Day 7 - 30/30 Challenge - Orient Point Lighthouse, Sunset - DONE

Orient Point Lighthouse, Sunset, pastel, 12x14.5"

I think this is FINISHED!  And honestly, this snapshot doesn't do it any justice. The purples are so much more vibrant. But such is the problem with blues and violets. Because of where blue and purple are on the spectrum, digital (RGB) cameras have a really hard time getting the color true. Eventually I'll photo in better light and make the adjustments in Photoshop to demonstrate.

On to the next!

Though many of these paintings won't be for sale right away, I'd like to direct you to my Etsy page where I'm having a little sale. Please consider purchasing a painting because, a. Christmas is coming, and these little 6x6s really make nice gifts, and/or b. the mermaid needs to buy some picture frames for the big solo show and selling a couple of these little guys would be a BIG help!

I'd also like to suggest that you sign up on the right side of this page for emails (not every day), and the follow button to get notifications when this blog is updated (for this month nearly every day, most times, not so much).

Get more info on the 30/30 challenge go to Leslie Saeta's blog by clicking here.

Day 5 - 30/30 Challenge - Orient Lighthouse Progress

Orient Lighthouse, Sunset, pastel, unfinished

Under the heading of "Yes, you've seen this before." The painting of Orient Point Lighthouse is coming along nicely. I would say this is about 60% done in this picture. The rocks and the lighthouse, need to be more clear - some more definition. I've already done more with the sky than is in this picture. I'll post the final tomorrow.

My goal in this 30/30 Challenge is not necessarily to paint 30 finished pieces in 30 days, but to paint every day for 30 days. With a solo show coming in November and some other life changes, this time around, just painting everyday will be enough to get a substantial bit of work done.

Though many of these paintings won't be for sale right away, I'd like to direct you to my Etsy page where I'm having a little sale. Please consider purchasing a painting because, a. Christmas is coming, and these little 6x6s really make nice gifts, and/or b. the mermaid needs to buy some picture frames for the big solo show and selling a couple of these little guys would be a BIG help!

I'd also like to suggest that you sign up on the right side of this page for emails (not every day), and the follow button to get notifications when this blog is updated (for this month nearly every day, most times, not so much).

Get more info on the 30/30 challenge go to Leslie Saeta's blog by clicking here.

Day 3 – 30/30 Challenge, Round 4. Orient Lighthouse

So as promised – not a finished painting. I've been at work on this painting of a sunset at Orient Lighthouse (Coffee Pot) for a couple of days. I had a smaller version of this from another 30/30 Challenge, but fortunately it sold! So, because I'm trying to round-out some paintings for the November solo show, I decided to to a larger, more substantial one.

This is about 12" w x 10" h on a really nice black paper I bought several years ago and I can't remember what it is - maybe Strathmore? I don't recall if it's specifically a pastel paper, but it holds the pastel very nicely and can tolerate some wetting.

Though many of these paintings won't be for sale right away, I'd like to direct you to my Etsy page where I'm having a little sale. Please consider purchasing a painting because, a. Christmas is coming, and these little 6x6s really make nice gifts, and/or b. the mermaid needs to buy some picture frames for the big solo show and selling a couple of these little guys would be a BIG help!

I'd also like to suggest that you sign up on the right side of this page for emails (not every day), and the follow button to get notifications when this blog is updated (for this month nearly every day, most times, not so much).

Get more info on the 30/30 challenge go to Leslie Saeta's blog by clicking here.

First Plein Air of 2014 - Fire Island Lighthouse

A Trip to the Lighthouse and the Ocean

Saturday was (finally) a beautiful day. I had heard that the [Fire Island National Seashore’s] boardwalk to the Fire Island Lighthouse had finally been rebuilt and was open for walking! I packed up some painting and drawing supplies (tried to keep it light) and off I went.

I'm always so happy when I cross the Causeway

This post Sandy landscape always freaks me out.

Pretty new boardwalk on National Seashore property. 

(Looks like recycled plastic. Really beautiful and clean.)

