Scallop Shell Trio Watercolor

Scallop Shell Trio- 9X12 on 140 lb. cold press

I am in a beach painting state of mind lately, and the shells and beach glass are getting me back in practice.  I decided that the easiest way to get back to painting would be with the simple objects- and beach finds are something I have in abundant supply.  The variety of colors and all of the little details make for good practice without a lot of pressure to produce a perfect painting.

These scallop shells are from Long Island- Fire Island to be specific.  Walking the beach on Fire Island is amazing when you are a serious beachcomber.  One beach has mostly clam shells, and a mile down the sand, there are zillions of scallops.  If you are having a GREAT day, you find some beach glass to add to your sandy treasures.

I found a new beach today(new to me) that was beautiful, but not much in the way of shells.  Right in the shadow of Mugu Rock, next to Point Mugu Naval Base.  I found a few pretty little shells and 4 pieces of beach glass.  A little extra exercise to add to my 3 miles at sunrise- along with some nice photos made it a good trip.  Who knows? Maybe a future painting in one of those photos.

Watercolors- Ready for Summer!

Can you tell I am ready for summer to get here?  Where I live (in a valley in California) we get hit with foggy days much of the winter.  I don't mean hazy fog.  I am talking about the kind of fog they use in creepy movies.  The kind of fog that means you can't see 5 feet into your yard.  No sun for days.  Well, we saw the sun the other day and now I got a taste of what is coming- just not soon enough! I opened up windows to get some fresh air in the house after a winter of being closed in with the heater running.  

So, now I am already planning my first trip to the nursery-first of many.  I can't wait to start spending days in the garden- even though the first days will be spent doing all the dreaded spring clean-up and pruning away dead branches.  And, of course there will be the beach days!  

I am dealing with my Spring Fever by painting the beach.  I have said it before, but here it is again- I miss Long Island's beaches!  We have nice beaches here in California also, but the main problem is that they are more like an hour away now instead of the 15 minute drive on Long Island!     

New in My Studio- Watercolor "3 Amigos"

I am starting a few new paintings to give myself a break from the frustrating raisin harvest watercolor. I shouldn't have gotten into it, as I almost never enjoy painting something I painted before (no matter how many years have passed). I was thinking it would be fun to do it again with a different style and maybe learn some new things. I have managed to learn how aggravated I can get with something that started out as fun. I love the vineyards, and after so many years in Fresno, they are a part of my life...I will get back to it soon- I have already started a second one to replace the first one- one way or another, it will be finished. I got a lot of great feedback and help from my fellow artists on my post yesterday, so I know it will be easier when I do go back to it. Thank you all for your comments!

One of the paintings I started yesterday is from a photo a friend took at a Long Island beach about 10 years ago and gave to me after she painted it herself. I call it 3 amigos- just looks like a perfect beach day. I have already painted it twice with different palettes (both many years ago) and like both of them. I know what I said earlier about repeating a painting...but I have had good luck with this one and wanted to try some new techniques on a subject I love-the beach. This time, 3 amigos will be 15X20 instead of 8X10.

The other painting I am working on is an 18X24 version of one of my sand pails. I have painted many sand pails and enjoy them every time! I buy the antique pails whenever I see them and use them for holding art supplies and paint brushes on my painting table. I love to look at them, and this way they are also functional so I can justify buying them. I just have one problem- when did something made in my lifetime get to qualify as an antique? Yikes, that is definitely a bummer!

Thanks for looking,

Sheryl

Postcards from Long Island, New York

Wagon parking on Fire Island (Ocean Beach)

Greenport, Long Island as seen from the Shelter Island Ferry

Fire Island Lighthouse

Robert Moses State Park

This is another set of my watercolor postcards. In earlier blog posts, I featured my painted postcards from Paris and from Italy. I painted these from some of my favorite Long Island locations. After painting the postcards, I mailed them to friends and family in California. These are a sampling of the Long Island set. The postmark isn't anything special- the postmark on some of our mail on Long Island had a great outline of Long Island in the shape of a fish. Anyway, these postcards give me great memories of Long Island now that I have moved back to California. Now, if I can try to plan ahead -I would like to paint more of these postcards before I go on trips, so I can mail them from each destination and add to my collection.

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers."-Claude Monet

watercolor, Radio Flyer garden

Angel Trumpets, watercolor

a bird's nest built in a tree rose

lilies in my Long Island garden

I have always enjoyed gardening -and it is so rewarding to see the finished garden as it grows and fills in the way I planned. When we moved back to California from Long Island, I had a blank canvas to fill with plants. I used many of the plants that worked in New York, as well as my California favorites. I even brought some of the awesome orange "wild" lilies from my Long Island garden- and for once, the deer wouldn't be eating them!

As an artist, one of the best things about a great garden, is all the possibilities for painting ideas. As plants begin to bloom in the Spring, and until everything is dying back in the Fall , I am taking photos. The garden is always changing, and I will never run out of garden reference photos.