I've got my fingers crossed for a Red Sox come back of gargantuan proportions.

Through the Heart

I finished this small oil painting that I'm calling, "Through the Heart". It's another small wood panel painting, (4x6"). I've been in a poker frame of mind lately..My brother is a professional Poker player and was recently in The World Series of Poker tournament in Vegas this past July. He (O.K. a glimpse of the back of his head) was on ESPN Tuesday evening, he was playing poker at Ray Romano's table (from "Everybody Loves Raymond"). He's a phenomenal gamer and extremely competitive..perfectly wired to be great at Poker. I would lose my shirt...What am I saying...I chose to be an artist and lose my shirt at the easel instead. I don't think my brother or I would have it any other way.

I was told early on that if you want to be an artist, be prepared to have the life and blood sucked clean out of your heart and soul. ("Oh my God, relax dude, I just want to paint some cool pictures")...As dramatic as it is, there is probably some truth in this statement for anything that you put your heart and soul into. I swear my brother has a few more gray hairs in his head upon returning from the World Series of Poker.
Some days you get the Bear..and some days the bear gets you.

This painting is about the days when the bear gets you. I got an email from someone asking if there were visual religious references here..(A spike through the heart...stains that maybe suggest the shroud or Turin or dripping blood) hmmm, no, I don't think I'm that deep..honestly. I really do just want to paint some cool pictures. I liked the aged surface of the wood and the worn playing card. Weathered and tattered textures appeal to my interest in objects that suggest ambiguous narratives. Great fun to paint.

Highlights Hi-Five "Riddle Me" Illustration

I just finished another small assignment for Highlights Hi-Five magazine. This one will be in February 2009 issue I think. It will accompany some text that will challenge children to come up with riddles for things they find in my illustration.

I love working for this company, very professional and great fun.

Robert J. Foti (1959-Sept 11,2001)

This is a drawing from my sketchbook of Robert J. Foti. It's my way of taking some time to draw and reflect on the faces of the people who lost there lives on 9/11. Robert Foti was a firefighter with Ladder 7 and responded to the World Trade center on September 11, 2001. He perished in the collapse of the south tower, his remains have never been found. I didn't know him but have been reading some heart felt words about him from people who loved him dearly. I read that when Robert was 12 years old he saved a boy from drowning on Lake Hopatcong. It seems he was destined to devote his life to serving and helping others. He served so bravely and gave the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11. Robert J. Foti is in my thoughts today.

Muddy Cove Dory

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"Muddy Cove Dory" (4x6") Oil on Wood.
I finished this small oil painting I'm calling "Muddy Cove Dory". I took a short drive along part of the Maine coast about two weeks ago, looking for something to paint and I almost got whip lash when I drove by this dory sitting in the mud in an Ogunquit, Maine cove. This is just the kind of imagery that excites me lately. The filth, the mud, the fog...sweet love.
I pulled the car over and glopped through the very wet and sticky mud out to this dory and immediately thought of a story that's haunted me for almost eight years. I watched a TV show that reenacted the real life tragedy of a young girl who died when her feet got stuck in some mud flats. She drowned when the water eventually returned to the cove where she was stuck. How horrifying. She was a newlywed. She and her husband were going across these mud flats in an ATV when it's rear wheels became trapped. They got out and tried to lift the wheels out, that's when she burrowed her own feet deep into the mud. The more she tried to loosen the grasp, the more it swallowed her. Her husband went for help as the water began to come into the cove ..emergency personnel arrived and tried all day to free her. They became more desperate as the water slowly rose. The emergency team almost became stuck themselves, it was a real nightmare. When the water rose to her chin they gave her a tube to put in her mouth and attempted to raise it out of the water like a snorkel. Her head eventually disappeared under water. This was Alaska. Even though it was summer, the water is frigid. The tube eventually popped up and eerily floated away. My God..The horror.