Click above link to see more information.
Life Is A Beach
I know that some think that the last word in that phrase is a replacement for a similar sounding word... not me. My maiden name is Beach and I've always thought of it as a way of thinking about the good parts and the bad parts of life. The beach is a mixed bag... joyously beautiful - miserably cold - a place to discover wonderful examples of nature's bounty - or to step on a jellyfish. You get my drift. Most of us like the beach... we ignore the less pleasant things about it and enjoy the peaceful drama and glory of all it. Just like with life.
I'm catching a cold and didn't want to give it to Dad. Thought it would be good to come home, rest, catch up a bit before the hospital sends Dad home. Of course once I got home (and after I took some Tylenol and drank some hot tea) I couldn't lie down... the easel and my latest painting were calling. Thankfully Dad's getting better each day... He'll have to have more procedures in the next few weeks, but he's on the mend from this latest unsuccessful "fix". Even at almost 92, he's enjoying life day by day... as we all should.
UCSB - The UC "Party Campus"
This scene is one from the beach near Isla Vista... near the UCSB campus. I remember going to the beach there frequently when I was at University... (of COURSE this was AFTER I had studied all I could to ace my exams..LOL)... On this Isla Vista Beach I invariably would get a big blob of oil on the bottoms of my feet or on a towel. The ocean between Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands in California is dotted with oil platforms. In the past I've thought of them as a necessary evil... an annoyance. Even though we were often told that the oil blobs form naturally in that area and were not because of the platforms and the drilling, I never really believed it. Now that we've seen the horrific devastation of coastline and wildlife and livelihoods that can happen, I more and more think we should never sink another off-shore well ... ANYWHERE. I'm hoping those that work on platforms that are already there are redoubling their efforts at safety and caution.
The Painting
Anyway... back to the painting. I had thought that it was almost finished when I worked on it the other day, but I realized that some of my light values were really too light. I had tried to use a limited palette and grey out my colors more than I usually do. (I watched a Scott Christenson video on my computer the other day while I was in the hospital waiting for Dad's surgery to be over.) Today, however, when I went in to work on softening or darkening the lights... I also added a bit more color... I tried to control myself - honest! I've finally decided I'd better say it's finished before I really mess it up.
All in all I'm happy with this painting. I started with a few simple masses and then worked them up trying not to get TOO busy. I debated about adding in the figure but thought it sort of added some scale to the painting...
What do you think...? Is it done???
Newsletter
Are you interested in receiving my free monthly e-newsletter? If so, click here to sign up: