{"id":7962,"date":"2021-04-06T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T08:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/?p=7962"},"modified":"2021-04-06T08:54:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T08:54:37","slug":"7962-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/7962-2\/","title":{"rendered":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch #95: The Essex River, Massachusetts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nEssex River. Labor Day 2013. Watercolor and colored pens on paper (Moleskine Watercolor Journal)
\nThe composition was laid out at 10:30 and elaborated later in the day before 6:30 pm.<\/p>\n

The territory between Cape Ann and the Merrimack River were known in the local Algonkian dialect as Wonnesquamsauke; land of pleasant waters. Anglicized as Agwam, the indigenous Asquam tribe was ravaged by European diseases following contact with British settlers in 1634. All within forty years had either succumbed, migrated north, or were assimilated. Divided by the Annisquam River, town of Gloucester extends west of Cape Ann to another estuary. Traversing a maze of tidal swamps, dozens of creeks, runs and rivulets converge with the outflow of Chebacco Lake between a cluster of wooded low-lying hills. Here a settlement district was established under the administration of the town of Ipswich, which forbade any man to raise a town hall without permission. Citing gender as a loophole, the women of Chebacco village took up men\u2019s tools, defied the law, and won autonomy for their community. Five years later, Chebacco was recognized as an independent parish. Owing to a series of wars with France and Britain, the district suffered many hardships. Reorganized in 1819 as the township of Essex, shipbuilding flourished at the head of the Essex River, supplying schooners and other sailing vessels for nearby fisheries and coastal transportation. The twentieth century saw the industry decline, and ultimately disappear. In 1916, local shopkeepers Bessie and Chubby Woodman shucked some clams and fried them. Their invention made culinary history, by purposing lowly bivalves to glories beyond chowder, while planting a seed that would resurrect Essex as a tourist attraction. With its restaurants, antique shops, shipbuilding museum, and few overnight accommodations, the historic village seems more like a day trip from Boston\u2019s northern suburbs than a destination for vacationers. <\/p>\n

\"\"
\nEssex River. 8:00 pm, Labor Day 2013. Watercolor and colored pens on paper (Moleskine Watercolor Journal)<\/p>\n

The Essex River Motel, now Shea\u2019s Colonial Inn and Motel, is one of few overnight accommodations in Essex, and the last ground-level motor-inn to survive in the Cape Ann Region. Sheltered by an overhanging roof, guest-rooms look out across a grassy bank toward the river. Highway 133 follows the historic overland route linking Gloucester to Ipswich, with Newburyport beyond. Seen from the common porch, Essex River flows toward us past a hairpin meander a few hundred yards to the northeast. The wooded village rises on a low hill beyond. Lying off to the right, fragrant salt-marshes flank the stream on its course to Essex Bay. Hastened by the failing light, I repeated the composition of another painting made earlier in the day. Rather than allow the image to fill the page-spread, I had in both instances delineated the framed within the page. Having jotted notes onto other paintings, I weighed the merits of establishing a narrow space around the image to receive marginalia. <\/p>\n

\"\"
\nSummit Springs Battlefield, Oil n canvas. 50 x 66 inches. 2000<\/p>\n

My recent paintings of the American West were exhibited in 2001 at the Donegal County Council gallery in Letterkenny. Reproduced on the postcard announcing the show was a painting of Summit Springs, an Indian Wars battlefield on the high plains of northeastern Colorado. Ghostly words written in the sky paid homage to Cheyenne-Arapaho artist Edgar Heap of Birds, and to those members of his community who fell in the battle. When he received the card Bernie Chaet shot back a hand-written note that said in large block letters, \u201cThese are paintings, not posters!\u201d Given that the painting is question was nearly six feet wide, perhaps he had a point. Something about the light that evening reminded me of prints by Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858), nearly all of which include calligraphic elements. Painting in books also provided a less formal approach than what Bernie had in mind.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nAndo Hiroshige. (1797-1858) Yabase no Kihan<\/em>. Color woodblock print on paper. 1834 (from the suite Eight Views of Omi<\/em>) <\/p>\n

Now available to own: Sketchbook Traveler: Hudson Valley
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Explore my Quaranteam Dispatches<\/a>, from April 1-June 8, 2020
\n\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Essex River. Labor Day 2013. Watercolor and colored pens on paper (Moleskine Watercolor Journal) The composition was laid out at 10:30 and elaborated later in the day before 6:30 pm. The territory between Cape Ann and the Merrimack River were known in the local Algonkian dialect as Wonnesquamsauke; land of pleasant waters. Anglicized as Agwam, … Continue reading SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch #95: The Essex River, Massachusetts<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nSKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch #95: The Essex River, Massachusetts -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/7962-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: Dispatch #95: The Essex River, Massachusetts -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Essex River. 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