Taking a Break in the Shade

Whenever I am in Portland working with Portland Art Gallery, I visit this specific location on the Custom House wharf. The Portland Fish Market brings fish of all kinds into their store via this pier. The fishing activity is constant. On this day it was quiet. A pile of lobster traps and a young man sitting on a granite block taking a break from offered an unusual image for me to consider. The deep shadows had so much going on I decided to focus on the shade while letting the highlights at the tops of the buildings be secondary. The bike laying against the stone echoed the angles of the pier directing a way for the eye to move through the painting.