Vivien Oswell

She is all of 89 years, and most likely by now has entered her tenth decade.  She looks and acts much, much younger.  And in a place overrun with history, tales, legends, and myths, she is an institution.

Vivien Oswell

Her name is Vivien Oswell, and she is an artist. To be more specific, she is a Cape Cod artist. Her path to this calling, and this place, began when she was just a teenager, retouching photos for professional photographers.  What followed this modest entry into the arts is the stuff of which dreams are made.

Her next area of interest focused on hooking rugs, and even making her own patterns for them. On one occasion, she created a portrait of Christ, and the talent she displayed with that rug prompted her sister to give her a set of oil paints, declaring that if she could do that with a rug, she could paint.   Vivien picked up the brush and never looked back.

Fast forward to a young mother with a nascent skill, raising 2 young children, who won second prize in an art contest, giving her the incentive she really needed. Now we have an emerging artist in the making, but where does the Cape come in?  Well, her husband wanted to be a boat builder, and what better place to build boats than Cape Cod?

So, in 1954 she moved to the Cape when her husband secured a job at Allen Harbor.   I believe she still lives in the house/studio they built off Rt. 39 (Sisson Rd.),  just outside Harwich Port.  Inspired by the natural setting of the Cape, and by fellow artists, Vivien finally began to paint seriously.  The world of art, and the Cape, have both benefited mightily from that choice. 

Before long, she was a huge presence in the art communities on the Cape. The Guild of Harwich Artists, the Cape Cod Art Association, and the Provincetown Art Association have all benefited from her contributions and leadership. Vivien has also shared her talents with others by teaching the art of painting. In her success, she has remained a humble and selfless person.  These are adjectives often missing in the world of the artist. But what she does best is what she loves to do most, what she was born to do … paint.

Her works are voluminous, with private commissions of all kinds, formal portraits for banks and institutions (her paintings hang in the county courthouse in Barnstable), a wide variety of Cape scenes, and especially paintings of children on the beach.  She haunts the beaches of the Cape and takes pictures of kids, using them as models for paintings she does later on. I have 3 such, and I swear they are dead ringers for what my kids looked like at the age depicted in the paintings - right down to the clothing. I believe with all my heart that those are my kids she painted….there are simply too many similarities to think otherwise.

For years Vivien and her husband participated in a little studio in downtown Harwich Port, as he also became an artist in his later years.  He was good in his own right, but Vivien was better.  She used to request of people, quietly and on the side, to say something nice to her husband about his work, as he sometimes felt himself not worthy -  simply one more reason to be really impressed with this woman.

Vivien now shows her work at the 820 Main Gallery, on Rt. 28, a ways beyond Sundae School (same side of the street though) and heading for Chatham. She also can be seen at a Cape institution called Art in the Park.  She has been with Art in the Park for more years than I can count. This, a weekly art show in a small park across the street from the Harwich Port Post Office, brings local artists together on Mondays in a weekly outdoor studio/gallery setting that has become a Cape Cod treasure. It is a must stop whenever you visit the Cape.

In my house, there are 15 paintings or prints by Vivien hanging about, especially on the white sun porch that has a distinct Cape Cod theme.  Most of them were purchased at Art in the Park. Her signature painting, in my opinion, is an idyllic portrayal of Wychmere Harbor, done many years ago.  I am proud to have a signed print of that work.  

A few years back, Vivien fell and broke her wrist (shattered is probably a better description).  The surgeon said he could operate and try to fix it, but she would never paint again.   Well, in Vivien’s world, that wasn’t about to happen, so she settled for a bent arm and taught herself how to paint left handed, at the age of 84!

Now, if you are a keen observer like Vivien, you may have read between the lines and by now guessed it; the talented Vivien Oswell is an artist entirely self-taught, which makes her long standing success even more remarkable!  Some people have gifts, and other people are gifts. Vivien Oswell .. is marvelously both.    

I see her but once a year, and we chat only briefly, but I feel as if I have a friend of many years who wants to connect with me as much I do her.  I can’t wait to see that smiling face again next year.

Mark Twain Quote:  “Can it be possible that the painters make John the Baptist a Spaniard in Madrid and an Irishman in Dublin?”

Lobster Fizzle

Remember my post of 6/11, setting the stage for this summer’s contest on the Cape for the maker of the  “Best Lobster Roll Anywhere?”  Well, the trip is over and …. well, read on.

First, a return to some basics is in order.  Let us start at the very beginning.  A very good place to start.  Now, if I ruled the world, the perfect lobster roll would look something like this:

Oversized  hot dog bun – toasted lightly

Said bun overstuffed with tender, fresh, cold lobster meat

A side of mayo, to add as desired

That’s it…stop right there, don’t add another thing to this recipe, except….

Optional - throw in perhaps a side of Cape Cod Kettle Chips, or slaw, or beans, but no fries please, and on a separate plate if possible. Optional indeed, as a lobster roll, properly made, needs no help in satisfying one’s taste buds, or appetite.

