Crepe Myrtle in Bloom

Many people think of Spring as the best time to see the South in bloom.  Few realize that the warmer months of the year also have their own form of  Southern flower power.. Crepe Myrtle, Magnolia and many native  Southern plants are in peak bloom.

Cannas around the Palm Garden Urn.

 And many introduced species thrive in our near tropical climate.

Climbing Gloriosa Lily looks aflame against it's green leaves

Brookgreen Gardens is one the best places in the  state to see just how truly exotic the South can look

One of my personal  favorites blooms of the season are the waterlilies.  I always try to get in plein air  paintings of these beauties at this time of year.

Wild white waterlilies can be found blooming along South Carolina's roadways

But they are not as large nor as colorful as those in Brookgreen's ponds

And Brookgreen's  pond lilies are a lot safer to paint . Unfortunately this year 's constant scattered thunderstorms are making  plein air  even at  Brookgreen  hazardous. 
Fortunately I was able to  get in a few good sketches and grab some decent reference photos this week before the weather chased me off

 

Visit to Charleston 2'14

I needed to deliver some paintings to the Charleston Artists Gallery.  The sun is out, the skies clear, and the temperature is pleasant for the first time in weeks.  The quality of light was perfect for taking reference photos of the Charleston's beautiful architecture.  Pretty sure this one will wind up as a painting soon.

Photograghy at Margnolia Plantation and Gardens 7'13

One of the benefits of being a member of Charleston Artists Guild  is free admission to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.  As a result, I have been there many times.  Yesterday, however was my first in mid-summer.  I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it is at this time of year.

When I wasn't hanging out at the CAG exhibit booth, I spent much of my free time in areas of the Plantation I had not visited before, like the Audubon Swamp Garden.

  You can get really close to the raucous juveniles and the rookery on the boardwalk through the swamp so it was not too late in the season to get some interesting bird photos.

 I also followed the bike path along the river and through the rice fields.

 The views along  that path were  spectacular as well.  Pretty sure some of these reference photos will become paintings as well

New Painting of Cheraw State Park 6 '13

 

Last weekend my husband and I took a trip to Cheraw State Park. I am still deeply engrossed with painting South Carolina's State Parks. and hoped to get some good reference photos for the series . The trip turned out to be a travel "adventure": we got hit by rain, tornado warnings, and both the RV and the two vehicle broke down on the way home. Never the less I was determined that some good would come from this adventure, When I got home I started working on a painting from a quick sketch and a photo I made of two people in a canoe in Lake Juniper at Cheraw State Park last weekend. The blurry photo  above  is the way the camera saw the scene. The second image  below is the painting I did once I got home. As you can see, the scene was a lot more vivid in my minds eye.

 

Working Large Workshop: Thursday 3"13

 Bill jumped right into instruction on the first morning of the workshop with a demonstration of how he  proofs his concept on a small  canvas before  working on a large one.  Above you can see how he taped  a reference photo to the side of his easel, then loosely sketched out the design in a thin blue wash onto a toned canvas.   He then filled in the design with large blocks of additional color which were build up from dark to light.  This gave him the first rough layer of the final painting.  

Stopping there, Bill asked each of us to put a thin wash of color upon the canvas supports we had brought with us, and select a reference photo  ( from his collection or one our own) to use as the basis for our first painting.

 I had already selected my reference photos and toned my canvas with red iron oxide prior to arriving at the workshop, so I set up my  workstation and began painting.  By lunch time I too had my design roughed in and was ready to start applying  the first large blocks of color.

But first things first.... a group lunch at the Saluda Grill.

After lunch, Bill gave us a demonstration of how to wrap a canvas onto a stretcher frame.

That was a learning experience for me.  Not at all difficult ( if you are 6'+ like Bill).  It gave me more confidence for  how I can work if I can't find the size canvas I need locally.

Another V Day Painting 2 '13

I was browsing a yahoo article about heart shaped natural wonders, when a photo of some swans caught my eye. ... and reminded me of a small painting I had done of some local swans for V Day a few years ago. I started scouting through my archives and sure enough.... I pulled out a 5x7 swan painting . It was of a different species,  but the emotional intent is the same.

