At Surf Side

Have you ever met someone that you felt immediately as if you had known them for a long while?

That happened recently when my painting gang (Pieces of 8) took a collector up

on her generous offer to come spend some time with her at her beach house in Surfside, So. Carolina.

Nope, no one had ever met her, nor she us.  We are all just a little wacky that way.

So off we went to the land of the Grand Strand, shagging on the beach, shrimp right

off the boat, paintable gardens and lots of long chats and laughs.

It was amazing.  She was amazing...

and generous and fun!

Finally we had to rest...no field trips please, we begged...just a long day soaking up

the gorgeous, wide hard-packed beach.

Of course I took my pencils and here is my ode to Surfside:

SURF SIDE

(2 panels) 7" x 5" each

After my stroll along the shore I sat down and begin to draw my handful of shells

and stones I had found.  What could be better than sketching with the

sound of the ocean and the waves licking your toes?

Later I toted the panels home and began to add the colors in acrylic paints keeping the shells in graphite and white.  I then added just the barest touch of pinkish colored pencil to some spots for a bit of delicate contrast.   The panels need no framing as the design is carried throughout all four sides of both panels.

These two pieces work as one painting and while they are made to hang vertically (see top photo) they work equally well side by side....or split them forever and share one with a friend!

Anyway, we can't thank our hostess with the mostess enough...for an insiders introduction to the wonders of the South Carolina coast as well as an endless amount of inspiration.

Guaranteed you will see some more art coming from that wonderful trip to Surfside!

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Godspeed Endeavor

My painting gang head to the beach this morming to watch the last launch of the Endeavor.  I've lived in Brevard County, Florida for 30 years and the space program has never been old hat with the locals.  No matter where you are the world stops as the countdown approaches T minus 10 seconds.  We stop our cars and hold our breath.

Here's what a tiny part of the beach looked like from Mary's seventh story condo balcony:

It was a crystal clear morning with a coolish breeze so beach goers could not have been happier.  The traffic came to a standstill as cars pulled over and everyone looked northward towards the ocean.  We were indeed rewarded:

This is fairly high into the sky having already passed through some low lying clouds.  The bright yellow burn from the engines is barely visible at this point and everyone is just beginning to take a breath.  About this moment you can hear a loud cheer rise up from the beach (or where ever you are) as no one ever takes this for granted.  We always applaud and cheer when it gets this high.  As the cheer dies down the sound barrier is broken and a loud boom sounds across the water...you can almost feel it.

I know this is not much of an art post....but scientific exploration is an art and it is one I hope this country doesn't give up on.  It was very difficult to settle into painting after witnessing history.  Sigh.

For Rita

Today is the Celebration of Life for my mother-in-law, Rita.  Rita was not much for metaphors and symbols, she wanted you to say what you mean and mean what you say, straight and simple.  Nevertheless an artist is not an artist if they do not rely on such things so with apologies to her I post this painting as a tribute to Rita.  This is Bob, her son, headed out to greet the dawn with his one-man kayak on the beach.  This scene struck me as appropriate because we both believe that his mother is off on a new adventure, tackling the unknown that we can only imagine.  High key scenes (very little contrast and almost no darks) are difficult to paint but I liked the way the horizon line between ocean and sky was almost non-visable, you know it is there, you just cannot see it, like God.  And so I labored on this for her.  She lived near the ocean for much of her adult life.  Here's "Godspeed" for the next chapter Rita, thank you for being a simple and straightforward Mother-in-law...we will indeed miss you.

"New Dawn" is done in pastel on paper and is 7x 5, matted in white for a standard 10 x 8 frame.