For Day 4, here’s another recent painting — based on an early morning drive south of Half Moon Bay in California around Christmas. I loved how the masses were knit together in form and color by the nestling mist — and the interesting, barely-there trees out on the cliff point. I’m still ‘California Dreamin’. With this coronavirus stuff, I don’t know when I’ll be able to fly out there again. Road trip???
This is the second painting I entered in The Tonalist Society competition.
It would be impossible to retrace our workshop footsteps and recount all of our painting triumphs and pratfalls, so I’ll just say: WATER and WILDLIFE! We spent every day painting by beautiful waters ~~ the old Ocean Springs harbor, the gentle marshes of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, the sparkling Ocean Springs beaches and the marshy streams meandering down to the shore. Here are a few shots of the waters we enjoyed.
And as for the wildlife, there was a feast for the eyes ~~ from bombardier pelicans, sunning alligators, eel-gulping herons, osprey, crab and who knows what else. And I guess we have to count as ‘wildlife’ the daring youngsters, male and female, who paddle boarded within feet of the alligator after he decided to take a dip in the harbor.
In writing my last post, I realized I hadn’t described our recent workshop in any detail. It was great ~~ a delightful mix of ‘7 Palettes‘ painting buddies and Kathy Stowe, another Maryland-based friend; two of my sisters (Ceci & Susan); and three other Coast-based artists — Marylyn Gibson, Sherry Carlson and Curtis Jaunsen. And of course our most excellent instructor, Marc Hanson.
Marc and Terry Miura are two of my most favorite landscape painters (not to take anything away from our outstanding MD-based artists). Painting ‘rock stars’ in my book. I’ve taken workshops with each of them and our 7Ps group sponsored a workshop with Terry not long ago. It was fun to learn that they both trained at the same school in California! Must be something in the water (or the OMG) out there!
Here are the beautiful demos that Marc did during our four day workshop. I bought ‘On Canal by Old OS Harbor’ as a memento of the wonderful experience.
Before the recent workshop on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I tried to get in the groove by painting one of the places we would visit there. I call it ‘Susan’s Marsh’ because it was based on a photo my sister took in showing us potential venues. I didn’t finish it then, but did so a couple of weeks ago so I could include it in our new Maplewood Exhibit. I decided to spice it up a bit by adding a heron — it was looking a bit too tranquil without it!
This one seems to pair well with yesterday’s painting. I wanted to do them simultaneously so as to capture, if I could, somewhat of the same, dreamy, calm, mysterious feel. (It’s actually based on a faded Polaroid photo I have in my stash.)
Day Dreaming in Cream. Oil on Arches oil paper. 2018. 12×12.
Today’s painting is decidedly different from the others you’ve seen so far. It’s one of two that have a different color palette and strike a very dreamy mood (in my opinion). We happened on this scene while zipping along on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It reminded me of a life very different from my own. Fortunately, folks on the Eastern Shore and in my own Biloxi, Mississippi, still take the time for such contemplation.
Fishing in Cream. Oil on Arches Oil Paper. 2018. 12×16.
This scene is a souvenir of a wonderful long weekend my husband and I spent at a waterfront inn south of Easton, MD one lazy August. Both sons and their families were there, along with one set of parents in law. There were white lawn chairs, hammocks under beautiful pines, and a fire circle down the shore. We went crabbing in the bay, fishing in the river, and had a wonderful crab feast to top things off.
Wade’s Point Inn. Oil on Linen Panel. 2017. 12 x 12.
Six art buddies and I are set to open a new month long exhibit next week. (Kick-off public reception on the 12th – details to follow. ) Have been crunching to do SEVEN new paintings for the show. Here’s number one:
Dark Pines on the Bay. Oil on Arches Oil Paper. 2018. 16 x 12.
Father and Son at the Beach. Original iPad Painting. 4:5 aspect ratio. 2017.
And another father-son in the water! What’s sweeter to behold than a parent and child at play?
Last year I created a couple of stylized iPad images for the Walter Anderson Museum’s Christmas card competition. One of them was selected for their artist series.
My sister Susan alerted me that the museum featured my sketch this year in its new Facebook fundraising post for the holidays. Way cool! Here’s what it looks like:
Here’s the complete image — Walter, rowing his decorated skiff away from the Biloxi lighthouse and toward his Horn Island retreat. Followed by an alternate, more colorful, version I did last year as well.
