After working on the cliffs, I also want to work on another item found in nature – rocks and boulders. These are also used as building materials, so why not a building of rocks and such cemented together in the 1600s? I always love stone buildings – or fortresses – constructed of nature’s gift. Stone has been used for millennia, so why not? This is a painting of what I believe is Fort Recovery on the island of Tortola, which I visited some time ago.
The purpose of this picture is not a complete picture but a way of figuring out how the stones might be done. The palm trees are really part of the actual fortress, but I put them in as it helps me see if something works.
The stones are simple but I am experimenting with how to express such rock and stone buildings. I could try to do all of the stones, but what a yawn. More, it is the texture of a building made with the irregular shapes and colors of rocks.
What I have chosen to do here is to simplify the structure – not paint rock for rock – but give an impression of it. The stones in many instances are more round than depicted, but it is on the beach – that gorgeous sand is so bright! – with a few plants and palms and newer construction around it. If I recall, the day was glaring and sunny, very hot and humid as is the norm for the V.I. that time of year, and it was also in July.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 