Summer Places: Eastern Long Island and New England

Simon Parkes paints summer in the Northeast: the sandy beaches, old frame houses, drifting boats, and rocky shores that represent the joys of summertime from Eastern Long Island up along the coast to New England. His paintings are sentimental and nostalgic-- he records houses and landscapes that might have been painted in the 19th century, or even earlier. In the pages of this evocative volume, the hot, dusty, gorgeous days of summer come alive. Memorial Day marks the first day of summer, the time to reopen shuttered houses and sweep last year's sand from the porch. In the thirteen weeks before Labor Day, it's time to visit breezy shores and mountain lakes and enjoy a classic American summer in the countryside. Extended relations convene, families balloon under the shingled roof, seaside cottage, or the cozy intimacy of an Adirondack lodge. These places have a comforting sameness to them; they change little from year to year. Summer is also the time when Simon Parkes shoulders a traveling box of oil paints and a handful of brushes and heads out on bicycle or foot to capture the evanescent summer landscapes of Eastern Long Island and New England. In just a few hours, for Parkes works quickly to take advantage of the light, he creates a a view of cliffs bordering Gardiner's Bay or of the small boats skimming the coast of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Parkes's summer places are sentimental and nostalgic; he records houses and landscapes that might have been painted in the 19th century, or even earlier. Summer Places is a keepsake for the millions of locals and visitors who love the special vitality of traditional New England and Eastern Long Island. Thisquiet world, the unchanging world of summer, lies at the heart of this entrancing book.