Going Home
by Nancy Griswold
Original - Not For Sale
Price
Not Specified
Dimensions
18.000 x 24.000 x 0.750 inches
This piece is not for sale. Please feel free to contact the artist directly regarding this or other pieces.
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Title
Going Home
Artist
Nancy Griswold
Medium
Painting - Oil On Canvas
Description
See more of my oil painting reproductions at: https://nancy-griswold.pixels.com/
My framed original oil paintings are for sale at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NGARTSITE
6/14/2021 TOP FINISHER IN CONTEST titled MY SUMMER on Fine Art America
8th place tied with 4 other artists, 328 images submitted
6/12/2018 TOP FINISHER IN CONTEST titled Father's Day Contest on Fine Art America
139 images submitted 450 votes.
7/7/2022 Featured in Painting the Old Way in Oil Acrylic and Watercolor...on Fine Art America
5/26/2021 Featured in 1000 Views on Fine Art America
4/10/2021 Featured in the group called Impressionism on Fine Art America
3/3/2020 Featured in the group called Exclusively Drawings and Paintings on Fine Art America
9/30/2018 Featured in the group called Art Impressionism To Realism on Fine Art America
7/15/2018 Featured in the group called New Faa Uploads on Fine Art America
6/9/2018 Featured in the group called ROAR on Fine Art America
6/5/2018 Featured in the group called Created By My Hands on Fine Art America
6/4/2018 Featured in the group called Vivid and Beautiful Art on Fine Art America
6/4/2018 Featured in the group called Images That Excite You on Fine Art America
6/4/2018 Featured in the group called Sailing Vessels on Fine Art America
6/3/2018 Featured in the group called Your Story Your Art on Fine Art America
Dad’s Sailboat titled "Coming Home".
I wanted to try to encapsulate memories and emotions I felt on my Father’s sailboat with my family back in the 50's and 60's. I used a large variety of old family photographs, most not very clear, to recreate an accurate image of my father's sailboat. My father took us sailing off Groton Long Point, Connecticut when I was a child. This was a wooden sailboat he got from his father as a High School graduation gift after working for Grandfather for a summer when he was young. There is only one boat out there which is its twin made by a wooden sailboat builder in Noank, Connecticut in the days before fiberglass.
We summered for a couple weeks each year at GLP (Groton Long Point) and stayed in the cottage my grandfather built on Main Beach. Dad brought the boat there to be docked behind the cottage in the lagoon. It would have to sit in the water for awhile each summer until the wooden planks swelled enough to go out in. We always had a pump on board to pump out water that came in from waves or leaked from below the removable floor boards. Every year the paint was checked and Dad scrapped barnacles from the bottom and repainted the bottom of the boat. Sometimes he had to re-caulk between wooden planks on the bottom of the boat too. My brothers helped him. He re-varnished the natural wood trim around the centerboard and around the top of the boat edge and seats when it needed it. On occasion Dad made it a winter project he did in the basement where his sanding tools were. He took good care of his boat he loved. The boat had a red flag on the top of the mast to show which direction the wind was blowing. From the waterline down the sailboat was painted green. Our life preservers were stored below the bow and seats. They were seat cushions back then with handles, but the youngest siblings had to wear bright orange life preservers.
A big excursion out would be to go around Fisher’s Island near the North Dumpling Lighthouse and into the Long Island Sound or out toward the New London Lighthouse from GLP (Groton Long Point). I remember sailing for a red buoy which would mark Horse Shoe reef. Dad loved sailing and would leave the boat at GLP for my uncles and cousins to enjoy when it was their turn to take the cottage in the summer. Sometimes he would go for an evening sail after supper. Mother would often drape a red striped towel over the edge of the boardwalk by the beach to send a signal to my father to come home for supper when we were out fishing or sailing. Sometimes she would come along to enjoy a sail if Dad convinced her to go. He would sail slower and with less incline when Mom was aboard but really let the boat tip when he was in charge alone.
