Beachside Couple and Fisherman

Beachcombing and fishing seem to be pastimes that are universally enjoyed.   No matter where in the world the beach is, people will be strolling along the shore, heads down, looking and searching for their treasure.   Treasure is different for different people.  I imagine some is the same as what I consider shoreline treasure, namely, shells, unusual rocks, perfectly smooth driftwood and seaglass.   And as for fishing - in my experience - people either love it or could care less about it.   Similar to beachcombing, a good amount of time in fishing is spent waiting for the prize to appear.





Shoreline Leisure - Stage 1

Water's Edge Enjoyment

In this painting, a couple was slowly strolling along the shore.   The woman notices that the fisherman has a bite, but just continues along her way.   Her husband has spotted something of interest in the water and it takes all of his attention.

I like painting beachcomers because of their relaxed, unassuming, and natural poses.      It is a pasttime that I personally love, so recording people doing it is a favorite of mine.  People come in all shapes and sizes which also makes for interesting figure painting.

On the first pass of the painting, using my reference photo, I painted the scene quite literally.   Since producing the stage one painting, I received a very helpful critique on another recent beachcomber painting "Look at the Size of that Jellyfish."   In stage 2, I have incorporated a couple of the lessons I learned while painting "Look at the Size of that Jellyfish."  


1) Designed the color harmony (this meant deviating from the photo)
2) Established the primary subject (strongest color/contrast/clarity and subjugate supporting cast with muted color and softened edges).

Seaglass Landscape



Seaglass Landscape

I have always enjoyed scanning the beach for seaglass and since moving to Green Harbor we have collected thousands of pieces.   First we filled small containers, then we bought bigger containers and filled them as well.   Finally we got an eight inch round clear glass vase that is about 24 inches tall and combined it all.   The point is, we have a lot of seaglass.    In order to make use of it, I have made seaglass jewelry and have garnished glassware with it.   That used up about  .0001 percent of it.

How about a landscape painting with it?   I sifted through and chose some pretty landscape colors.    My plan was to do this landscape as a dry run for an 8 x 8 inch square for the North River Arts Society 2012 Out of the Box Event.   Once I saw this result, I decided against it since it looks kind of tacky.   I confess that I do kind of like it though.