Plein Air painting at Double Bluff

This painting was all about the bright overcast day.  It was very beautiful, not too hot or cold with the smell of sea air.  Perfect for me as I'm one of those people who applauds when it rains after two weeks of sunshine.
The first picture is a small sketch from the deck of the Capt Whidbey Inn in bright sunshine.     The second is from Double Bluff on the overcast day.

Penn Cove

Toward Seattle, Bright gray day!

Summer fun

Summer goes so quickly here on Whidbey. We rush to and fro trying to have fun, paint the beautiful scenes and be involved with festivals.  This leaves out the garden, work and "cooking", I have to work to squeeze those necessary evils into my life.  Actually, I love the garden and it looks so pretty this year, almost overgrown.  This is a good thing because it shades out weeds.  I'll do some sketches later.  Here are some sketches of Chochookam, and local scenes.
I'm not happy with my mini palette lately.  Its too hard to moisten those cakes of paint and it ruins my brush tips.  I may be moving back to the slightly larger palette with the squeezed tubes.  Yes, I do squeeze new paint into those small holes of the WNewton palette, but.... small holes=brush tips don't like it.  Yes, I moisten the whole palette, but it dries out quickly in warm weather.  Maybe I need to join the sketchers more often after our meeting for whine, I mean wine. ;-)  till next time.

Jim Lamb painting from photos.  I scrunched him onto the page, he is a tad taller! 8-)

Slow day working at the gallery, so I sketched Windemere and my little Subaru.

Rainy on and off at Langley harbor, blah colors

Little girl posing for her portrait, while Mom figures out how to work the phone.

Sherryl's birthday at Mary's on First Street.  This is the view from her window (Music for the Eyes)

June 21 Summer!

Whoo hoo!  Summer arrived just when I was giving up.  We ate OUTSIDE last night and today I walked Double Bluff with Laci and did a couple of small watercolors.  I would have stayed longer and painted more, but forgot some drinking water and snack.  I could even see Rainer in the distance!

Sunlight Beach

Super low tide.  Jody and dogs wading, WADING! can you believe.  Hyundai ship going thru Admiralty passage.

Warm and Sunny Honolulu

My husband and I recently escaped the cold of the Northwest for the beautiful, warm, humid winter of Honolulu.  Between 1987 and 1990 we lived in on base at Pearl Harbor. We haven't been back to the Island since 1992 and were not surprised to find it the same yet MORE! Lots of sun, people (we never went to Waikiki), noise from traffic, but beauty everywhere.

Example:  We stayed at the recently built Navy Lodge on historic Ford Island.  A causeway was built to the Island about 10 years ago and now there are new quarters for military personnel.  The Navy Lodge was built in the last ten years and contains two large buildings to house personnel moving to and from Hawaii, and visitors like ourselves. 

Ford Island is small by Whidbey standards and limited for supplies but so peaceful and historic.  The battleship Missouri, where the Articles of Surrender was signed with Japan, is now a museum for visitors; also the Naval Aviation Museum; memorials for the battleship Oklahoma and Utah. There are old bunkers and an air control tower that is awaiting restoration.

Of course, we drove all over the Oahu to our favorite beaches, Barbers Point Naval Air Station, Bellows Beach, Kaneohe (Pyramid Rock) where Obama recently stayed, and a ride to the North Shore on a rainy day to watch the super surfers catch the waves. 

Ginger

I also met some artists that meet to paint every Thursday at Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu.  "The Garden traces its beginning to 1853 when Queen Kalama leased a small area of land to William Hillebrand, a young German doctor. A botanist as well as a physician, he and his wife built a home in the upper terrace area of the present garden. The magnificent trees which now tower over this area were planted by him. After twenty years in Hawaii, he returned to Germany and produced the excellent botanic treatise, Flora of the Hawaiian Islands (1888).

The Hillebrand property was later sold to Thomas (Captain) and Mary Foster who added to it and continued to develop the garden. Upon Mrs. Foster's death in 1930, the 5.5 acre site was bequeathed to the City and County of Honolulu as a public garden."

Bellows Beach Windward side

Foster Botanical Gardens

Rainy evening view from the Navy Lodge, looking at causeway.

Trying to grab some shade by the lifeguard stand; this was my view.

The watchers

Pupukea surf left side

Pupukea Beach right side

Island Views

This week I've featured a view from a garden overlooking Holmes Harbor and the Old Pietala garden at the Whidbey Institute.

The Whidbey Institute, also known as the Chinook Center, is on a 70 acre farm that was  established in the early 1900's.  The Institute is now a conference and retreat center, with overnight  facilities for about 30 people and day use for about 150.

Having lived in Finland, I admire the Finns' work ethic, and practicality in building. Every time I visit the Pietala Farm I am transported to a little Island where we rented a cottage year round. The owner had built the beds on the wall bunk style.  We walked through the woods to the sauna at the waterside. We got our water from a well, bucket by bucket and near the well were several rocks that Hannes, the island owner said the Vikings had roundtable discussions.  In the winter we would drive or ski over the ice to the island.

On the Pietala farm, the trees are huge, and speak to the history of the early settlement of this farm.  There is a typical outdoor sauna, many work buildings and gardens.  The home itself is available for groups to stay.  Inside there is a large meeting room and a practical kitchen with screened pantry; upstairs the beds are built on the wall and a sleeping loft for the more nimble.  Be sure to visit this wonderful place for its beauty and meditative qualities.
 

Trail to the beach-Holmes Harbor

Long Beach

A little travel off the beaten path was in the cards for the weekend of May 22.  Lots of painting from inside because of the rain.  We still had a fun time with 14 of us sitting around chatting and painting our sketches.  We were inspired by Eric Weigardts' studio, peeking all around and taking photos of his work station. One of my sketches was done while having a glass of wine at The Depot Restaurant in Longview, WA.

Beaches/Water

One of our favorite locations to walk on the beach is Double Bluff.  It is located south of Freeland on the Southwest side of the Island.  Double Bluff is home to lots of Eagles, Herons, clams, crabs, wading pools that are warm for young children.  You can see Mt Rainier and Seattle on a good day.  The tide is almost never to high for a good walk.  When it is low it is fun to walk way out and look back at the bluffs.