Not optional – a glass of white wine (not too dry, not too sweet).  The brand or name doesn’t really matter.  Hell, after the first glass I couldn’t tell (or care) what I was drinking anyway.  Or beer – that works too - most any kind except for those with “fruit” in them.  Fruit, in beer - what’s next?  Pomegranate?  Omega 3s?

In life, anticipation and reality are oft times quite different. And thus it was on my most recent trip to Cape Cod.  The long awaited duel between Chapins restaurant and the Sesuit Harbor Café – didn’t live up to the hype.  Kinda like the Weather Channel predicting the end of the world every time it storms, or so it seems.

In the interest of validating the big contest to come, I had lobster rolls at the Lobster Pound and the Lobster Claw, both in Orleans.  As their names imply, they should have great rolls.  Well, they were ok, but ultimately disappointing.  Small hot dog buns, too much salad material, and stingy of meat, both were what I would call just average.  But, it didn’t stop me from eating them.

Then it was on to the main event.  I first went to Chapins, the one on Lower County Road in Dennis Port (hint: stay away from this one; go to the Chapins on Taunton Ave. on the other side of the Cape.  It’s near Chapin Beach, hence the name).  I started here as, so far, they have my vote for the best lobster roll anywhere.  So far.

 

Chapins - the cold roll

I had a cold lobster roll and then a hot one (not at the same time, if that’s what you were thinking).  Both were as I remembered them….good, and LARGE (lots of good lobster meat, more so in the cold roll than the hot).  The thing I liked least is that even here, they had “stuff” in them…..like lettuce, and other things that made this, to a small degree, part roll and part salad.

 

Chapins - the hot roll

 Next I visited Sesuit Harbor Café, visit being the operative word. This place is a gem, tucked away in a far corner of a large marina.  Even with Mrs. Garmin at your side, you have to know exactly where you’re going or you will have difficulty finding it, and once located, you will probably find yourself parking under some huge boat high up on a rack above your head. Hint: get there early and think about bringing your own chair and little table, so you don’t have to feel hurried to eat and leave to make room for the perpetual line forming behind you.  I would actually love to spend some time there eating, drinking, and just soaking up the quintessential essence of the Cape, but…

When you have just spent the day at Nauset Beach with 7 kids, two things are certain.  One, you are tired.  That alone is a great reason to hang out at a place like this and just chill, enjoying the end of the day. But let us meld the first observation with a second.  The kids.  Well, by late afternoon, they were beyond tired, approaching rapidly the end of their rope and soooo ripe for a colossal meltdown.

Sesuit Harbor Cafe  (lots of meat-find the roll)

So, a take out meal it was, and I really don’t know if that affected the quality of the lobster roll or not.  It was a good roll, very good actually. Lots of lobster, fresh and tasty. but also, lots of lettuce, and even a tomato (talk about your salad!)  And all this on a very small bun.  It was so small (as were the ones at the Pound and the Claw) that I swear they must make those buns especially for this purpose.  Lord knows a hot dog placed in one would find itself leaking out both ends.  The quanity and tenderness of the lobster meat saved the day, but in the end, after the last bite, I had to pronounce Chapins the winner once again.

In my frustration, it suddenly occurred to me the single reason why Chapins continues to hang onto the mythical cup.  They use a French roll … for the roll.  It is much larger than the typical hot dog roll used by the others, hence, more lobster.  And their use of “stuff” was in line with other restaurants, so what ended up being essentially a tie was broken by the size of the bun.

Disappointed and depressed, I left the Cape unfulfilled in my quest.  Add to that the general malaise felt every time I leave anyway, and you have a double whammy.  But in my self imposed despair, a glimmer of hope!  During the week, an experienced Cape native emailed me and offered  some restaurant choices.  I reviewed them, sadly, the night before leaving.  There was one, way down the list, that caught my eye …. a place called Moby Dick’s, in Wellfleet.  Very informal, kid friendly, you order at the counter, only here there are people who just bring your order to the table.  Sounds a lot like Abbotts and Sesuit Harbor! Online I went, found the menu, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but this description: 

“Moby’s Lobster Roll  -- tender tail and claw meat with just a touch of mayo on a toasted New England roll.”

Are you kidding me?  My description of a perfect lobster roll almost word for word on a restaurant menu?  Tender meat - toasted roll - hint of mayo -  this is it! I found it! The only apparent wild card is the New England roll.  If that turns out to be large, and filled with meat, then folks, I think we have a serious, and I mean serious, contender.

One major problem…I won’t be back till next year! How can I wait a full year?  Cruelty in its purest form.  But, in the wait, there is sublime anticipation, not unlike that of a first kiss.  The visit will be made all the better by the wait.  Or so I hope, once again.  Till next year then....counting.

Mark Twain Quote: “There is no unhappiness like the misery of sighting land (and work) again after a cheerful, careless voyage.”