A little bit of Nova Scotia

     I have a commission for some scenes along the south shore of Cumberland Country, Nova Scotia at the end of the Bay of Fundy: specifically Spencer's Island, Cape d'Or Lighthouse and Advocate Harbour. Although I have been working on architectural features on local buildings lately, the photos I was given were not of big impressive buildings... in fact, the lighthouse and the accompanying guesthouse / restaurant were the only architectural features.

     So ... I drove to the area myself (after all, I had recently leased a new vehicle and it was time to give it some highway driving!). The timing of the drive was based on when Advocate Harbour would be at low tide.

     The first stop was Spencer's Island: the photo I was given, taken last year, showed a number of logs pushed up on the shore line by the waves. The community is VERY small ... the few buildings could not be included in the beach scene and all the logs must have been washed back out to sea during the winter because all I saw was one very picturesque large piece of driftwood.

    The second stop, a little ways down the road (actually, I missed the turn-off the first time) was Cape d'Or.  There is an old rickety lighthouse at the top of the cliff by the parking lot ... obviously not in use since the trees in front of it would have blocked any lights.  I walked down the rocky laneway, and took pictures from the top and around the buildings. The point where the lighthouse sits marks the churning waters of the tidal currents where the Minas Basin and the Bay of Fundy meet.

     And finally on to Advocate Harbour. The photo that I had been given was a foggy picture of fishing boats tied up at the dock during low tide.  When I got there, the tide was low ... however, there was no fog and only 2 boats were left at the dock. The rest were out to sea!
     I decided to incorporate the far shore beyond the dock and then add "fog" on top. I was grateful that the 2 boats that had remained were the two I could hardly see in the original photo because of the fog ... now at least I could check on their detail.

     Still lots more work to do ... detail to add in on all of the pictures.  I was trying to figure out how to add fog over the boats at the end of the dock (I have different weights of sheer curtain fabric as well as bridal veil fabric) but adding an extra layer over the boats made the background houses disappear. If I put the sheer fabric only over the boats, the fishing equipment - antennae, sonar, etc, still stood out. Hmmmm.  I may experiment with a white-wash fabric paint on some scraps to see if I can get a slightly washed-out look to use the blue boat.
     All three fabric pictures will need to be quilted as well ... at this point, I am not sure if I want them all to hang in one piece or if I should find a piece of driftwood and hang them as 3 separate pieces perhaps connected by a bit of fishing line or net. All three in one piece will be the easiest but .... we'll see.