Marker Palm

Pastel, 9x6 on UArt

This lonely palm tree standing against the stiff breezes makes a special landmark next to the trail through the dunes.  When I would walk on the beach I always knew the way back by this "marker palm."
 

Light Breezes

Pastel, 9x6 on UArt

The morning begins with calm and quiet.  A soft breeze hardly ripples the water in the bay.  The clouds are rising in tatters, but they will return when the sea breeze begins.

Unsettled

Pastel 9x6 on UArt

One thing I had to relearn with this small piece - be ruthless with things that may be good but don't advance your idea. My initial inspiration was the billowing clouds coming in over the marsh - the unsettled clouds contrasted by the vast, motionless marsh.
To purchase this painting, please contact me via e-mail or comment.

Refining the Idea

Mayo Reprise - 18x12

Sun Streaks - 9x6

Twin Groves - 9x6

Project for the New Year - Refining the Idea

I started with the original painting Mayo Reprise which I had done a few years ago. It was a nice painting, but it seemed to lack a something. I did not find in it a central idea, but many competing elements. At the suggestion of my friend and mentor, Lyn Asselta, I undertook to pull from the old painting the ideas I could explore and do a smaller painting to explore those ideas

These are the first two results.

Sun Streaks - I took as my idea the steaks of light from the broken clouds. In order to emphasize those streaks of light, I eliminated much of the detail of the painting and darkened the sky to support the idea of broken clouds and strong shadows. I punched the colors for emphasis.

Twin Groves - the two clumps of trees standing together but still separate has intrigued me for some time. In order to emphasize the trees, I changed their placement above the underbrush and reduced the definition in the trees and and marsh. I moved the shoreline back to provide space for reasonable and believable reflections. Colors and values were punched while reducing edges and definition.

Breezes

Pastel 9x6 

This small painting was inspired by the atmosphere of the beach when the sea fog moves in with the strong winds of autumn.  The bright colors are swept away and the horizon almost disappears. A few spots of color persist in the shadows, but they are overwhelmed by the brightness of the mid-day.

Stages

Pastel, 9x6 on UArt

In the afternoon, the early summer clouds begin to move in from the southwest in stages. They march in by ranks, each new bank of clouds running into the sea breeze until they finally pile up, overcome the breeze with their numbers, and move on past the beach.

Lifting

Pastel, 9x6 on UArt

Number 13 of '21 in 21' Cloud Challenge

Before the afternoon thundershowers roll in, the smaller clouds of the early morning start to lift and scurry away. I wanted to catch some of the color and confusion as the heat of the day begins to take control of the salt marsh.
To purchase this painting, click on Lifting.

Shadows on Aviles St.

Pastel on UArt, 9x6 - Plein Air

"Shadow on Aviles Street" - St. Augustine - my painting from Romanza on Aviles plein air celebration. This is a view of a gate in the wall at the end of Aviles Street. In the early morning, the shadows paint the coquina wall with inviting patterns. Capturing this view was a little more difficult for me than I expected because my pastel selection in my plein air box is mostly for landscapes and beaches, but I managed to get the effect I wanted.

Mid Morning Patterns

Pastel on UArt, 9x6 - Plein Air

Plein air painting from this morning. I believe all the important information is here. The patterns of streaming light and deep shadows make the ordinary scene dramatic.  The morning was passing quickly by the time I finally got set up to paint.  I had to work quickly in order to capture the fugitive scene with deep shadows and blazing sunlight.  Often I find the pressure of time in plein air painting brings the best results.

Here Comes the Sun

Pastel, 9x6

After painting under a featureless, gay overcast all morning, the sun broke through for a few precious moments.  The bright light made the seen I'd been working on come alive.  This sudden burst of life, light, and color became the object of the painting.  It was purchased before I could sign it and take it to the "wet tent."

Palms on the Marsh

Pastel on Wallis, 9x6

This bright view of the marsh with its stately palm trees and their long reflections intrigues me every time I see it.  Breaks in the shadows cast by trees off to the right make the grass in the foreground blase against the deep foliage of the oaks and pines.

I did this painting as a 2-hour demo at the Georgia Nick Gallery in St. Augustine as part of my week-end reception and presentation.  It was purchased from the easel even before I had finished it.  It doesn't get any better than that.

My Branch

 

The photo above is of the revision done 12/26/14 with some suggestions from Lyn Asselta.  I believe it is much improved from the original photo published earlier and shown below.

 

Pastel on Wallis, 9x6

This painting started as a "daily" work, but I spent parts of two days on it - holiday interruptions.

This is my first bird in a long time – edited from a photo of a cardinal with attitude – “My Branch, My Tree.”

"After the Shower"

Pastel on UArt, 9x6, en plein air

The First Coast Pastel Society joined the First Coast Plein Air Painters for a paint out at Tide Veiw Preserve, a local park with board walks over the salt marsh. This piece was painted between passing showers and intermittent clouds and sunshine.

This piece was painted using a limited pallet in order to emphasize the clear, bright colors of the salt marsh. I used purple and lavender to tone the green especially in the distance and in the shadows. At the end of summer, the spartina is so green and yellow that it is almost blinding when it is washed by rain.