Photo above from:

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/amazing-heart-shaped-wonders-slideshow/love-hearts-in-nature-photo--702047975.html

Second is of my painting
  Have a Happy Valentines Day

Sean Thompson presents at SAG 2 '13

Sean Thompson, of Thompson Nature Photography, Pawleys Island, one of the areas premiere photographers, made a very informative presentation entitled "Tools for Making a Sharper Image" at the general membership meeting of the  Seacoast Artists Guild.  Topics he discussed included digital camera control settings for ISO,  Aperture (AV)  Shutter speed (TV). and equipment (tripods &  lighting). After the meeting Sean made himself available to discuss the equipment he brought for the presentation.

Super tide at Pawleys Island 12 '12

 

   Flood warnings have been  posted all along the South Carolina coastline today  due to a super high tide. Far from wanting to flee the in-coming tide, Bruce and I rushed to the end of our street  to see what the high tide would do to Pawleys Island Marsh. In short, it turned it into a  gigantic mirror. With no place to go, many of the marsh birds huddled together on bits of debris like a still life stranded between an infinite sea and sky.  It was beautiful.  When I finally got around to reviewing the photos I had taken, I thought I had mistakenly set my camera on a black and white setting.  They were all nearly near monochromatic.  But no, it was just that I was so focused upon capturing the photo ops before me  that I failed to notice the lack of color in the scene.  I love how the gray-scale quality of the sky and water amplifies the stark nearly abstract design of the solid objects.

Mt Sassafras, Pickens Co., SC 10 '12

 Mt Sassafras in Pickens County, SC at 3500+ feet is the highest mountain in South Carolina. Don't laugh, I've bagged peaks with the Desert Peak Division of the Sierra Club that weren't as high as this.

Of course it really wasn't much of a hike on the Foothills Trail ...It was more of a short uphill walk from the parking lot where the road crossed the trail about 200 feet below the peak. 

Mt Sassafras Overlook

Just off the parking lot there was a viewing platform that provided some spectacular vistas.  I loved the way the fall foliage contrast with the gray background

This view is across North-western South Carolina and beyond into Georgia

This is looking east across Pickens County toward the East Coast of South Carolina. The outer bands of Hurricane Sandy were blocking the view or we might have been able to see the coast.  

Long Shoals SC 11 Roadside Park

Great reflections

 Surprise surprise. This beautiful little river run is right next to SC Highway 11.   Only a  small road sign, "Long Shoals Roadside Park" and a  small pull off of gives any indication that there is anything special to see.

Great color

The water was low so I could stand on dry rocks in the middle of the stream and take photos

Endless composition opportunities

Can't wait to get started painting some of these scenes.

Caesar's Head SC State Park 10 '12

 This mountain top park has awesome views. 

Raven Cliff Falls Caesar Head SP, SC

I hiked 5+ miles along the flank of the upper peaks of this SC State Park to an overlook for Raven Cliff Falls. It is possible to hike  an additional 1.5 hours straight down through dismal gorge to the bottom of the falls, but the trail signs warned it would then  take an additional  3 hours  to  hike straight back up.  Alternatively I could have hiked an additional mile  to a suspension bridge that crosses the top of the falls, but then Icouldn't actually see the face of the falls.. I decided the overlook was the best choice for getting a good look at and some reference photos of the 400 foot plunging waterfall.

There's a potential painting everywhere you look

Raven Cliff Falls  in Caesars Head SP

I spent most of the day checking out the nearby SC State Parks for scenes that  I could use in my State Park series.

Caesar  Head SP  Hiking Train

It wasn't hard to find them.... the area is aflame with Fall color

Table Rock  SP Fall color

So whether I concentrated on a single nearby object

Caesar Head SP scenic highway

or a mid range view

Table Rock SP 

or a distant view of a classic landscape,  there was  a fall scene just waiting to be painted everywhere I looked.

In addition to the Fall color, I collected a lot of reference photos of the rivers and creeks in the area

Another small river in Jones Gap SP

There are even waterfalls to be found  right along the highway

Small waterfall along side of SC Highway 11

Waccatee Zoological Farm 6'12

  Looking for a good place to to sketch exotic animals or are  looking for a place to photograph birds ?  The  Waccatee Zoological Farm is a small family run enterprise  that is run  entirely on private donations. 

 

  The zoo houses thousands of animals and over 100 species.
The first to greet you are the Peafowl (aka peacock).

 

 They are both beautiful to look at and good security.  At the least small disturbance these lovely creatures  begin  screaming ear piercing alarm calls, alerting  the staff and everyone else that mischief is afoot.

 From the road you see herds of buffalo and zebra roaming the open sunny grassland, but most of the zoo is located within 500 acres of private, carefully preserved, wooded property.

