Reflections…Of A Hard Life – UArt 400 Grit Mounted on Foam Core 18 x 24

The worn, pockmarked rusting hull, the weather beaten and faded dock, one would be lost without the other as they are held in place by fraying rope. It is an alliance that offer familiarity against the challenges of a hard life. When I was younger, my grandfather and parents would take me and my brothers to the docks of Gloucester. We had family and friends who would work and have worked the waters of the Atlantic. Once home to hundreds of vessels of all shapes and sizes, Gloucester’s once proud fishing fleet has dwindled to less than 70. Regulations and the challenges of owning a commercial fishing boat are part to blame. The other, the fact that it is one of the dangerous jobs in America if not the most dangerous has prompted mothers and fathers to push their sons and daughters away from the ocean. As the industry continues to fade, these families, their offspring glance over their shoulder for one last look at what will forever be their connection, like the rusted hull and weathered dock, binding them to a legacy, their legacy, to this gem by the sea, to those that go down to the sea in ships.