Complexity of Quiet
Besides the cranberry pickers in-season the only people I see on these bogs are other dog-walkers. It's surprising how many bogs there are here on the Cape. Drive down a dirt driveway in the woods, as I have, and you may find yourself circling around one. And that one may lead to another or even a third or fourth. Like passing through the looking glass from vacation homes to farmland it is one of those rare spots in the height of the summer season where it's always solitary.

I think art satisfies a need. For most art collectors -- with their complicated and busy lives -- there seems to be an appeal in simple and peaceful compositions but my attraction to complexity in painting is a need for an engaging subject. One hectic summer day I found myself on this quiet road in Cataumet studying how sunlight and shade falls on a sandy and a dirt road and on the various grasses and weeds. As always on Cape Cod bogs, there is a sense of atmosphere as the moisture fills the air in these wide open bowls but the main reason I picked this spot was the challenge of painting fresh truck tracks in the dirt. An indulgence with what I am sure is solitary appeal.

©2006 DOUG RUGH. Artwork may not be reproduced without permission.