Ward’s Pond is one of my favorite hidden gems in The Olmsted Park part of the Emerald Necklace that starts in Brookline and extends to Jamaica Plain. It is situated across the street from the more popular Jamaica Pond and yet it feels miles away from the bustle of cars, bikes and runners along the Jamaica Way.
The pond sits low behind a wall on Perkins Street and has an overgrown path leading to it so many people don’t notice it. I bird, run and walk here often so I figured I should try to paint it. I was here on hotter than usual June day to scout it out. I planned on doing a sketch or two but got surrounded by gnats and mosquitoes within 3 nanoseconds so I abandoned that idea and took a few photos instead. Although, I love the idea of plein air painting, the weather conditions, bugs and lack of facilities get the better of me so I use photos and memory as my guide.
The pond is home to the usual suspects of cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers and tufted titmice and hosts various waterfowl including mallards and wood ducks. It also has some wetland aspects such as of cat tails and waterlilies that attract migratory birds. There is a lovely little waterfall that spills out from Jamaica Pond across the street into the Ward’s Pond that takes the visitor by surprise. I took some snaps in February and worked on a couple of paintings of it in my basement during the lock-down.
While I was taking photos I also heard the incessant cries of baby birds. I spotted a dead tree with a hole in in and ran into a birder taking photos as well. She said it was a nest of downy woodpeckers. I stuck around to see if one of them would peak it’s head out or a parent would come by but the heat and bugs got the better of me.
I painted these on one of my favorite substrates: Yupo paper. It is a stiff, slick tree-free “paper” made from polypropylene that is great for staining and the slickness makes my brush move around, making for looser paintings. I took liberties with the reference photos by starting with a red ground to tamp down the cool greens and blues or to add more warmth to the late winter scene above. I also simplified the composition by editing out the density of trees while “amping up” the darks and lights.