YAY! Walking up to the lighthouse and the lens building.

This is the boathouse behind the lighthouse on the bay side. 

I love this composition, but standing here on the boardwalk is awkward and blocks the path for people. So, I'll take the reference shot and move on.

Cool stuff on the bay beach. I love old rusty stuff like this. Looks like a big winch. 

I wonder what its story is?

I came back up and found that I could sit in this spot, on the edge of the boardwalk, out of the way.

FIRST PLEIN AIR SKETCH OF THE YEAR!

(In my sketchbook, NFS)

Then I walked down the beach almost to Kismet. It was windy, and a little cold, but not terribly uncomfortable. I did think that the barefoot people with their feet in the ocean were pushing the envelope, but we really need some spring around here!

This is a really creepy photo for me. Hurricane Sandy stripped away all the dunes, scrub pines and other vegetation. This used to be a dune...not flat as you see it here. You could see the lighthouse and the roof of the keeper's quarters, but not the whole building.

Sand carved by the wind.

That huge dune, sticking out all by itself, is all that's left of the primary dune line in this (approx 1 mile+) section. (Looking west.) 

Walking back along the Burma Road.

I have to go back to the lighthouse. It is my favorite place.

I really enjoy the colors and the graphic-ness of the building, sky and surrounding area.

My happy place. I could sit on this bench all day and watch the sky go by.

Drawn on-site and painted at home from memory.

(In my sketchbook, NFS)

And I was entertained by this little whirlwind of purple and red racing 'round and 'round the lighthouse with her father and brother. (Drawn on site and painted at home from memory.)

Bye-bye Lighthouse - See you soon!

Rhode Island Adventure - Painting Number One - Point Judith

Point Judith Lighthouse, watercolor

10.75"w x 8.75"h, $150

Click to purchase in my Etsy shop

A couple of weekends ago, I popped up to my aunt and uncle's home in Rhode Island for the weekend. I wanted to explore and paint some of the beautiful places near their home, and with the leaves changing, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Saturday - First Stop, Point Judith 

Usually when I go to Rhode Island, it's either raining (summer) or freeeezing (winter). The last time I was at Point Judith it was December, freezing, and the wind was blowing like a hurricane. There are pix of us (somewhere) huddled around the base of the lighthouse, out of the wind.

Very "Hopperesque" isn't it?

I was delighted this time when, despite some clouds, the sun peeked through enough to get some great pictures for future reference AND I was able to do a small watercolor!

Almost finished!

Those shadows on the middle building changed completely in less than an hour!

For more info on Point Judith, click here.

Next Up: Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge

Day 11 - 30/30 Challenge - Still Virtually Visiting Monhegan

Monhegan Lighthouse Buildings, Sunrise

6" x 6", pastel, $35

Available in my Etsy shop - just click here!

Monhegan Lighthouse is such a "photogenic" lighthouse. With commanding views of Mañana Island as well as the coast of Maine (on a clear day), this is one of the most popular places to paint and photograph on the island. The light and shadows on the angles of the buildings - the walls and the roofs, the sky – are just fabulous. I love the blue of the sky, the red roofs, the weather worn white buildings and the green, green grass. 

 I could probably paint on this hill for a month. Just delicious.

Day 5 - 30/30 Challenge & Pemaquid Light and Back to My Real Life.

Pemaquid Lighthouse, Watercolor, 6" x 6" $45
Woohoo! SOLD!

I started this EARLY this morning (Thursday) and had every intention of finishing it right up, but real life and emails, etc. took over. I will do better on Friday.

It occurred to me last night, as I travelled home, that my day had a parallel quality. Up at 6 am, I saw the dawn break. I pack, walk and explore during my final hours on this beautiful little island. (Even more beautiful when the sun is out and I realize that there are other islands around and - shocking - you can actually see the mainland!)

I take some pictures up on Lighthouse Hill, at the school house, up Horn Hill, and hurry back to the wharf to catch a (very small) ferry. (I am the ONLY person leaving the island. How sad.)

