Hemingway's Pilar

Ernest Hemingway was an enthusiastic sports fisherman. In 1939 he had his boat "Pilar" built for fishing the waters around the Gulf Stream. Here is my imaginary painting of him coming in from a day of fishing. He is going a little fast, but is slowing down as he passes a cargo sloop. It is crewed by a husband and wife who carry goods among the islands and are Hemingway's friends. There are thunderheads in the distance. Maybe Hemingway will be inspired to create a story about his friends and the storm. I tried to paint the boat wake so that if you relax your eyes, you can almost see it moving through the water. The scene is imaginary, but based on things I've seen and painted in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida. For a period of time in my 20's, I was a yacht captain there and have returned many times to paint those waters. I did refer to some black and white photos to paint Pilar. There were several modifications of it over the years, and I wanted to paint an accurate portrayal of it from the 1950's era. "Hemingway's Pilar" 24x36, oil on linen, available at Cavalier Galleries, Palm Beach.