watercolor and pastel on paper

Many of Nell Blaine’s later works of Gloucester were landscapes from the “painting platform” which was built at her small cottage overlooking Gloucester Harbor. The brush was cleared around the granite ledge surrounding the cottage to provide a view of the harbor, and colorful flowers were planted around the granite. From this spot, Nell painted
intimately and repeatedly through all seasons. She named her Gloucester home “Eudora Cottage”, after her mother, Eudora Catherine Garrison.

Nell Blaine approached both her life and her art with indefatigable spirit and courage. Painted while battling polio and working from a wheelchair, many of her Gloucester watercolors express a feeling of “reckless joy”, and yet – like a jazz improvisation – they are also deliberate balances of rhythm and form.