Tag Archives: beach

Frankie

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5"X7" Acrylic on board

I don't often take on commissions, quite honestly I find them terrifying, especially animal and children portraits. I made an exception for this one as at least the subject was known to me.

I didn't really have any very good photos so I had to use a composite of several, mostly my own but some taken by someone else.

Every morning at around 5:30 Frankie likes to go for a walk on Sandy Beach in Puntas. This is a very famous surfing beach, but there aren't too many surfers this early in the morning.

SOLD


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Waiting for the Surf

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5"X7" Acrylic on board

I nearly called this one "Not the Jersey Shore", although there is a good chance that these are Jersey Boys. Most of the surfers in Rincon seem to come down from New Jersey. This is Pools Beach in Puntas, on the Atlantic side of Rincon. Some of the best surfing in the world, I am told.

As I write this the Jersey shore is being evacuated in the path of Irene, while the surfers are flocking to the beach in the hope of catching historic waves of 20 or 30 feet. It takes all sorts I guess.
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La Chata

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2.5"X3.5" Acrylic on paper ACEO

The oppressive heat and humidity we have been having here recently has made me think nostalgically of the sea breezes in Puerto Rico. This boat, "La Chata", was pulled up on the beach at Rincon. It was well above the tide-line and looked as if it hadn't been used for a while.One of these days I may turn it into a larger painting.

I have been vowing recently to start working larger, and what do I do? I move back to ACEO size! I am not sure why but I am still struggling with composition and this tiny size does help to get a good idea of the "notan".
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Morning Walk

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7"X5" Acrylic on board


Still in Rincon, looking north-east on "Sandy Beach" at about 6:45 am. This is a surfing beach but not too many are here this early in the day.

With practice we learn to paint certain subjects. I have never been a big fan or the Bob Ross method, "this is how you paint a tree" but nonetheless we learn that certain conventions work in certain situations; one kind of brush, a certain mix of paint. Palm trees are almost entirely new to me and I am realizing that it might take me a while to learn how to paint them. So far they all seem to look like feather dusters.
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Trigger

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7"X5" Acrylic on board Having painted Maybelline in her favourite place I felt that I must paint Trigger in his. There is nothing he likes more than taking his b.a.l.l. to the b.e.a.c.h. Careful what you say because I suspect that he is learning to spell. The composition was possibly somewhat ill-concieved as it resulted in having to paint the centre of interest about half an inch high. I really must start to work a little larger but I need to find a good place to set up my easel.
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Pools Beach Sunset

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7"X5" Acrylic on board Pools beach is a great place to watch the sunset. This one gave me a bit of trouble, I wished I had attempted it with oil instead of acrylic, too hard to blend. I called this Columbus Rock in another post and my sister asked me how I knew that was what it was called because she didn't even know its name. Now I am doubting myself because I found it on a rather inaccurate tourist map and I think Columbus Rock might be a little further along the point. Apparently, Christopher Columbus went ashore on November 19, 1493 somewhere on the western shore of Puerto Rico. It certainly could have been anywhere along the coast and would probably have been on one of the Caribbean beaches where the surf is less daunting.
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Rehoboth Beach Landscape

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5″X7″ Watercolour Pencil on paper

Today I am breaking one of my own cardinal rules, never to paint from a photograph I haven’t taken myself. I couldn’t resist the challenge presented by Karin Jurick on her new blog, Different Strokes from Different Folks. The idea is that she will post a photograph every week and challenge other artists to make their own rendition of it. Mine is pretty straightforward, some have come up with quite imaginative renderings, check them out. I actually found it quite hard to paint a believable picture of somewhere I have never been. Usually I use a combination of photo reference and memory and often sketches too. Here I had no idea of the atmosphere of the place, couldn’t feel the wind or the sun beating down, couldn’t smell the sea.

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