Rocks, Rocks, and more Rocks

 

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks...

 A while ago I painted a series of "rock" paintings. Three of them are in a fundraising auction this week, May 3 - 7, 2021. Funds are being raised to support the mission of Partners for World Health.

Painting # 1 is called, "Delightful Day" and was inspired by an early morning visit to Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth. It was so peaceful and fun to watch the area on top of the cliff become illuminated by the sun.

Just for the fun of it, I searched the internet to see if I could come up with any interesting tidbits about the rocks in the cove.  I came across a blog post called, "Skipping Stones at Kettle Cove". The author wrote about how the rocks look like petrified wood but "are really ocean bottom rock split by stretched bands of quartz".

Very interesting!

 

Painting #  2 is called, "Playful Day" and was inspired by the energetic rocks near the Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth.

The rocks in this area were formed 420 million years ago. That period of time is known at the Silurian Period.

Now for a bit of geology from maine.gov...

"The layers of sediment that accumulated in that Silurian ocean are preserved in the rocks at Two Lights as light gray, massive quartzite and dark gray phyllite layers. The quartzite layers were originally sand or silt beds, and the phyllite layers were originally clay or mud beds. As the layers accumulated one on the other, some were deposited individually with sharp boundaries between them, and others were deposited as mixed masses in graded beds that change gradually from the bottom to the top of the layer."

Very interesting!

 

Painting #3 is called, "Luminous Day" and was inspired by the late afternoon light on the cliff walk at Prouts Neck in Scarborough. This is the area of the coast where Winslow Homer painted. The cliff walk is a wonderful hike and a great way to enjoy "rocks"!