Painting and Sketching in Tropical Paradise

In the beautiful island country of Jamaica, the delights were many: people, music, balmy breezes, cuisine and most of all, a rainbow of vibrant and colorful scenes.   I longed to paint with my oils, but this vacation was designed around the theme of "R&R."  Dealing with wet oil paintings in a beautiful hotel setting would have been too scary, and frankly stressful.    My fallback was watercolor and sketching, adequate substitutes and actually good for brushing up on different skills.    

There were many talented musicians strolling along the beach.  They periodically pausing to perform a few songs for tips.   They stayed long enough to be captured in pencil, which I share here.  Sketching on the fly was good practice, especially for a plein air painter like myself.

My favorite musician was Donnavan Darymple, who also performed some evenings at the hotel

We snorkeling along a reef about a mile from the hotel with local guides.   Back ashore, painting the underwater world with watercolor seemed pretty natural. Although I do find watercolor challenging, letting the wet colors run together was fun, as was playing with the masking fluid.      

Underwater I

Underwater II

Underwater III

Bullfrog

The frog is a New England "feller" painted from a photograph.   I actually painted this one first, as I was getting re-accustomed to watercolor.   As you can see, I approached it very much like an oil painting (covering the whole surface, layering, accentuating the darks).

Under the Shade Tree

One very nice aspect of the hotel's beach was that it had a large swathe of shade trees.    There was no problem shifting our chairs from shade to sunshine and back again.   This painting was done from under the tree where I spent most of my vacation.

Watercolor by Paul Thomas

 Last but not least is a painting done by Jamaican Watercolorist Paul Thomas.  He and I had a nice conversation at our beach where he was set up selling his beautiful depictions of the local scenes.   His hummingbird paintings were amazing - I wish I had taken a photo!    I gave him a block of watercolor paper as it had come to my attention that getting supplies on the island was not easy.   He most graciously painted the scene shown here.   He sure knows how to mix that beautiful turquoise that I was having a hard time achieving!  Thank you Paul!

Dad 1945

Dad 1945

The handsome strapping young sailor in this pencil/charcoal drawing is my Dad.  Dozens of vintage photographs were with his things.  He had taken the time to label each photo with names of those in the pictures.  That is, except for this one photo - of himself.  

I began with a two value drawing with pencil.  I expanded my value range to five, but was not satisfied with my darkest value until I introduced soft vine charcoal over the pencil for the darkest dark.  I used a stump to soften each value.

The familiar features (literally) common to the clan include the high arching eyebrows, straight full nose and prominent lower lip.  I see these features in myself and my boys.   I think it helped the flow of the drawing to know that these were the features that needed to be right.




Sketching (A Little) in Ireland

Castletownbere Harbor

I did not bring painting materials to Ireland.   There would be no room in my luggage for the gear and wet paintings.   This trip was about visiting ancestral locales and covering as much of the country as we could.   The itinerary did not lend itself to the concept of a paint-out. I wouldn't change a thing about this, our inaugural trip, but I did occasionally long to paint. Mark my words, the next trip to Ireland will include painting!

Castletownbere and Bere Island Satellite Map

One morning, while in Castletownbere on the Beara Penninsula (all the way to the Southwest tip of Ireland), I sketched a scene of the gorgeous view looking out toward Bere Island.   See the satellite view for an aerial shot.  The green marker is where I was and the island to the southeast is Bere Island (the hill in the sketch.)  The vine charcoal was sorely lacking as a recording method.  I'm sharing a photo that is similar...it didn't capture the color either since it was twilight in that shot.

Sketching at Kilkenny Castle

Whilst (heehee) at Kilkenny Castle, I marginally satisfied the painting itch again and did some more sketching.   I sat inside the back gate, the location of some impressive statues.  I used vine charcoal and a drawing pad.  I didn't get far, and I didn't record who this was a statue of, but it was a woman with majestic layers of folds in her garb.  I liked the shapes against the low and dramatic light.

My husband came away with the more successful rendering with the cool photo of me measuring, showing his flare for composition.

Another Courtroom Sketch

In the Boston Federal Courthouse today, the closing arguments were presented in the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger.   Fred Wyshak Jr., US Attorney, presented for over three hours, summarizing the government's case against Bulger.   The scene depicted in the sketch is Wyshak who stood at the podium while Defense Attorney Jay Carney and Bulger sat at a table behind him.

Courtroom Sketches

Bulger Hunched Over

One of the country's most infamous criminals, James "Whitey" Bulger is currently on trial in the Federal Courthouse in Boston.    Last week the prosecution wrapped up its case and this week, the defense began presenting their witnesses.   This news got me thinking that if I was going to get into Boston to see any of the trial, I had better do it soon.



Bulger & Carney

Only ten courtroom spots are available to ordinary citizens like myself.   The security guard at the door of the courtroom showed me the ten signatures that were taking up those ten spots on this particular day.   He noted that typically the list was filled by 5:30 AM.   The bottom line was that there was no chance of me getting into the main courtroom.



FBI Fitzgerald Ink 1+2

I was directed to the "overflow" courtroom.   In these courtrooms (there were actually two) large video monitors were set up on either side of the room allowing the viewing public to witness the trial.  

It was a dual purpose that prompted my visit to the courthouse.     It is a historic and fascinating trial spanning forty years of Boston history.   While listening and viewing the trial, I would also be able to work on portraits of the witnesses. 

FBI Fitzgerald Ink 3+4

Before the jury came in, Judge Casper ruled on various motions that had been put before her, including the issue of sequestration of the jury during deliberations.    Bulger struck a pose during these proceedings that I have heard has been his daily position (eyes down, chin resting on his left hand) and his lawyer, Jay Carney was seated to his right.


On this, the first day for the defense, they put Robert Fitzgerald, a former FBI Supervisor, on the stand.    For three hours he recounted everything from his schooling, to his involvement in organized crime cases, political scandals (ABSCAM), and his job as supervisor of a group of FBI Agents in Boston.  

FBI Fitzgerald Ink 5

FBI Fitzgerald Ink 6

His seventy-three year old face was full of character lines.   His hair was somewhat red, his cheeks fleshy and rudy, and his moustache was gray.    I had my sketchbook, but had left my pencil on the passenger seat of the car.   So I sketched with a Bic pen until the first break, when I could retrieve my pencil.   I have included all of my scribblings in this post.

The progression of the sketches probably demonstrates the learning that went on as I became more familiar with the facial features.   The only drawback was that I was copying from a 2D monitor, not the person in full 3D.  All the practice is good however.

FBI Fitzgerald Ink 7

Robert Fitzgerald Pencil Sketch