I was very young then and the rules for the little ones were to sit on the floor by the centerboard and to never touch the ropes as we could get hurt badly if we did. My older siblings would raise and lower the jib and sails. They would help my father man the boat. My older sisters liked to lie on the bow and sunbath if we had a steady even sail and Dad would laugh when they were upset with the spray of a big wave that splashed on them. I remember tasting salt water that would splash up and stick to the rudder board. I remember the smell of wood, salt water and getting home to wash my hair and face that was saturated in white salt that dried in the bright sun and wind as we were sailing. It always tasted so nice.
Once I was sailing with just my Uncle Jack and my father alone in the boat. They would love to get the boat going so fast. One day the boat tipped and they would stretch horizontal across the seats…loving the incline and speed. We capsized once and I thought I was drowning but my Uncle Jack grabbed me by the neck and pulled me from the water. I did swallow a lot of water that day. Dad told me not to make a big deal about it to my mother. I do not think she ever knew. I have to admit, I was quite shaken up about that for some time afterwards. Now as an adult, I treasure the memory. It has been years since I have been on a sailboat or spent two weeks at the ocean side. I am so grateful to my parents that I had that experience as a child. I became very close to the wonders of the ocean and sea during out stays at the beach. I was on the move from sun up to sun down with all kinds of ocean, sea life exploration and beach fun.
While painting it so many memories where churned up, I remember seersucker shorts for me and women’s summer dresses, the navy tops and pedal pushers for women. The hairdos were so different then too, often when had neatly curled hair.
I am the second youngest of the six siblings. My oldest brother has passed on as well as my closest in age sister. My parents have been gone for years. My oldest sister is 81 in 2022. Four in this boat remain living. This is one memory of times that we all shared together; so I have titled this “Going Home”. Perhaps it is a symbolic title about our life cycle and also the fact that we did go home each night from our sailing way back then. We often docked the boat just before dark at the small floating dock that had a gang plank attaching it to the shore of the lagoon. Many oil painters use the sail boat on the ocean to signify a life passage and so I see this as my own version with all my family aboard as we ride the times we have lived through. Although an idealistic scene, this was also from the fifties and sixties, a time of great concern during the cold war and I know my father enjoyed the stress relief the ocean offered.
Uploaded
May 13th, 2018
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Viewed 1,955 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 03/29/2024 at 1:04 AM
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Comments (71)
Rand Burns 24 Days Ago
I have a thing for sailboats. A magical moment you have created here Nancy. F /L.
Hanne Lore Koehler
Beautiful family memory painting, Nancy! Wonderful colors, style and composition! L/F
Kay Brewer
Congratulations, Nancy, on your selection as Artist of the Week in the 1000 Views group! This painting is fabulous! l/f
Gary F Richards
Outstanding Going Home composition, lighting, shading, excellent color and artwork! Congratulations on being the Featured Artist of the Week! F/L
Bernadette Krupa
Congratulations, Nancy, the Artist of the Week 111. Sept 17 - 23, 2023 in the 1,000 Views on 1 Image Group! L
Jennifer Jenson
Incredible work, Nancy and how I love the memories you shared. What treasured memories they are. Such a gorgeous work of art!
Bernadette Krupa
Nancy, love this fabulous painting with details, colors, perspective and composition! Congrats on multiple Features - Painting the Old Way, Impressionism and 1000 Views on 1 image!! L/F
Anita Pollak
What a gorgeous and inspirational painting filled with the warmth and joy of your beautiful childhood memories. So love that you shared the wonderful family history behind this amazing work, making it even more special. I love as well that the title is both symbolic and literal. l/f
Nancy Griswold replied:
Anita, thanks so much for taking the time to view and read and enjoy, I so appreciate it and the l/f
Hanne Lore Koehler
Spectacular painting of your treasured childhood vacation memories, Nancy! Beautiful colors and light! I also enjoyed your wonderful description! L/F
Nancy Griswold replied:
Hanne, thanks so much for taking time to view, comment and read the description and the LF
Bernadette Krupa
Nancy, absolute beautiful oil painting with colors, details and composition "Going Home"! L/F
John Malone
Congratulations! Your skillful and interesting painting has been FEATURED on our Homepage, Painting the Old Way.