“Nearly” Wet Paint

Saturday night was the second annual art auction at the North Shore Arts Association here in Gloucester. This auction is called the “Nearly” Wet Paint auction. It used to be the Wet Paint Auction. I have been involved in the auction as a worker for several years now and I love them.

Our building at NSAA, for those who have never been here, was originally a livery where freight was unloaded from the boats and stored until it could be transported to wherever it needed to go. We don’t know when it was built - probably in the latter part of the nineteenth century - but the location is fantastic, right on Smith’s Cove and Gloucester Harbor (above) overlooking Rocky Neck Art Colony, Gloucester Marine Railways, and the Gloucester skyline which is dominated by our distinctive City Hall, famous the world over for the names of 5000 fishermen lost at sea stenciled on the walls of its staircase.

The problem with such a magnificent location is the very thing that makes it so desirable - being situated on a huge, deep harbor full of very salty, very wet water. Consequently the building is in a constant state of disrepair - hence the fund-raising auctions.

The original Wet Paint concept was great fun. Artist members of the association would agree to spend a day painting at various locations around town on the day of the auction. Maps would be made of their locations and people would pick them up at the gallery and then drive or walk around to watch the artists paint. At the end of the day all the paintings would be hung inside and people bid on them - a good deal of money was made.

However, over the years things changed. Artists who lived at a distance couldn’t make it to Gloucester to paint that day but still wanted to contribute. Some artists were getting older and couldn’t paint outside when the weather was hot or wet. Some artists are simply not plein air painters. And some didn’t have time on the specified day but wanted to contribute anyway. So the decision was made they could drop off paintings ahead of time. However this bred a new problem. Paintings contributed ahead of time tended to be completed work that had the benefit of extra time to be worked on. The artists who painted the day of the auction couldn’t count on having time to finish or of being sure what they had to offer was their best. Competition among artists can be fierce.

So the auction was changed to “Nearly” Wet Paint. Some artists painted on Saturday. Bob Aiello, one of my favorite artists, was the most visible - painting at the entrance to Pirates Lane right under the NSAA sign. But even some of the artists who painted live had a completed painting on reserve to hang in case they didn’t like their painting of that day.

Saturday night was fabulous. There were 110 paintings, the most ever, and there were close to 300 people in attendance. The buffet was incredible, wine and beer flowed freely, the pre-auction entertainment was superb and auctioneer Senator Bruce Tarr (right) was as entertaining as always. It was a fun evening and we raised a lot of money but somehow much of the spontaneity was missing. Those who don’t remember the days of artists elbow to elbow rushing to finish their work, last minute hangings, and successful bidders walking to their cars trying to figure out how they were supposed to get this wet, fragile thing home without making a mess don’t miss that. There is much to be said for offering the very best you have to offer but there is also a charm to working without a net, taking your chances, and living with the outcome. It’s all there in the word “nearly” - wet paint or “nearly” wet paint. Best effort or “nearly” best effort. Risking or “nearly” risking. It’s a tough call.

Thanks for reading.