A Nice Loose Start

 It was a treat recently to paint plein air with my friend Janet Palin out at Connary Cove, one of my favorite places on the island.  Wide meadows,  beaches with great rocks, and nobody there.  












Janet has a lovely loose style of drawing - loose loopy lines exploring her subject.










Here's a page from her sketchbook.

                
  and her ultra loose block in
                 



  






  I'm always trying to paint looser so it was great watching her.

        My  almost finished pastel that morning.
  
          Then we went and ate crab rolls

            and talked for hours.

A Month of Pastel Workshops

Elaine paints Mariners Park.

The month of July was  four pastel workshops nearly back to back .


The weather was wonderful for painting plein air.

Mary Beth, Anne and Kate painting at Connary Cove

 Ann captures Lazy Gut Island.

Dawn and the fruits of summer.

The wonderful hat the Intensive group made for me.  

A marvel of newspaper and tape and symbols of everything I had been talking about that week!

Out in The Field

   A paint out to benefit the Blue Hill Library.   I am not a plein air painter,  feeling like I have more control in the studio.  But it was a beautiful morning so I went for it.  Standing in a newly mowed field with just enough breeze to keep the bugs away but not blow the easel over,  it was an enjoyable time.   Finishing touches in the studio,  popped into a frame, 75 artists - a successful fundraiser and they split the selling price with the artist.

Magic in Everyday Life

Driving down the Big Sur coast recently in the dark because I had left San Francisco a bit later than I planned, I overshot the campground where I had intended to spend the night. I should add here that driving the Big Sur coast is not for those with acrophobia, especially in the dark. I am not prone to the terror of high places but was taken aback by the precipitous cliffs and extreme angles of the drop offs on this drive. High drama and what a waste to be doing it by moonlight. So I overshot my desired campground and ended up at another state park several miles south. Waking early, I opted to retrace my steps back up the coast a ways to see some of what I'd missed in the darkness. I found the campground and understood why it had been recommended to me. Grassy green terraces on the edge of those steep cliffs and with high surf warnings the breakers below were record breakers. I drove through the small campground and all sites were occupied except for an especially beautiful one that afforded a view down that jagged coast. This was the ultimate coastal scenic spot and I was yearning to stop and spend a day just painting, but my inner voice was reminding me that I "should" keep driving south and keep to my schedule. Such a beautiful morning, and such a spot, should I stay or should I stick to schedule? Stay or go? What to do? I stood there torn. The campsite number card that said "unoccupied" had a note to "look on reverse side" to see the when and who had the next reservation was for after tonight. So I turned the card over and had to blink a couple of times seeing that the next reservation was for a party by the name of "Caldwell". So I stayed and painted at that magnificent site knowing that it was meant to be.