#23 Watercolor

- note card - $3

In the age of sail, seamen were called tars because of the telltale blackening of their hands. Years of handling resin coated riggings left ineradicable marks. 

This young "tar" has come ashore to see what he can see in the sea along the shore. 

Captured in matutinal glory at the moment when one of those rare, perfect lights surrounded the child, everything about the lure of the seashore comes together in this idyllic scene.

#23 Watercolor

10x16" print (18x24" matte)

In the age of sail, seamen were called tars because of the telltale blackening of their hands. Years of handling resin coated riggings left ineradicable marks. 

This young "tar" has come ashore to see what he can see in the sea along the shore. 

Captured in matutinal glory at the moment when one of those rare, perfect lights surrounded the child, everything about the lure of the seashore comes together in this idyllic scene.

#26 Watercolor

- card - $3

Sea, sand bluffs, and an old lighthouse in the summer sunlight of a Cape Cod day…what could be more benign? But Eastham's 48-foot tower wasn't built for tourists and painters to admire. When mighty storms pound the cliffs along the Cape's Atlantic wall, ships could be wrecked there if Nauset Light didn't warn them of the danger. Identified by its alternating red and white lights every ten seconds, and painted in those colors for daytime recognition, the light has saved countless lives in its three quarters of a century of service. 
Originally one of two brick-lined cast iron towers at Chatham, Nauset Light was moved here and erected in 1924.

Karen North Wells has done many paintings of lighthouses but this one, she says, has the beauty of the Cape Cod National Seashore surrounding it. 

#26 Watercolor

- print - 13.5"x9.5", 20x16 matted - $66

Sea, sand bluffs, and an old lighthouse in the summer sunlight of a Cape Cod day…what could be more benign? But Eastham's 48-foot tower wasn't built for tourists and painters to admire. When mighty storms pound the cliffs along the Cape's Atlantic wall, ships could be wrecked there if Nauset Light didn't warn them of the danger. Identified by its alternating red and white lights every ten seconds, and painted in those colors for daytime recognition, the light has saved countless lives in its three quarters of a century of service. 
Originally one of two brick-lined cast iron towers at Chatham, Nauset Light was moved here and erected in 1924.

Karen North Wells has done many paintings of lighthouses but this one, she says, has the beauty of the Cape Cod National Seashore surrounding it. 

#83 Watercolor

note card

On Cape Cod, no trip to the beach is complete without a stop at Liam's where the aroma of frying onions on a summer day establish memories that last a lifetime, especially when the booming of the surf, just over the dune, add to the experience.
This Orleans beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on the Atlantic seacoast. Karen loves an excuse for spending time here.

#57 Watercolor

note card

Few manmade things can long endure the forces of time and tide. Walking this lane today, it's hard to imagine that a few generations ago, one could see clipper ships moored to the wharf that extended out to deep water in Cape Cod Bay. 

And just what, exactly, were clipper ships? The term is familiar but the memory is blurred. A child walking here with her parents was overheard asking if clipper ships carried cargo other than clippers. It would have been interesting to hear her parents' response.

#79 Watercolor

note card - $3.00

You don't have to travel very far from the Inns to find breathtaking scenes. New views open around each bend of the beach. Winds and tides are forever modifying the design of Pleasant Bay, making it one of the most serene and beautiful places on Cape Cod.

"As I drive along Route 28 in Orleans, Harwich and Chatham, I see so many arresting boat-filled views of the bay that I find plenty of subject," says Karen.

#63, Watercolor

note card

Sea, sand, and shelter would seem to be all any vacationer could want, but the natural world doesn't settle for these. No, there must be grasses as well, and sea breezes, and perhaps best of all, the banks of wild roses that adorn the seaside, sometimes for miles and miles. The whole show can be enjoyed from this lookout. 

Karen loves to paint seascapes and landscapes, and this view seen from the Sun House, is a particular favorite of hers.

#80 Watercolor

card

You look up from the sumptuous breakfast on the terrace at The Wequassett Inn and are arrested by the beauty around you. Sparkling saltwater, sunlight, old trees, and white sails create a scene you'll keep with you all winter.

Expanded over the years to offer banquet rooms for weddings and other special events, the Inn boasts fine public dining rooms, a gift shop, and other facilities for serving its guests.

