With summer now in the rear view mirror, I'm still enjoying painting places I love. There is a set of small house cottages right across the road from this beach that really catch the light at certain times of the day. The hydrangeas were in bloom- all the better in this dry summer season.
When I went to the beach to paint, I noticed the light on this little house and had to paint it. I am learning so much this summer! I was so happy about it all day. I am learning the value of pre-mixing as well and hope to play with palette knives again soon. All to say, I like this one, love the familiar place it represents-joy in July!
This one from Wednesday is a little scene from a private beach area in West Barnstable. I did most if this one with a palette knife. When I switch from canvas surfaces to hardboard, it takes a while to gauge the flow of the paint and the consistency. The lighthouse is on Sandy Neck and was far in the distance. I am pleased with the result. Not to say, the challenges of heat, bugs, people, sand, wind....well, still learning how to adapt to paintings 'plein air'. But I love the lessons I am learning this week. Not all are successful. There have been some attempts this week that were pure wipeouts. All part of the journey. Off to paint now!
I worked on two paintings on Tuesday, both at a small town beach landing in West Barnstable. It seems there are views like this one at the end of every dead end lane here. This is the Cape that most who visit once or twice may never stumble on.
This is my first plein air effort for the summer! I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday at a beach off Scudders Lane in Barnstable painting. I return to this spot because it is quiet and private and just a great place to be. The new Coulter easel is fabulous- lightweight, easy to set up, stable- perfect! Can't wait to go again!
I played a bit with palette knife painting this weekend. It is a different skill set, but great fun. I am stretching a bit now, with larger pieces in the mix on my easel, new brands and types of paint, pre-mixing, limited palette. It is easier to stay with what I know for results, but I want to move ahead. In this little offering to the coming summer, I am eager to get outside and paint. Hopefully many beach and seascapes ahead!
I've learned a great deal this week from painting in a series. You become very familiar and comfortable with your subject. In this case, the color pallette has been fairly narrow for good emphasis on values. I think each one gets a bit better as I go. I am more willing to experiment once comfortable with the approach and subject. The compositional framework has shifted to a closer viewpoint. It has been fun to paint each one and I am far more relaxed than when I approached the first bird in flight. When I finished taking photos of these birds on the beach, they all quickly clustered in a frenzy around another woman on the beach - one whom they knew well because she had bread and because it seems this area of the beach is her home at night. I think of her when I paint the seabirds and wonder what happened in her life to bring her to this place. I am grateful and blessed, and humbled.
And yet one more. Once I got going, I hated to lose the color pallette. I played a bit thicker with this one, using a pallette knife at times, working on the water patterns. I like his viewpoint- out to sea and over the horizon.
I wanted to play with composition a bit with this one and capture the close-up characteristics of this bird. he had a bit more color than some others on the beach and was very bold and fearless. These birds also force a very limited pallette and focus on values that is a great exercise in seeing. I may want to paint this one in a large format soon.
Three in a row. The birds in a collection with the long shadows of very early morning post sunrise caught my eye. This 30 Day challenge has become a personal discipline for me in January- a gret way to beat the winter blues and spend time in a meaningful and measurable way.
For several years, I studied with a master watercolorist-Andrew Kusmin. When I would get frustrated with lack of progress, he would counsel to paint many of one item, trees, carousel horses, florals, etc. "Paint until you know them inside and out." This week I am finally taking his advice and painting seabirds-several. This guy was hopeful that I might have some snacks in my pocket.
I painted this one some time ago after our family visited Martha's Vineyard and biked out to Gay Head beach. It was a very bright day, late afternoon, and the colors were wonderful.
In January, there are people who are in bathing suits and flip flops while I am in Boston and it is 20 degrees. Went small and fast with this little 6 x 6 - fun!
