Sunset Dancer

I love to paint plein air because it is so relaxing, especially when I am out and there are no people around. That is my favorite. It can't always be like that, and usually when it is not... that's where the best painting stories come from.

This painting for example was painted within 10 minutes. The sun was setting rapidly in Costa Rica so I set up and was slashing color down when this American girl came up to me. She was working at the Adventure Camp and had served us the night before... but she did not recognize me. She had obviously been indulging in some of the native plants (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

We talked for just a minute as she realized I was with the group that had been there for a while, she thought we departed already. She told me she would love to be able to paint and thought she could pull it off. Good luck, I thought... it ain't as easy as it looks.

As we ended our conversation, which was basically her talking and me painting, she excused herself from the conversation stating that she did not want to disturb me any more. "How nice," I thought. I wish all onlookers were like that. I usually get stories about their aunt that was a painter or that they have a dog and would I like to paint said dog. I was impressed with her ability to recognize the importance of the moment and to excuse herself. We exchange pleasantries and she excused herself. What happened next was so funny that I could hardly contain myself and only wished I had witnesses. She literally stood right next to me in my peripheral vision, facing the same sunset I was and DANCED her weird Grateful Dead, Widespread panic, Phish dance. All I could think was, "didn't want to disturb me?" Luckily for me it started to rain, which chased the Sunset Dancer away and gave me a few more undisturbed moments to finish my last stokes with the knife.

Plein air is always interesting and I know that 10 days painting at the Forgotten Coast paint out next week will yield some great stories!

Sunset Dancer, 8x10, plein air, landscape, sunset, palette knife, $600, framed

Sunset Over the Rocks

Painted this little gem when we got home. I love the sky just to either side of the sunset. I love those colors.

Corcovado Beach

Drake Bay, Costa Rica, 8x10, oil sketch, plein air, landscape, palette knife

This is the first piece I did upon arrival at the Corcovado Adventure Tent Camp on Drake Bay in Costa Rica. It was hot... super hot and sticky and I did not have everything I needed. I had shipped tubes of extra color and OMS from Dick Blick to Costa Rica and they had not passed through customs at this point. I had to improvise with think paint and no thinner!

On the Road, in the Air, on a Boat...

The last 2 weeks have been a blur around here.

Week before last I was with the 7th grade from my school. We have interim every spring, each class has an educational trip. It is a great opportunity to get out of the classroom.

We always go to the Georgia coast, usually to to sea kayak and learn about our unique coastline. This year we went to the UGA Marine Extension on Skidaway Island and did labs and traveled to Ossobaw Island, an uninhabited barrier island. I got a few paintings done here and there... I just have to find them.

As soon as I got back, we flew off to Costa Rica with the Outdoor Club from school for a REAL adventure. I did a ton of painting there as we snorkeled, hiked the jungle floor on the coast, spotted monkeys and snakes, zip lined, rafted and relaxed.

In the weeks to come I have to finish (start and finish!) a HUGE commission piece for Piedmont Newnan Hospital to be delivered before I leave for the Forgotten Coast Paint Out... 10 days of plein air pleasure.

Over the next 2 weeks I will be posting paintings done on the trips mentioned above as well as some tidbits about traveling with oil painting gear.

Best,

DB