Open from April to November, the Inn can be contacted by phone, 508 432-5400, website, or mail: The Wequassett Inn on Pleasant Bay, Chatham, Massachusetts 02633 USA.

#10 Oil

- card - $3.00

The card front comes with the following poem on the front, written by the late green architect, Malcolm Wells.

"Where shoes and socks are put aside
And puddles make a bumpy ride,
That's a place you'll long remember
Even after late September. Cape Cod!"

Card Back:

Does a puddle take you back to another time, another place? A spring rainstorm? Cape Cod? Being in love? Adventure? Summer vacation? Bare feet? Housebreaking a new puppy? Or perhaps all of the above?

It's amazing that a simple puddle can evoke so many memories.

#10 Oil

- print - 13.5"x13.5", (20"x20") matted - $78

Does a puddle take you back to another time, another place? A spring rainstorm? Cape Cod? Being in love? Adventure? Summer vacation? Bare feet? Housebreaking a new puppy? Or perhaps all of the above?

It's amazing that a simple puddle can evoke so many memories.

 

#34 Watercolor

card 5" x 7"

One of the most picturesque harbors in New England, a haven for sailors since at least the 1800's, Quisett Harbor got its name from a shortening of the Indian words "Quamquissett" or "Wequamquissett." 

Starting in the late 1600's as a farming community, Quissett, by the late 1700's and early 1800's, had also become known for its salt and shipbuilding industries. 

One of the well-known buildings at the harbor is the Quissett Harbor house. Two houses which had been owned by the Jenkins and the Hammonds were joined in 1874. In 1881, Stephen Carey bought the building and it was operated as a plain and simple hotel until the 1970's. The Jenkins house still remains on the property.

#52 Watercolor

card 5" x 7"

"But where are the rocks?" It's a question often heard from first-time visitors to this popular and picturesque harbor. From here, fishing vessels of many types sail out into Cape Cod Bay and around Provincetown into the Atlantic fishing grounds as well.

The glaciers that formed Cape Cod more than 10,000 years ago left giant boulders (glacial erratics) here and there all over the landscape. Before beacons and electronics guided the returning fishermen, a boulder at the mouth of this tidal creek was a welcome sign of home.

#100 

card - $3.00

Every spring, after having spent two years at sea, millions of "herring" (alewives) enter Paine's Creek on their way up to the fresh water ponds of Brewster where they spawn before returning to salt water.  Artists, too, have long been attracted to this quiet stream and summer visitors love its beautiful beach.

This scene is from an original watercolor by Brewster artist Karen North Wells.  It can also be seen on this website as a tile.  Other cards and prints of Cape Cod landmarks can be found at her Underground Art Gallery in Brewster as well as bookstores and gift shops on and around Cape Cod.

#100

matted print - 24x20

Every spring, after having spent two years at sea, millions of "herring" (alewives) enter Paine's Creek on their way up to the fresh water ponds of Brewster where they spawn before returning to salt water.  Artists, too, have long been attracted to this quiet stream and summer visitors love its beautiful beach.

This scene is from an original watercolor by Brewster artist Karen North Wells.  It can also be seen on this website as a tile.  Other cards and prints of Cape Cod landmarks can be found at her Underground Art Gallery in Brewster as well as bookstores and gift shops on and around Cape Cod.

#44 Watercolor

5x7 card - $3.00

What would you expect to see in the middle of Sandwich? Tomato and lettuce perhaps, or sprouts or tuna? Well in this case you'd be wrong. Here, you'd find a beautiful marsh, a haven for wildlife, and a showcase of environmental concern. 

The old village of Sandwich on Cape Cod had the wisdom to protect this wetland area rather than fill it in as so many cities and towns have done. And since the marsh is virtually in the center of town, it is easily accessible to every visitor. Just walk along River Street and you'll be there.

#44 Watercolor

print: 17"x11", 24"x18" matted

What would you expect to see in the middle of Sandwich? Tomato and lettuce perhaps, or sprouts or tuna? Well in this case you'd be wrong. Here, you'd find a beautiful marsh, a haven for wildlife, and a showcase of environmental concern. 

The old village of Sandwich on Cape Cod had the wisdom to protect this wetland area rather than fill it in as so many cities and towns have done. And since the marsh is virtually in the center of town, it is easily accessible to every visitor. Just walk along River Street and you'll be there.

#102, Watercolor

5x7 note card

Sunlight
Sand, and
Salt water...
Memories to last all winter. 

