Thousand Islands Park on Wellesley Island NY, St Lawrence River in the 1000 Islands Region

Wellesley Hotel, Thousand Islands Park, 15 x 22 inch watercolor

    Thousand Islands Park was founded in 1875 as a Methodist Campground. There are over  100 years of rich history, tradition,  and culture. Much can be found on the internet by search so I am not going to repeat it here. It is located on the south west tip of Wellesley Island in the heart of the 1000 Islands Region. It started as a tent city and eventually cottages were added. By 1890 there were 600 cottages and 7000 summer inhabitants. A new larger Pavilion at the waterfront allowed landing of steamships. All access to the park was by water. A 1912 fire destroyed the original Columbia Hotel plus 99 cottages and the business district. The Wellesley Hotel is it's replacement and is in my painting above, as well as the Chapel called Tabernacle (at the far right, centered prominently at the head of the park on St. Lawrence Ave and below). The business district burned down in  again November 2014 and will be rebuilt. A set of  architectural as built drawings had previously been made.  It included the popular breakfast and lunch spot as well as ice cream shop know as the Guzzle, a few small businesses, US Post Office, and the fire department. The fire disrupted the electrical system and the fire fighting  equipment could not  be utilized as the electric door could not be opened. Fire departments from the mainland came to the put out the blaze and save nearby structures, During the depression years of the 1930's  some 200 cottages were torn down.

Victorian Style Home-Coastal Ave West 15 x 22 watercolor and pastel(sold)

Oil 11 x 14 inches, plein air

Coastal Ave W. at Union Ave 15 x 11 watercolor(sold)

   After the 1975 Centennial Celebration there was renewed interest in the Park and in 1976 the Landmark Society was formed to maintain architectural integrity. A number of Victorian style  cottages and homes had been constructed over time. There are numerous inspirations for painting, both en plein air and  studio work from photos and sketches. Over the years the Park has provided me many subjects and will be the source of more.

Coastal Ave West at Island Avenue 15 x 11 watercolor

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Pink Cottage-Plein Air 9 x 12 (sold)

Ginger Bread 11 x 15 watercolor

                                                                          Here are two oldies from 1988. I sat on a stool in the area known as The Green  and with a pad on my lap did some ink and watercolor  renderings using binoculars. The "Iron Cottage"(green) is  a 19th century Carpenter Gothic Revival style cottage.  Turning 180 degrees provided a view of three cottages on Union Ave. My dad was still with us and visiting on vacation. We walked the four miles from our cottage. I sent him to the Pavilion swimming dock to observe the bikinis only a teenage girl would wear and later we walked up to the Guzzle for an double dip ice cream cone.

The Iron Cottage Ink and watercolor 11 x 15

Part Of Union Avenue Ink and Watercolor 11 x 15

Guzzle, Grocery and Fire Dept

Finally, here is  a photo of the Guzzle, Grocery store, and Fire Department section of the business district. Below  is  the current Pavilion which was renovated in the last 10 years.

Pavilion

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 


A LEFT CLICK ON ANY IMAGE  PROVIDES AN ENLARGED VIEW.      

Parade Of Ships ST Lawrence River , 1000 Islands Region

Diamond Star, Volatile Cargo, since purchased by another line and renamed

My  home view of the St Lawrence River includes that portion marked by buoys which is designated the "St Lawrence Seaway". I am on the portion called the "Narrows" in the 1000 Islands Region and just below the Interstate Highway #81 and it's span over the River to Wellesley Island on it way to Canada. In front of the house is Brown Bay and across the other side is Swan Bay. We are set back about 150 yards or so from the shipping channel. From March to almost Christmas there is a constant parade of ships up bound and outbound as well as barges pushed  or towed by tugs, tall ships, and smaller passenger cruisers, and many day cruise vessels for tourists. Sometimes the cargo is visible like wind turbine parts, 5 or six large yachts, fabricated steel parts, and sometimes  invisible in the holds like grains and ores. There is a "Know Your Ships" guide book with listings of the ships and fleet groups, flags of nations, and the colors of smoke stacks which are basically logos. We can feel the vibrations set up in the water and land of many ships long before they they appear in our view. I take many photos as they pass the house, also I venture out in the paddle boat near the edge of the channel and get photos from a low perspective. While out in the power boat a ship will often be encountered and offer a unique view for a photo. Finally, when walking along the Island road that parallels the River, often a passing ship will often appear. Then there is the endless patterns of weather, sunrises, cloud patterns, and setting sun. We don't see sunsets from our location but the setting sun illuminates passing ships and the far shoreline and creates inspiring light effects.  At night the ships pass all lit up. With the movie feature on my digital camera I can capture the reflections in the water, pause the playback, and capture a view for  a painting reference. Here are a few of the ship

BBC Chartering Cargo of Wind Turbine Blades

paintings I have done and I am sure there will be many more. It is not an infrequent occurrence to have two ships passing each other at our observation point. Just the other night this happened and I made a short video with my camera but it was taking two long to upload for this blog. It was cloudy and absent the usual moon lighting. Also, with a little fog, rain, or snow, we are at a spot that gets rattled by horn signals. With modern radar and communications I often wonder  why this is necessary. Sometimes the tourist tour boat captains may request a toot for the entertainment of the tourists.

Two Ships Passing at Night

Upbound empty, anvil cloud pointing the way

Thirteen Stars-Tall ship Lynx at Clayton NY

My Drawing of Images of Lynx