June 25, 2011

So on Saturday, June 25, I rode to Beaufort with Susan (Simply Susan) Jones to Beaufort to participate in the Brushstrokes plein air portion of the Old Homes & Garden Tour.  It was hot, but on Moore St in Beaufort, we found a lovely shaded spot to paint.  Jerri Sutton -- a gracious hostess if ever there was one-- had everything planned, including a terrific lunch, which Susan and I ate on the porch of the Out-building at 108 Moore St.  We arrived at about 10:30 and painted until about 3:30, and got back to Greenville at about 5:30.  Dodi Groesser (whom you will see in the photos included with this post) sold a couple of paintings.  Brenda Hughes also painted, but she was at the Fish House, some mile or so distant.

Here is the link to photos taken during the Tour, which seemed to be very well attended. When you arrive at the Web Site, be sure to select SLIDESHOW, so you'll get full screen images.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109557727230088604362/BeaufortNCOldHomesGardensTour?authkey=Gv1sRgCLCvtOS5_-eP5AE#

On Monday, June 19, 2011, I joined Lou Everett's Beginning Watercolor class at the charming, Farmville home of Bill and and Laura Powell--a lovely place for plein air painting, with many vistas.  I sat on the pation and painted this watercolor of the entrance to their home.  It was a hot day but there was plenty of shade on the patio.  I think Lou's collaborative nature gave all of us a good learning experience.

Today, I received a link to the Wayne, PA plein air show, and there found this link to a YouTube video that testifies to the necessity of painting plein air.  I think you'll all enjoy it, and especially the plein air enthusiasts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbmarUWuVPQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbmarUWuVPQ

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=109557727230088604362&target=ALBUM&id=5619610961779740977&authkey=Gv1sRgCL3aqJntybpI&feat=email

On Saturday, 6-18-2011, the Brushstrokes plein air painters visited the shore at
Moss Landing in Washington, NC--especially to paint the water lilies.  John and Dodi Groesser,
Susan Jones, and Pete Hickey battled the heat and the sun for three hours. 
We had a great time, thanks to the permissions granted to Art Tyndall, and
extended to us.  You should be able to get an idea of the area and
the day from the next post.

Ducks near Estuarium

Painted the ducks after a lovely day in Washington, some of which was spent with Art Tyndall. 

Art Tyndall

Went to the first Washington yesterday morning, and was just about to settle in to Festival Park when I spotted Art Tyndall's shop.  I hadn't known until that moment where it was.  The proprietor was in, and we settled down to talk a bit when he offered to give me tour of some of his favorite painting venues.  It was an educational tour, and I certainly enjoyed it and profited from it.  A big thanks to Art, who --as usual--is a genial host to his city.

As I was sketching some of the new structures leading to the Estuarium, Jeff Jakub cruised by, and brought me up to date on some of his ventures.  He has withdrawn from Riverview and has sent out feelers to various galleries around North Carolina and Florida.

Needless to say, I didn't wet a brush!

But it was a day full of painting . . .

News from the Wednesday night Painters

Catherine Spruill has nearly finished her series of full sheet Hydrangea blossoms.  They are magnificent. Brenda Hughes has returned from her workshop with Birgit in Boon, where she bought the biggest round brush we've ever seen.  It has gone a long way toward making her brush collection complete.  So glad for her . . .  We're delighted to see Sumi again after her winter peregrinations.  Donna had to work :-(  Susan and Pete just soldiered on.

So we went to Southside Farms in Chocowinity Saturday morning--Dodi, Donna, Ray and I.  It was beastly hot, even at 10:00.  There was a lot to paint--fields of crops, vegetable stand, tractors and other farm equipment, and customers.  After getting accustomed to the venue, we all settled down to paint.  There wasn't a lot of shade, and Ray wilted after about an hour.  Dodi found some sunflowers in an open field, Donna painted behind the vegetable stand.  I found these geraniums hanging on a display rack.  We three painted until about noon.   Tracey Harding, the owner, was most cordial and basically gave us free run to set up and paint as we wished.  Thanks to Dodi for finding us another lovely site!