Again Cape Cod artist, Karen North Wells captures the innocent play of children on the beach. 

Her popular paintings of seascapes, beach scenes, Cape Cod landmarks and floral still lifes have been made into cards and prints and can be seen at the Underground Art Gallery, as well as many other locations.

#38

note card

Traveling can be slow indeed if you succumb to every impulse to stop along the roads of the Vineyard where it seems that a new and beautiful view appears every few hundred yards. With all our education, our training and artistic skills, we humans are incapable of creating landscapes as appealing as those that nature assembles by random actions of the elements. But to compensate for that, we among all creatures seem to be unique in our ability to appreciate such wonders.

#38

print: 13.5"x9.5", 20"x16" matted

Traveling can be slow indeed if you succumb to every impulse to stop along the roads of the Vineyard where it seems that a new and beautiful view appears every few hundred yards. With all our education, our training and artistic skills, we humans are incapable of creating landscapes as appealing as those that nature assembles by random actions of the elements. But to compensate for that, we among all creatures seem to be unique in our ability to appreciate such wonders.

#58, Watercolor

5" x 7"note card

Footprints in the sand are quickly gone, leaving no hint of all the thousands of happy memories associated with this spot. But wind, rain, tides, and vegetation constantly renew it in preparation for tomorrow's crop of footprints…and memories.

#58, Watercolor

print:13.5x 9.5", 20"x16" matted

Footprints in the sand are quickly gone, leaving no hint of all the thousands of happy memories associated with this spot. But wind, rain, tides, and vegetation constantly renew it in preparation for tomorrow's crop of footprints…and memories.

#12, Watercolor

5x7 note card

The tranquility of this lovely saltwater pond with its outlet to the sea via the Nauset marshes belies the fact that it borders U.S. route 6, the busy highway to the Outer Cape. Adjacent to the main visitors' center of the National Seashore at Eastham, it is for most Cape Cod visitors their first glimpse of the federally protected lands that rim the forests and dunes on the ocean side of the highway all the way to Provincetown.

"The Salt Pond at Eastham is pure magic to me," says Karen. "The reflections, the tides, the surrounding trees…I tried to capture that feeling in this painting."

#209, Watercolor

9.5x13.5 matted print (16x20 overall)

A burst of color marks the Sunfish fleet of Cape Cod Sea Camps on Long Pond in Brewster. Here, campers are schooled in all aspects of sailing by their expert instructors.

#73

5"x 7"note card

In the 1800's the dock at Bass Hole in Yarmouthport was a thriving scene of sailboats and steamships. Many people would choose to sail to Boston rather than make the rough trip by stagecoach.

In 1911 the heirs of Henry C. Thatcher donated land and gave money to make access to Cape Cod Bay easier by building a 1000-foot boardwalk across the marsh. The boardwalk was rebuilt in 1992 after being destroyed by years after storms. The sails are mostly gone now but the walk is used each year by thousands of people heading to the beach.

#73

print: 13.5"x 9.5", 20"x16" matted

In the 1800's the dock at Bass Hole in Yarmouthport was a thriving scene of sailboats and steamships. Many people would choose to sail to Boston rather than make the rough trip by stagecoach.

In 1911 the heirs of Henry C. Thatcher donated land and gave money to make access to Cape Cod Bay easier by building a 1000-foot boardwalk across the marsh. The boardwalk was rebuilt in 1992 after being destroyed by years after storms. The sails are mostly gone now but the walk is used each year by thousands of people heading to the beach.

#27

5"x7"card

You can't see them from here, but when you walk the planks of this unique structure, you'll find engraved in them the names of the organizations and people who paid for them. Destroyed by the storms and rebuilt many times since the original was built in 1875, the latest walk was built in 1992 after its predecessor was washed away by Hurricane Bob.

Karen was struck by the immense distance that this boardwalk covered, and the beauty of both the grass and sea surrounding it.

#42

5x7 note card

As you walk into the Salt Pond Visitors' Center at the Cape Cod National Seashore, you get an unparalleled panoramic view of the Salt Pond, Nauset Marsh, and the Atlantic Ocean. And in the midst of this waterview is the boathouse featured in this painting. 

The National Seashore is a public treasure owned by all of us. That's only part of the reason so many visitors, walking the paths of the area, respond so warmly to this and the other remarkable views to which the paths lead.