Sailboat 5 - Tied To The Sea

Tied To The Sea

6x6, oil

Maybe it’s because I grew up along the Mississippi River, but I’m drawn to boats, fishing, any body of water and in particular these types of little buoys. They remind me of fishing bobbers. As a young child fishing I learned early on to pay close attention to them. Once they started bobbing frantically your heart skipped a beat and you were pretty sure you had a fish on the line.

Windy Sail

Windy Sail

6x8, soft pastel

I doubt that I'll ever be on a sail boat. While it always looks quite thrilling, I imagine all the tilting and swaying wouldn't be up my alley...but who know's, maybe someday. For now, I'm content studying them from the shoreline with my feet firmly rooted to the ground. Or, better yet, laying in a hammock on the beach sipping something cold.

I'm always tempted to paint realistically but for this one I really tried to paint in a "Edgar Payne Impressionistic" style to help depict the feeling of a very windy day on the water.

Payne's Boats

Payne's Boats

6x6, soft pastel

Edgar Payne was born in Washburn, Missouri in 1882 and lived and worked as an artist until his death in 1947.  He is considered one of America's leading Impressionistic landscape artists painting in the plein air fashion (painting outdoors).  

Because I have such a challenge in controlling color, I was drawn to his colorful marine scenes packed full of vibrant colors and a very loose style...so, here is a small marine scene, not a copy but inspired by one of his pieces. I just love painting boats and water...is it because I grew up along the Mississippi River?  I don't know.  I would have to say though, my current passion is centered around boats, water and fishing flies.  Can't get enough!

Jan 2017 30 in 30 Challenge

It's always a bit "challenging" just remembering how to get all the images for the 30in30 into a collage.  PicMonkey is a website that allows a free trial to do such a thing.  I'm grateful for a program that does the heavy lifting for me!  Even though it's tough to get the actual images laid out so a person can see the entire painting...this one above is close enough.  I thought it turned out nicely (all things considered).