The ferry captain stops at two small islands (barely more than rocks - do those count as islands?) to look at some grey seals. We look at them, bobbing about in the water. They look at us, bobbing about on a boat, and after a few minutes, we carry on. 

We see some porpoises surface and dive as we make the hour-long trip back to New Harbor. Muscongus Bay is prussian blue and fairly calm as small trawlers and lobster boats cruise about. Monhegan, Allen, Burnt, Matinicus, Metinic, Ragged islands and lots of other little islands, get smaller and smaller.

Once on the mainland, I make a quick stop at Pemaquid Lighthouse, just down the road a bit. The rock formations on this shoreline look like huge fossilized, eroded logs, as if someone had dropped an gianourmous load of lumber. It's very beautiful. 

I took a quick walk up the lighthouse, and took dozens more pictures. There was a group of painters set up in the picnic area. The light was sparkly and the colors were just saturated. I wish I had the time to join them.

Back in the car and on my way home. I reach New London early enough to make the (very large) 6 pm ferry. I take a few pictures of lighthouses as we leave Connecticut. 

The Sound is prussian blue and fairly calm, small working boats cruise along in the evening, sea gulls swoop overhead and the mainland gets smaller and smaller, becoming a sliver as it reaches west. Islands pop up on the left - Fishers, Little Gull, Great Gull, Plum Island, and finally a very big island – Long Island. Orient Light winks hello as we push through Plum Gut and the sun sets – stunning. The lone cloud reaches across the sky as a sort of mirror image of Long Island.

I'm nearly home...

Day 3 - 30/30 Challenge and more from Monhegan

Monhegan Light, watercolor, 6" x 6", $65

Available in my Etsy shop - just click here!

I'm writing this while waiting for the rain to subside on Monday. This little painting is the view from my room at Monhegan House. It was tricky to do only because the fog would roll through and then clear.

Sunday, after I arrived I hiked to White Head, which is BREATHTAKING, I did a quick little sketch.

After the hike, I passed through the village and came upon a charity auction for the Monhegan Island Sustainable Community Association (MISCA). (Their mission is to buy residential housing on Monhegan and sell it at far below market rate, to people wishing to live and work there.)
There were so many lovely paintings! There was wine and cheese and nibbly things, some nice music. There were lots of people - most of whom knew one another. It was nice to see a little village come out and raise some money for a good cause. It looked like a fun evening.

Then, dinner in the restaurant. YUM! A lobster gnocchi to die for and a delightful little strawberry shortcake for dessert. As bonus a HUGE thunderstorm in the middle of the night! What a light show! It probably lasted two hours (!!!)

Early Monday morning, I took a quick hike to Lobster Cove and the  D. T. Sheridan Tug Boat, wrecked in Lobster Cove in 1948. Though I wish it were sunny. It is such a breathtaking place! (Do you sense a theme here?)

No wonder Rockwell Kent built his home here. I am drenched by the time I get back. So, I dry out, and work on the painting above.

Rockwell Kent house at Lobster Cove. Now owned by Jamie Wyeth.

The fog and rain come and go, so at  1:30 pm, I'm still waiting for the "promised" window-of-opportunity, but it's still raining. Despite that, I think it's time to walk around a bit more...maybe a walk up to the Lighthouse Museum or the brewing company...
Off I go to the Lighthouse. The museum is open and I get a chance to look around for a long time. They even had to kick me out!

Mary Townsend Mason

Edward Willis Redfield

The US Government commissioned Currier and Ives to design and print memorial plaques for soldiers killed in the Civil War. This is the one for the lighthouse keeper's son.

Children's books written by people who lived on Monhegan.

There are lots of antiques and photos of not just the lighthouse and its keepers, but of what life was like on a tiny little island for the last several hundred years(!).

Let's hope Tuesday brings somewhat better weather. Weather.com swears it's not raining here right now at 10:30 pm, but I can assure you that's wrong.

PS - Tuesday - 7:35 am. Socked in fog. :-(
It's near impossible to paint in watercolors in rain or 100% humidity! Have to make the best of it!