Art at the Beach, Part 3

The ocean waves rolling into the beach where David and I visited were stronger on the second day of our stay. I could hear the pounding surf all day long as we sat up by the dunes.  We could feel the energy of the waves washing over us, & scouring the grayness of winter from our bodies.

Our first day on the beach happened to coincide with low tide, and the beach was littered with beautiful shells.  I gathered a handful and made pencil sketches.

 

I enjoyed following the delicate lines of the shells, looking mostly at the shells sitting on the sand, and only occasionally at my drawing.

You can begin a journal with any theme you like, from nature observations, to your travels, to journals of imaginary characters.  

I hope you'll give yourself the gift of time sketching this week!

Beach Postcard Painting Inspiration

One way to keep enjoying your vacation once you return home is to create from your photos. 

 I have been diving back into pics from our recent Florida trip.

 The beauty of the wild dunes and the clean ocean sand made me wish I had more time to paint the scene while there in person, so I snapped this photo with my cell phone.

I've used this photo to create a little postcard.  This one is roughly 3" x 6".  The first washes were made with a number 8 round brush.

I finished the card with a number 1 rigger brush (shown in the top picture). 

Why not dig out your favorite photos from a past trip and immerse yourself in them artfully?  

Or find a photo of a place you'd like to visit and make a journal entry, a post card or a painting. 

 Follow your intuition!

And remember that you're not a camera, you're not trying to create an exact replica of the scene in the photograph.  Your goal can be to simply experience the beauty you see in a photo.  

Art at the Beach

 

Over last weekend, David and I vacationed in Florida on a gorgeous natural beach.  The beauty of the dunes, the plants, and the wildlife inspired and relaxed me.  

Between dunks in the Atlantic Ocean, I sketched, snapped photos of nature, and painted.  I used the photos I took to create more pages in my travel journal after we had left the beach.  

Above is a painting I made of Sea Grapes while waiting for our flight home.  Here's my reference photo:

My travel art supplies fit into a makeup bag I bought at the Goodwill.

Less is more!

I find that having fewer supplies makes me more likely to draw and create, and that filling a 6"x 8" journal page is less daunting than a larger space. 

Why not give yourself the gift of a mini art vacation to sketch, relax and play with your art supplies?

Even if travel isn't in your plans, you can still set up a travel art kit.  Pick out a few of your favorite supplies and tuck them into a pocket, a pack or a zippered case, then visit someplace interesting to you.  It could be a coffee shop, a park or a greenhouse in your area.  

Any sketch, even one you see as imperfect, is far more interesting than a blank page.  

And every time you create, you build your skills & practice self care.

Create. You're worth it!