Windy Day at the Beach

“Windy Day at the Beach”      Pastel         5” x 7”        $50       © Sharon Lewis
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            I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately and wish I had just a little more time to paint some of what I’ve seen. Whenever I travel, I come back inspired to experiment with new subjects, colors, and styles. After attending a conference in a busy urban setting (New York) the week before, I traveled with my family to the beach last week for a very short family vacation. I thought I would have more time to paint but since the weather was gorgeous, we all took advantage of this to spend most of each day walking the beach or surfing the waves. Given how busy we all are, and how far a part we are geographically, I feel so very fortunate that I was able to spend some time with my son and daughter. I was also lucky that I was able to sneak in some time to do this small plein air study of the beach and beautiful sky.

 

Stupendous Starfish, Blustery Beach

"Starfish Beach"    5" x 7"    Pastel     $50    © Sharon Lewis 
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             A couple of summers ago, in an effort to escape the heat and humidity of the east coast, we traveled to the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia and stayed in a beautiful area called Tofino.  The painting today is of a beach in Tofino that was usually cold and windy but beautiful and that had the most amazingly colored starfish tucked in at the base of the rocks, all along the shore. There were orange starfish wrapped around yellow ones, and purple ones mixed in with pink; they were gorgeous!

Looking for a Caldron of Clouds

Plein Air Clouds    Pastel     2.5" x 3.5"     $20      © Sharon Lewis

Plein Air Clouds #2     Pastel     2.5" x 3.5"     $20        © Sharon Lewis

Plein Air Clouds #3    Pastel    2.5" x 3.5"     $20     © Sharon Lewis

         I think I have never grown out of my early fascination with clouds. I remember as a child lying on my back in the grass (grass stains and dirty clothes never an issue back then) and staring at clouds seeing all sorts of animals and other cool things up in the sky. Especially during hurricane season, there were fast moving, powerful-looking storm clouds that would bubble up, like some huge caldron of clouds soon to boil over or explode….great entertainment for a child.

       Now I still walk around staring up at the sky, always on the look out for interesting clouds. The paintings above are quick studies I did at the beach over Labor Day.

       Hope your weekend is filled with glorious clouds and skies.      

Bittersweet Beach Memories

“Beach Memories”       9” x 12”      Pastel      $100     © Sharon Lewis
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             Labor Day weekend is always bittersweet. There’s the joy of being at the beach, with the gentle sea breezes, the cries of the gulls, the hypnotic rhythm of the waves breaking on the shore. There’s the fun of surfing the waves over and over again just like I did when I was a child growing up in Florida. But then there’s the slow realization that it will probably be many, many months before we see the beach again. As much as I enjoy the advent of cooler, drier weather, I love these long days of light and I feel so lucky to live close enough to the east coast that the beach is just a relatively short drive away.

            Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

 

Let’s Head for the Beach!

“ Windswept”         4” x 6”       Pastel        $35        © Sharon Lewis
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            Today is a beautiful day in the Atlanta area! We are experiencing our usual weird weather this time of year. Last week we had snow and ice, and this week we’ve had fog, mist and temperatures in the 70’s! Today is a little cooler (50’s) but nothing like the cold that friends and family up north are experiencing.

            On a happy note, I have noticed daffodils pushing up their yellow heads, a welcome cheery sight in an otherwise, brown and gray landscape. Speaking of cheery sights, I’m so in the mood for the beach! I want a view of warm, peach sand and cool blue water, so today, I’m posting a painting of a beach. This painting is of a beach from Tofino, which is on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.  It’s a beautiful place to walk and observe all sorts of amazingly colorful starfish and other assorted wildlife. Tofino has relatively warm winters and cool summers… just the kind of place I love to visit. However, although I found their cool summer temperatures a welcome respite from the heat of north Georgia in July, I believe I wore several layers of clothing every time I walked this beach.

So, as an artist, I changed the view to hopefully convey warmth and sunshine with an ocean breeze.

            May your weekend be filled with warmth and sun!

Fresh off the Easel….

“Sunset on the Coast”  9” x 12”   Pastel  $100    © Sharon Lewis
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            Sometimes it’s fun to just paint and share what you love. Although I think that most times my paintings benefit from a little aging or at least some time for me to decide what they need, today’s painting comes fresh off the easel. For some reason, I had a desire to paint and post a scene with dramatic contrasts and color. Maybe it’s because I’m noticing my favorite colors are disappearing all around me as my trees lose their leaves or because I just like bold color and strong contrast anyway.

            Today’s painting is based on some photos of mine of Trinidad Beach State Park on the California coast. This is a beautiful area and one I hope to visit again sometime soon. We were having dinner at a restaurant on the beach and were lucky enough to get a table by the window. I don’t remember anything at all about the food but I do remember the gorgeous sunset over the water and how the light made the small puddles in the sand shine. Although I was disappointed to find that I’d forgotten my good camera, I was lucky enough to get a few shots with my iPhone to remind me of that evening.

A sunset for those with a sweet tooth….

"Orange Sherbet Sunset"       8 x 10      Pastel   $75     © Sharon Lewis

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Yummm…. I love orange sherbet! It’s sweet and tangy and for some reason when I look at the sky in this painting, I can’t help but be reminded of this colorful dessert.  Looking at this scene I’m taken back to the late afternoon on the Isle of Palms when I watched the setting sun behind me reflect almost a rainbow of colors on the sea in front of me. I can also smell the salt in the air, feel a cool breeze and the warm sun on my face, and hear the sound of sea gulls. Who wouldn’t want to paint this beautiful ocean and sky?

By the way, as you can see from the date of the previous blog, I’ve been away for awhile. My day job, family, and life intervened so the blog had to wait. I hope to post more consistently from here on out.