Watercolor painted on the Verandah of the Ocean House. Looking out to sea, with clouds, waves and water everywhere.
Another highly personal map of Watch Hill
Neptune in the South but no mermaids this time. Another view of Watch Hill. Acrylic on canvas, 16" diameter.
Watch Hill, R.I.
Last weekend I had the good fortune to be in Watch Hill, Rhode Island as the Artist in Residence at the fabulous Ocean House Hotel. A gorgeous, glamorous setting, the most beautiful beach imaginable and some amazing weather. What could be more inspirational? But first a map of the area to set the scene.
The Last Stencil entry - for now
And with the very last of the last of the left over paint, some stenciled postcards.. Note how all of the fish seem to be going in the same direction, which is remarkably well behaved of them.....
Just a brief sighting.
While I was away last week I thought I caught a glimpse of Lancelot about to tuck into a Lobster dinner but I may have been mistaken....
Reclaimed Wood ( and more stencils)
I literally fished this piece of wood out of the river sometime last Fall knowing that eventually I would do something with it. Sometime late last week while I had some left over paint and before my stencils started to disintegrate, I finally realized what this wood needed. The perfect piece for a small beach cottage - if only I had one..... 6 x 24"
More Stencils
More stencils. Dear Reader, did I warn you that they are totally addictive?
This painting started out as a garden scene in watercolor but it gradually became clear that it really wanted to be Sports Day at the local Fish School.
Stencils
What happens when good journal pages turn bad. Stencils, an easy fix. What was to have been a marine themed abstract turned into an Undersea World with the addition of some rather large fish stencils.....
Self portrait of self on Beach
About 2 plus weeks ago I spend a wonderful if humid Friday sketching at the beach with a friend. Penny photographed me as I walked the beach and here I am, camera in hand, well covered up,
advancing on this bright red umbrella.....
On The Beach, Watch Hill
On the beach, Watch Hill. Sparkling white cabanas, blue umbrellas and perfect sand. The platonic ideal of what a beach should be on an afternoon in Summer.
Harbor Side
Last weekend we drove up to Watch Hill, Rhode Island, for a seaside lunch at the Ocean House. (Delicious Clam chowder.) The beach is one of the most beautiful imaginable. On the other side of this tiny land spit is the harbor, home to some spectacularly beautiful boats. As always, click on image to enlarge
Yet Another New Boat
Making these boats is clearly addictive. This time my boat has two sails, made from Japanese paper and hand stitched to the mast. Who knows where this new obsession with the sea will lead... It must be that I feel Summer is slowly slipping away and I had better enjoy it while it is still here.
Beginning a shell grotto - or using up extra mortar
The very first steps towards fulfilling a long held ambition of constructing a shell grotto. (Or just being me and not wanting to waste anything and being left with a small dish of mortar after a recent Summer Camp mosaic project. ) Garden stones, glass "pebbles" and oyster and clam shells applied at random and at warp speed one hot, humid afternoon. Hopefully this is just the start of something more ambitious.
Another Small Boat.
Variation on a theme. Well actually it's because I put the mast on backwards on the first boat I made. I am becoming addicted to making small boats. The original design comes from Ann Wood's blog http://annwood.net/blog/2009/12/11/paper-mache-boat-pattern/
Finishing the details can be a little fiddly but the instructions are great and the end result charming.
Expanding one's color range
Watercolor example for a Summer Camp exercise on using non local color. The hills behind Dartmouth, New Hampshire
Bastille Day Celebrations cont"d
Agile was equally happy to be awarded an "Honorable Mention" in the Arts and Crafts contest for his Wooden Spoon Eiffel Tower.
Bastille Day Celebrations
At the recent Bastille Day Celebrations Lancelot was delighted to win third place in the French Bread category, Junior/Under 12" division of the local fencing club. Lancelot's chosen weapon is the batard. He finds the loaf more suitable to his weight/muscle distribution than the standard ficelle.
Quick sketch at the Beach
Painting and sketching today at the beach with a good friend. Also swimming in the sea for the first time this summer. Amazingly wonderful.
Grouted and ready to make his society debut
Finally grouted over a long and hot weekend, the hare is sitting in the garden, enjoying the view.
Mosaics for the Wednesday Summer Class
Working on mosaics for the Wednesday Summer class. I recently read that one can add mosaics to paper mache so decided to try, using a hare that I made last year. The hare seemed to lack focus so I decided to add a touch of glamor to his otherwise rather mundane existence.