Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/603345
253 Clockwise from top left, A Winter Scene, Eastern Point, and From Governor's Hill (The Red House) and the way Van Gogh used line and paint. "If I want to understand something about the complex- ity of color, then I have to look at someone's work who has solved certain complex problems that I can't get my head around. It could be anyone's work." All of Weaver's paintings are done outdoors, or from memory back in his Gloucester studio, where he keeps a pile of paint- ings set aside that "could happen in a different way." Revisiting a painting, he might add to it (even physically expanding the canvas to be able to paint more in) or change it altogether. "Sometimes I do what it needs, not what it is," he explains. "Sometimes what is isn't good." If that is the case, he might eliminate a shadow or break the color or invent something. "It's a hard thing to learn," he notes. "You have to learn why to make changes first, then determine what needs changing and how to change it." Weaver paints both loose ren- derings and tighter, more exact- ing scenes. Many of his paintings depict the decrepit waterfronts of Gloucester, Chelsea, East Boston, Boston proper, and Everett. "Places like that have some pretty funky stuff going on," he says, explain- ing that he doesn't adhere to any one style—it changes depending on what he sees and what he wants it to be. Most of his pieces are oil on canvas, though he also enjoys working on mat board, noting how it "takes paint" in a way that is different from canvas; he likes that the foundational drawing some- times shows through. Painting outside is a year-round thing for Weaver, who says, "When I am standing there, staring at something—that's where I get the vibes, that's what excites me." He describes the challenge found in rendering ice and snow. Of one winterscape, he recalls, "It looked like I had painted snow. I didn't want that. I wanted it to feel like snow." Capturing the way ice breaks to reveal water is particular- ly difficult. With a pallet knife and green-tinted paint, he happened on the solution. "These are all things you fool around with—that's what makes it interesting to do." Back on Governor's Hill, wrapped head-to-toe, Weaver shares what it is he loves about the spot: "When the sun comes out up on that hill, color just goes crazy. A low winter sun creates weird yel- low skies. The sky is always chang- ing on a winter day."