Life on The Arrigoni Bridge : A Painted and Photographic Synopsis by Sarah Kinne
The Arrigoni Bridge crosses the Connecticut River, Connecting Portland to Middletown Connecticut.
I have painted this bridge since 2007 and will share a couple of my favorite paintings before I get into the photos, the first painting was done from afar, sketched from observation, and the second painting shown was a sketch based on the photo references I created with my recent photo series.
This one Below is an observational painting, from winter of 2007, where I sketched the Bridge from the west side of the river and then painted with vibrant colors that came out during sunset. This is an acrylic painting on canvas and is 2.25 feet by 4.5 feet.
Here is a smaller watercolor done in November... approximately 11 inches by 16 inches
small watercolor on paper!
When I first returned to the Connecticut River Valley in July of 2017, after being in Boston for 13 years, my appreciation for this bridge grew. I had missed crossing it significantly. So for 6 months, I crossed that bridge twice a day and had a camera on a tripod with repeated photos taken.... Each photo was a surprise, I was trying to capture the things that are so beautiful about this bridge.
It is a ladder to celestial paradise to me, monkey bars to heaven. It would, likely, be fun for giants to climb.
Here are some of my favorite moments captured... The photos are in order of time of year, regardless of my direction of travel. This series honors the beauty and form of this bridge in various weather and light conditions. Hopefully after seeing these, one can appreciate why I gravitate to and appreciate the Arrigoni Bridge so much. There may very well be another post with other photos of this bridge as winter progresses.
Lets Begin in the Summertime, going both East and West when the light was strong and vibrant.
The following are from the Easterly Crossing.
Same Day, Westerly Return...
Another Westerly Trip, in Early September with the strong sun setting behind me.
Later Through September and October, the light became more mild and the air a bit more foggy, morning and night were both dimmer and shrouded in mist.
The time of Day I was crossing remained the same as it became a deeper darker and equally beautiful bridge to cross.
I have and will continue to paint and photograph The Arrigoni Bridge. The most stunning moments on the bridge are only accessible from the viewpoint of a moving car, so this process of taking photos allowed me to capture my favorite view.