Bon Voyage Mon Ami

Bon Voyage Mon Ami
Sailboat departing Kaneohe Bay.

Bon Voyage Mon Ami. This is a painting of a memory of seeing a friend take off at sunrise out of Kaneohe Bay Marina. He was sailing off on an adventure and I was waving goodbye at the shore.

This friend was a Vietnam Vet who lived on his sailboat traveling around the world. My children and I were lucky to be able to spend a year or so enjoying picnics, hikes, and boat trips together with no strings attached.

Sometimes, the best people do not hang around long enough in our lives. Jon was one of those people to me.

Cape Disappointment 4

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse 4

Cape Disap 06It is time to remove the mastic so I can get down to the details in painting this view. I start on the left side of the image. Do you see the crisp whites appear where the yellow once was in the wave breaking in the foreground?

Cape Disap 07Then we proceed to the right side till all of the mastics are removed. Not all areas that I am removing the watercolor resist from, were totally white when I applied the mastic. But, the stark white is especially noticeable in the cliff further away, but where some of the original light wash shows through in the front area it is not so bright.

 

Cape Disappointment 3

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse 3

Cape Disap 04The cliffs at the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse in Oregon are highlighted first with one of my favorite colors, Quinacridone Gold by Daniel Smith. I am replacing the colors I run out of with this brand whenever possible because the colors are so vibrant. To darken the cliffside in the areas that are recessed along the shore I use an earth tone created by mixing greens and reds. This color combo creates the best blacks, a great array of darkness.

The same blues used in the sky are then added to the ocean swells along with greens and purples to mark the darkest areas in the waves. Water always seems to reflect the sky so well.

Cape Disap 04The trees and shrubbery are next. I begin by drawing trees with a thin wash of light gray to show the furthest fading into the distance. Then, I add greens and browns in various amounts to brighten the trees and shrubs as they come closer. Closer is always brighter. If it is where the light is shining it becomes even brighter there.

 

Cape Disappointment Commission

Commission

A watercolor of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is what my client wanted for their parents at Christmas. Here are some of the steps taken to create this painting. I received an example showing what they were thinking of but they wanted a warmer-looking day maybe with some sun.

rec'd from clientHere is a sunnier shot of the same area that had a great array of sunny colors in it.

sunnier shot Taking a look through my own photographs to find a shot taken of that same bay while we were on vacation on the coast of Oregon. This just so happened to be a beautiful sunny day when my husband and I hiked up to the lighthouse a few years ago with a couple of friends.

my own photographI began with a sketch made from my own photograph of the area, liking the wave layout much better. It seemed sunnier and welcoming with its pattern of currents.

Cape Disapp 01I quickly realized that I would not be able to preserve all the little areas of white without using some mastic (watercolor resist) to reserve the many areas and foam in the surf. I let the surface fully dry and then applied this mastic resist before I am able to proceed.

Boat on the Water SR3839

water being a mirror
water being a mirror

This is entitled, “Boat on the Water SR3839” and is for sale unframed for $20. I just love the way water can become a mirror showing the underside of boats and piers and the beautiful sunset skies. This makes me think of warm ocean waters and early morning at Kaneohe Bay, rowing out to Jon Olson’s boat.

This week working with, Stan Miller for an advanced watercolor class at Spokane Art Supply. We were challenged to take a picture of a boat and apply some artistic design to improve the layout composition along with achieving some good realism in the rendering. I enjoyed the mission.

Tracing Lost Art

Tracing Lost Art. In October 2007 these paintings were donated to  “Holy Family Hospital” and placed in their Shamrock Gala auction, Don’t Rush a Good Thing I304”, “Seven Horse Spirits K404”, and “Koolau’s Haiku K504”.

The mystery of where the 3 missing paintings ended up afterward begins after they are placed in Holy Family Hospital’s initial “Shamrock Gala” fundraiser auction. The event was held at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane WA in March of 2008. A beautiful affair that I was graciously given a ticket to attend. Tuxedos and formal dinner attire were required for a sit-down meal with table centerpieces that had tree branches painted gold, foliage, and tubular lights intertwined.  I have a souvenir wine glass from the event pictured below,  “Latah Creek” and “Shamrock Gala” on it. Here is a link to more information about the event that was rec’d later.

Shamrock Gala wineglass Shamrock Gala, Latah Creek wineglass

Two paintings, Don’t Rush a Good Thing I304 and Seven Horse Spirits K404 were not sold at the auction and I don’t know what became of them. Contacting the hospital to request information about their outcomes has not been successful in locating them so far.

One of the paintings did find a home, Koolau’s Haiku K504was purchased during the course of this auction by a sweet couple who I was able to meet afterward. I  recall that they live somewhere here in Spokane WA but I regret that I never did think to get their names or contact information when I was introduced to them.

I would like to be able to locate these missing children (lost oil paintings) from the beginning time period of my oil rub-outs career so I can complete the information for my records. I wouldn’t mind seeing them again also. Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions you may have to help locate them.