June on the Outer Banks of NC

"All Churned Up" 6x8 oil on panel

  We returned from the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Friday having spent another wonderful week there.  This trip was mainly about family.  The kids, grandkids and granddogs came up from Atlanta and we enjoyed some good beach time together!  The weather ran the gamut....warm and sunny with the Atlantic dead calm, stormy and then sunny again but with very rough surf.  The ocean was incredibly warm for this time of year and I wonder what that means hurricane wise.  Hmmm.

     I still managed to get several paintings done and the one above is an addition to my Surf series which I have up on my website.  I added a page called "minis" and there you can see both my Farmhouse series and Surf.  All the paintings are 6x8 inches.  www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com  I haven't added the latest yet.  I will also be adding some more to the Small Landscapes page.
      I had a wonderful time painting on the beach!  I set up a beach umbrella with my chair and pochade box beneath.  The sand made a wonderful brush holder:)

"Surf Fishers" 8x10 oil on linen panel

     There were a lot of surf fishers, both human and bird.  I forgot to ask what was running that day.  Fishing poles lined the waters edge and every so often, particularly late in the day, the gulls were having a feeding frenzy!  
      I was interested watching the fishers and some would just leave their poles there and go sit back in the sand.  Others would place chairs at the edge of the water.  One of these trips I will have to learn more about it and maybe give it a go myself.  I love the idea of catching dinner, taking it back to the house and grilling it up:)

     These bright paintings were created after the storm that brought in the surf.  The day of the storm I rushed out when the first blow was over thinking I had time for a quick, 6x8 painting.  I didn't bother with my tripod, just took the pochade box, limited palette and two brushes.  I took a number 10 flat bristle and a number 4 round.  I thought I would have about an hour before the next storm broke but only 15 minutes into the painting I found myself running for cover.  The lightning came first then booming thunder and a torrential rain.  I got soaked.  It was an adrenaline rush!  Thank goodness I could just snap the lid of the pochade box shut and run!  I have decided not to retouch this and to just leave it as it was before I ran for cover.  I will remember the experience.

"Sudden Storm" 6x8 oil on panel