On my Walls

Inspired by the reference photos I've taken at local beaches,  I've been working on a series pastel paintings of of the low- country dunes .  I decided to let them hang on my living-room gallery wall  for a few days before I let the Island Art Gallery sell them all .

I may even have a little gallery showing for the neighbors before I send them off.

( Heh!  Works for me.  Any excuse for a party!)

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

Wildlife on display at Island Art

 I dropped by the Pawleys Island Art Gallery today to see how 

business is going. Very well indeed .

Here's  how my new  wildlife series looks installed at :

Island Art Gallery

10744 Ocean Highway

Pawleys Island, SC 29585

843 455-0336
http://www.pawleysislandart.com/

The Georgia's Bulldog Mascot was fun to paint.

About a year ago I spotted a cute garden statue of the Georgia Bulldog Mascot.  I took a photo for reference, but didn't get around to painting him until last month.  It just seemed appropriate for the beginning of the football season.  This   12" x 12" is now at Island Art in Pawleys Island.

More new paintings at Island Art Gallery

 Next I took some of my pastel paintings of  low country clouds over to Island Art Gallery in Pawleys Island

Their white driftwood framed pastels  look lovely against the white walls of the gallery.

Island Artist Gallery Reception 5_21_11

CC by her art ( on my right)

Island Artist Gallery held a reception for all its artist on Saturday evening. 

We had a great turnout of both guests and artists.

Great turnout!

The camaraderie between artists was great.

It was fun to talk about our art and explain how we work and what inspires us. 

Its also a great place to learn the latest buzz.

Have you heard.....

And of course we had to check out the competition.

I wonder how the artist did that...

Where are all the guys you ask

Most were hanging out by the food and beverage tables, of course.

BJ accompanied me to the reception

Greg Barnes Workshop

 I  recently attended a three day Greg Barnes pastel  workshop which was held at  the Island Art Gallery on Pawleys Island. The workshop opened as usual with introductions and a verbal review of the equipment that would be used. After which Greg gave us brief demonstration of his pastel painting technique.

The Demonstration on the first day was of painting from a reference photo.   Greg chose a traditional marsh scene from the photos he had brought with him, and proceeded to sketch the scene on his pastel paper with vine charcoal

Then he blocked in the dark tones often smudging the areas to blur and blend the tones.

 Next he put in the  mid tones followed by the lighter shades leaving these more distinct, especially near the focal point.

 Below you can compare the painting with the reference photo.  Obviously Greg is not into slavishly copying the original photo.

Greg then added in the highlights ,  intense tones , and details to finish the piece in less than two hours..

Day two was a lesson in plein air painting.  Actually all three days should have included some plein air work, but the weather didn't cooperate.  The morning of the second day was the only time it didn't pour.

 The subject of the painting was the Island Deli across the parking lot from the Gallery.  The bright red roof was eye catching in the morning sun against the stately old oak tree.

 Greg set up his easel in the parking lot outside the gallery and proceeded to sketch the scene in vine charcoal.

 Then Greg blocked in his colors.  Again he started with the dark tones of the oak, but quickly threw in some of the mid value red so as to have something to judge the other mid tones against.

This is a photo of the painting  when Greg ended the demonstration an hour and a half later.

On day three, it poured, so we were again stuck inside.  Greg decided to show us how to paint with a limited number of colors  

 using a background toned with watercolor .

 As promised, Greg pulled it off beautifully.   The trick, it seems, is in knowing your values well enough to pick the right set of limited colors.

 Each afternoon the class worked on their own paintings, while Greg coached us.  

 Every one's style was different.  From the semi abstract and dreamy painting above,

 

to the dark and moody one above. 

 

There were some highly realistic renditions,

 

and even an attempt to paint the same scene as Greg's original demo.(Below)

Clearly personal style matters.  Both paintings were beautifully rendered, but each was unique.