Open air paintings in Scituate

Outdoor scenes -- featuring the water or places near it -- are the predominant subjects of “By Land and Sea,” the current show at Scituate’s Front Street Gallery. The exhibit consists of about two dozen paintings by Patricia McCarthy, whose works include two paintings that are part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s permanent collection and were reproduced on greeting cards for the hospital.
McCarthy, a Scituate resident who teaches at the South Shore Arts Center, is also a Copley Artist at the Copley Society of Art. She recently spoke with The Globe about her work and new show.

"Mill River Marine"

I really don’t know how to describe my work, but I just received an award from the Plymouth Center for the Arts, it was for best representational. And the juror statement said, “….Economy, simplicity, and great organic color.” I can agree with that.

I prefer painting outside. I think that the paintings are more alive. I like the sounds, the smells, the fresh air, just everything about it. I like to complete the painting while I’m there, and I generally don’t spend more than three hours on a watercolor.

I also paint in Naples, Fla., because I’m there for four months out of the year. It’s a lot warmer in Florida, and Naples is a little more manicured than around here. I probably would prefer something a little more rustic. but it’s wonderful to be out and there’s so much to paint.

When I paint here, Boston is probably as far as I get from Scituate. I like to paint buildings and landscapes, and also marshes, because we have so many of those around here, and water scenes.

I lived in Cohasset for most of my married life, and I painted a lot around that area. I did [Mill River Marine] about three years ago. I consider myself a watercolorist, but this is an oil painting on canvas, and it took about three or four hours to paint. I was very familiar with this area in Cohasset, and it was just a perfect day to paint that particular scene.

When I go out to paint, I generally plan the area, but I’m not exactly sure what the painting will be. Yesterday, I painted the North River, and it was all beautiful, I didn’t know whether to paint foliage, or water, or landscapes, it was all so wonderful. Sometimes it kind of cries out to you, and other times you have to struggle to find something.

‘’By Land and Sea” runs through Nov. 15 at the Front Street Art Gallery, 124 Front St., at Scituate Harbor, daily except Mondays. A reception with Patrica McCarthy will be held Nov. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. Call 781-545-6150 for more information