Night Station, Rockland is part of an ongoing series I began in 2020 during a residency in Monson, Maine. Walking home from the studio at night, I became transfixed by the illuminated gas station across from my house. It glowed like a movie set—the lighting was so dramatic. I would do drawings of the station during the day and work from the drawings back in the studio. This painting is based on the station at the corner of Maverick Street and the Old County Road—just far enough outside town that little else is lit up around it.
Left: Melanie Essex, Late July, oil on panel, 8 x 8 in., 2024. Right: Melanie Essex, Late July, oil on panel, 8 x 8 in., 2024.
These two paintings are “end of the day” studies—small, one-session works that are a sort of coda to a long stretch in the studio. Early July is about the specific quality of light at the beginning of summer when everything still feels new. Late July reflects deep summer—that moment when the season has taken complete hold and the light begins to shift towards the August spectrum.