Some of the larger herd animals like the ( North African sheep above) are given  large tree sheltered enclosures. . Many of the animals are located in relatively small enclosures,  making them very easy to see and sketch.  

 But fair warning while clean and well fed, it did not seem entirely fair to keep such large animals in such small spaces. I was especially uncomfortable with the  cats and other predators. The zoo's website brags that  "big cats like the leopard, lion, cougar and tiger eye you up close".  It is true that one can get close.  I could get within a foot of this  little serval cat, but  it  wouldn't meet my eyes.  A  large lioness paced endlessly back and forth  between the cinder block walls of her  rooms.    It left me feeling guilty and sad to see these beautiful animals caged like this.

One are that I did find enjoyable was the raised wooden walkway that winds through the  wetlands .   A raised wooden walkway winds through  the

Located where the Waccamaw River, Intracoastal Waterway and Socastee Creek  join, Waccatee Zoo is a natural wildlife sancuary and breeding ground for many species of migratory birds.  At several times of the year it's not uncommon to see thousands of beautiful native egrets or heron in one small spot.  

The birds were everywhere, posing like photographers models

 The egret above had built its nest right over the walkway,

while a heron below posed on a branch beside the walk. The difference between the birds and the other creatures in the zoo is that the birds are free to come and go as they like.  If the zoo area does  not please them, they could simply fly on down the river to another site.

There's a lot more animals than I have shown, so if you are into wildlife art  check it out at: The Waccatee Zoological Farm 

 8500 Enterprise Rd

Myrtle Beach, SC  29588

843-650-8500

Jekyll Island GA 3 ' 2

You may remember from an earlier post in 2010 that we had stopped  overnight at Jekyll Island  while we were en-route to Florida.  We had been favorably impressed with what we saw then,  and had vowed to come back and spend more time exploring this Georgia State Park Sea Island. 

 One of the things we did not have time to see during our first pass through of the Island  was it's historic district. In 1886, Jekyll Island was purchased to become an exclusive winter retreat for America’s most elite families, known as the Jekyll Island Club. For more than half a century, the nation’s leading families, including the legendary Rockefellers, Morgans, and Pulitzers, came to Jekyll Island “to secure an escape.”  Many of their "cottages" are still here. 

Today, the Jekyll Island Museum tells their stories, giving an inside look at what life was like for both club members and their employees. 

 Offering exhibits, tours, and a museum store, the Jekyll Island Museum provides an introduction to the vibrant cottage life of the National Landmark Historic District and important landmarks beyond such as this colonial era tabby structure.

 or this Plantation Oak which is estimated to be the oldest Oak on Jekyll Island.

 While we did not take any of the formal tours, we did spend a significant amount of time riding our bicycles through the historic district homes and gardens 

  stopping to read all of the historical markers along the way.

The island has an extensive set of  well maintained bike trails  which allowed us to traverse the entire length and breadth of the island without the use of  a car .

Many of the bike paths are under the shade of the massive heritage oaks making it not just a  beautiful place to ride ones bike but a comfortable one as well

The bike paths not only go through out the historic district, but

 the harbor, 

the maritime forest, 

 The maritime forest

 the marsh 

  and  even through the dunes onto  the beach.   

 We were very impressed with the measures that the State of George has taken make such treasures accessible to the public, while protecting these same areas from use.  E.g. look at the viewing stations set up on the dunes so that people can watch the sunrise without trampling the fragile dune vegetation.  They are a perfect place to photograph or paint the seashore.

 All along the way there are bike racks for those that want to stop to explore an area of the island a bit more. We took full advantage of this , especially when it came to exploring the beaches.

We had seen the Boneyard Beach on our previous visit, but had not had time to fully explore it.

This time we were able to park our bikes 

 and walk completely around the north eastern leeward end of the island 

along the river

having a picnic along the way

then back across the marsh to where our bikes were parked

On a different day we explored the opposite end of the island checking out the river

and the small marina under the Talmadge Memorial Bridge

 Most early mornings were spent on the beach watching the sun rise

 and taking pictures of the beautiful dunes for a series of paintings CC is working on

 

Evenings were spent back in the historic district dining in one of their many fine restarants, 

 

  and walking their beautifully lighted gardens.

It's impossible to name which area of the Island CC enjoyed the most, but

I think it is fair to say that we will be back to visit Jekyll Island again some day