Back from the South Pacific

Aloha! Sorry about the long absence.....we were in the South Pacific, getting to know our newest granddaughter.
I love to paint, I love Hawaii, but I love our sweet little granddaughter more. So all our time was spent getting to know her and catching up on family time.

Here's a page from my sketchbook....painted on one of the world's most beautiful beaches.

Hillside Red Barn

From the Sketchbook
8x10" Original Watercolor

This is what I would call an exploratory sketch. I painted it on location near Coupeville this summer. I had never been here before, so didn't really plan on "catching a painting".....Just interested in seeing what I could discover with my paints and my brushes.

Friends were scattered around the hillside with their plein air equipment, too. At the end of the morning, we all realized that every single one of us had chosen something different to paint. I love that!

Free Watercolor Lesson at the Library, Oct 10

Join me on Saturday to learn basic watercolor techniques while painting a sunset. All materials supplied; preregistration required. Supported by the Friends of the Arlington Library and the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.

10:30 am-noon---Arlington Library
2:00 pm-3:30----Darrington Library

Learn to paint sunsets--online registration and info

Outdoor Kit Contents

1. Windbreaker, portable easel and "healthy back" bag. The Anderson Easel is portable and has its own case. My "yoga" bag carries everything else and has a single strap. The windbreaker can be stuffed into its own pocket, making a small 5"x5" zipped up packet, which fits inside the bag, too.


2. Front pockets of my bag hold: sunscreen & insect repellent, bottled water, hand sanitizer, travel size band-aids, facial tissues.

I wear a hat and sunglasses and carry my car keys, ID and cell phone in my jeans pockets or jacket. My camera is either in my hand, on its strap on my other shoulder or inside the bag.

3. Inside bag main compartment: Spiral bound Cheap Joe's Kilimanjaro 9x12" Paintbook (every other page is 70# watercolor paper and sketch paper) A large bulldog clip keeps the wind from opening the pages.

Ziplock bag containing Daniel Smith collapsible water container/sponges, Yarka St Petersburg original set of 24 colors (holds a pencil, rigger, #8 round wc. brush and 1" flat aquarel brush inside), two blue paper towels/folded, X-acto blades, and old credit card for scraping.

Five Star stand up pencil case containing: kneaded eraser, set of drawing pencils, pencil sharpener, business cards, Berol Prismacolor pens for sketching and pen/small sticky note pad for leaving messages on the car for fellow painters.

Field Kit Lite

This is the "lite" version of my field kit for painting watercolors. Click image for larger picture. I used this almost exclusively this summer from August-September.

The easel is an Anderson Travel Easel that has its own quiver-style carrier case. It has quick release, telescoping legs, and adjustable tray-support with little hinged arms that hold your brushes (see the right side) and painting knives. (I use the easel left arm to hold my Yarka palette if I'm not holding the palette on my arm.) The Velcro strap is permanently attached, so it holds my water container.

The board is gator board (16x22") and I stack two or three half sheets of watercolor paper on it, then clamp all together with four large Boston clips (Bulldog clips)

The water container is from Daniel Smith, Inc. It collapses down to a flat disc for easy transport when empty and has a ridged handle to keep it from sliding sideways on the holding strap. I squeeze out my sponges and store them in the flattened container.

The black bag on the ground is a waterproof rain gear "yoga bag" with one shoulder strap, a top zipper and a long back zipper. It has two small zip pockets and a long elasticized pocket on the front.

I will take a photo of the bag and its contents for the next post, so you can see how it all fits easily. Please let me know if there is anything else I should add to this description.

Wapato Lake

Tire Planters
10x14" Original Watercolor

As I was going through my sketchbooks, I came across this one, painted at Wapato Lake. My husband and grandson, Evan, were out in a boat fishing, while I stayed on shore to paint. Typical of the rural areas here, people plant used tires with the most charming little flower gardens in them.

"The Cook's Flowers"

The Cook's Flowers
15x11" Original Plein Air Watercolor

Captain Whidbey Inn graciously offered complimentary box lunches for those of us painting there on Friday. They were delicious! Thank you!

After lunch, leaving the comfortable deck and returning to the car, I found this subject lit up for me in the afternoon sun.





Setup for "The Cook's Flowers"

Barn Painting

Red Barn Sketch
8x10" Original Watercolor

This farmer already painted his barn. Now it's my turn.

This is another one from the US Open Plein Air Event this summer.

"Down Holbrook"

Down Holbrook 15x11" Original Plein Air Watercolor I kept going back here every morning for 4 days. The first day, I was painting something else but the view down the road kept catching my eye. The next day, it was foggy. The next day I went back to sketch it and the last day, I finally had the light and inspiration to paint this. That's the old fire station on Holbrook and Penn Cove Road in Coupeville.

Shadows of the Past

St Paul's on Salt Spring Island, BC
10x14" Original Watercolor

This was a demo for my workshop, too. We painted the old ferry dock in the morning and the church in the afternoon, all from under the shade trees in a park nearby.

Salt Spring Island's oldest church was founded in 1878 by the first Roman Catholic missionary to the Gulf Islands, erected by community members between 1880-1885. The windows, door and bell were acquired from the "Butter Church" in Cowichan Bay. These were brought in Indian canoes from Cowichan Bay to Burgoyne Bay, then by ox-drawn stoneboat to this site. Colored stonework was added about 1973.