Sunday, July 8, 2012

LITTLE TUG THAT WOULD on CANTON PIER

"Dry Tug on Canton Pier" oil on canvas (8" x 10") 2012
When I saw this tiny tug boat named the Aqua I sitting there  atop the fractured Canton Pier in East Baltimore, she called out to be painted on my canvas right away. I don't know anything about her only that she seemed forlorn but not forgotten on that sunny spring day. She appears to have some repairs in progress but not recent ones. Aqua I has a mammoth companion nearby named the Savannah who gets a lot of attention from those who desire to tour a de-fueled, nuclear-powered freighter. Savannah was commissioned during the Eisenhower administration's "Atoms for Peace" campaign. Her 1950's mess hall is one of my favorite rooms on the big white ship. (More on her to come so return to this blog later).  Where Aqua I waits, old rubber truck-tires protect her concrete dock from being pounded by stray debris and runaway boats. I hope to return one day soon and see that Aqua I has received some further courtesy and repairs. Otherwise, I might have to fix her myself and chug across the bay while merrily singing "Sailing Down the Chesapeake" to her.
"Savannah" sits on the Canton Pier without her nuclear power. But she keeps Aqua I good company.

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