Vieques - Isabel II Mayor's Office from Rivera Plaza

Mayor's Office - Stage One

Our painting location on this day was in the middle of the town square in Isabel II, Vieques, Puerto Rico.   It was sunny and 82 degrees with a gentle breeze.   Ahhh, yes!   The big old trees in the plaza cast pretty blue shadows on the pinkish concrete pathways.   Most of the buildings were stucco in pastel colors and just as pretty as could be.   This trip truly was a dream come true.



Mayor's Office - Stage Two

The bright warm colors in the buildings and street were screaming to be painted thickly.  Why don't we have pastel colored buildings at home?  We seem to gravitate to white, grey, black, just like our winters!   So despite a gnawing worry about transporting a thick, wet painting on a plane back to New England, I buttered on the thick color with wild abandon!



Mayor's Office - Isabel II, Vieques, PR

There was a moderate amount of activity until mid-afternoon when school let out.   At that point lots of (middle-school?) students were relaxing on the steps and grass, many of whom, I discovered were waiting for their rides.      I was sorry that I hadn't brushed up on my Spanish before this trip.  Several students stopped and asked questions; I couldn't understand them and they didn't speak English.  One very animated young student marched over to another group of girls and came back with another friend, bilingual, who became our translator.

So sweet and curious...art is a universal language, as we still engaged with less dependence on words.

Here is a 40 second look at the spot from where I painted.

http://youtu.be/Qv5Jlc6oEeQ


Vieques Beachchair Under Palm

Stage One

Yes that beach chair was mine.  We had just discovered a sandy path to the shore in the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge.   At the end of the road was a deserted beach and a covered gazebo (good for sheltering during the two passing tropical showers we had).   The conditions weren't as perfect as the first two Vieques paint-outs, but I'll take a quick shot of wind and rain with 82 degrees over anything New England has dished out in the past six months!


Downpour Coming

In this painting the sun and southeast facing beach were to my right which made for better color matching.   I'm sure that's why there is more pumped up color.  

Beach Chair Under the Palm

At the risk of you thinking I'm trying to rub it in that I'm here painting in paradise while you were weathering a brutally cold March, here is a very short video of the location of this paint-out.

http://youtu.be/II8BuypgpZU

Fresh New Snow

Last Snowscape of Winter

Out the window is a great way to paint from life without the struggle of facing the cold, wind and blowing snow.   It's been a long cold winter and we still are experiencing single digit temperatures even though we are in March!

The icebergs on the saltmarsh float up during high tide, then as the water drains they become stacked, toppling over each other.  With a coating of fresh new snow blanketing all of that, the paint matching for today was clean, white snow, periwinkle blue shadows and chunky, muddy frozen marsh.  As the winter has worn on, I find myself scooping up thicker and thicker amounts of snow paint thicker, as if it can help depict the depth and density the snowpack of 2015!

BUY NOW


Vieques - Hectors by the Sea Southwest View

Hector's Southwest View - Mid-Stage

At Hector's by the Sea, Vieques, Puerto Rico, there are scenic views in every direction.   Toward the bottom of the property closest to the ocean, there is a large, open-air covered patio used for special events.   On this day we were the only people using the space, and it was perfect for painting while avoiding the strong midday sun.  

Most residents of Vieques have horses and there are three pet horses on this property.   They usually wander the property during the day, pretty much ignoring guests - even if you walk close by.   During the paint out, the horses were still in their corral allowing me to capture one horse posing at the fence (Bella? I think).

Vieques - Hector's by the Sea Southwest View

The colors were so bright, warm and yellow - almost blinding.  Afterall, I have been accustomed to the white, black and gray of our
New England winter of 2015.  I felt like I was forcing the bright yellow while applying it, but upon review, even more could have been added!  Photographs lie, especially in translating yellow, so you'll have to believe me....the yellow was there in abundance.

Vieques - La Playa Chiva

Vieques - La Playa Chiva

After the winter we have experienced in the Northeast, I was practically delirious to see the bright tropical colors of Vieques, Puerto Rico.   The sky was pure cerulean blue, the water was radiant turquoise and the lush vegetation was bright gold and green.   The fact that we got to paint on this trip was a dream come true.   Words are certain to be insufficient when describing the execution of this painting.   The YouTube video at the following link says at least a thousand words.  

http://youtu.be/AADQ3_kFBC8

Stream Down by the Barn

Stream by the Barn Underpainting

Another snowscape!?   But see?  There is melting going on here ... a sign of inevitable Spring. :)

The barn in this painting is located in Lee, MA next to the Devonfield Inn.   I was picturing how the barn may have looked when it was originally built.   It was probably red oxide (the cheapest and most available paint back then), certainly not white.    The mid-winter setting and frozen stream probably didn't look much different though - pristine!

The modernized barn was white so that was the way I painted it.  The strong dark shadow from the eaves was perfectly parallel with the roof line - all was well with the world.   I loved that there was a stark contrast of values in the scene.    Whether viewed sideways or up-side-down, the abstract value pattern worked - independent of the subject.



Stream by the Barn

The stream in the foreground was done with a very dark combination of transparent darks: alizarin, ultramarine, transparent oxide brown, viridian and purple.  I didn't mix them thoroughly, but rather scraped up a bit of each onto my palette knife and spread it horizontally, which resulted in a dark area where the various colors can still be distinguished.   If I had mixed all those darks, it would have resulted in a nice dark blackish color which would have been okay.  A better result came from minimal mixing of the colors, adding another dimension to the darkest dark.

Let the melting begin!