Figawi Race Paintings

It was the return leg of the 2008 figawi, the race over to Nantucket on saturday had been a fizzle especially from an artists standpoint there was little wind and therefore very little action to say the least. Which in many ways had me discrouraged, since i had already been chosen to do the cover painting for the 2009 program, the pressure was on to compose something worth painting let alone looking at.

As luck would have it, Monday brought a heavy wind out of the south which was great. As we made our way out of Nantucket Harbor we took a wave over the bow that seemed to swallow the boat and one of the photographers, Brit Crosby, took a hellish soaking on the bridge. I kept looking at the color of the water and commenting on how blue it was. It was the type of blue that looked exotic, like it didn't belong, borderline fake.

Coming up through the field we could see the Mya in the distance, hammering it's way home. As we approached the Mya it dawned on me that what I was witnessing was exactly the type of composition I was looking for. "Blue Water Return" was the prelude turned overture to the cover painting that I would later create. It seemed so fitting that the Mya would be screaming towards the finish with our late Senator at the helm.