Le Voyage a la Plage

Backyard Shrubbery1

To see what one draws when one goes somewhere, is to have a peek into what captures the person’s imagination. Upon arriving at the lovely house where ALL of my husband’s family (parents,siblings, and nieces and nephews…14 of us in all) were spending the week together, this line of shrubs in the back yard captivated me. There they stood, hunched over, gnarled, stuck between being a line of trees or just dense shrubbery…they served as the last defense before the sand and ocean. I loved the angular nature of their shape and cast shadows. Then of course, the ocean…

Ocean View

I do not generally find the ocean to be very inspiring to draw…perhaps it’s the flatness, the sameness, the overall lack of value contrast. But when one is at the beach, one must draw/paint the beach. But there is so much else to be drawing:

Beach Readers

Most of the adults and my oldest daughter brought multiple books to read. I did manage to finish reading a Jan Karon book I had started previously, but the book I most often had in hand was this little red Hand Book to draw in. Then I squirrel away to my room to add watercolor to the drawings made that day. We took our kids to the NC Aquarium by way of the ferry…and while waiting, I had the most wonderful tree to draw. I actually think I should have left this one UN-watercolored…the lines were fascinating.

At the Ferry

The house we stayed in was architecturally creative with several different roof lines, multiple decks off of bedrooms, and these wonderful round windows, very nautical indeed. There was one in our bathroom…

Round WindowJPG

…And one in the high-ceilinged living room…

AboveFireplace

These are just a few of many sketches, collages, and thoughts logged during our beach week…non-drawn highlights were conversations with my sister-in-law, successful tie-dying projects for everyone, home-made ice-cream and a peach & blue-berry pie that was out of this world. I must say that I’m having to rest up from the vacation…seems like a contradiction in terms, but there it is. Now it’s back to summer time paintings and drawings. I have a new “old” easel my mom just gave me to handle larger canvases and papers (yippee!). I’m looking forward to tackling a bigger playground!

0 thoughts on “Le Voyage a la Plage

  1. Deborah says:

    Looks like a wonderful week was had by all. Great collection of sketches to remember it by. They are all fun to see and imagine myself there. Need a new cousin next year?

  2. Annelein says:

    Great sketches! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment…to reply, that easel set-up is no longer made…I bought it many years ago off a fellow workshop attendee who wasn’t using hers anymore…lucky me! Charles Reid clips his water container to the bottom of his board and uses a handheld palette…works pretty well, too. Thanks for visiting…happy painting.

  3. Susan says:

    All of your entries are wonderful but oh my! this one is sOo wonderful. I would LOVE to see your shrubbery sketch larger..no go. I sure love it though.

Leave a Reply to Linda T Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *