 CUTTING IT FINE . . . AGAIN. This is the piece that I did for the Potomac River Regional Art Show, sponsored by the Colonial Beach Artists Guild (click to see that FB page). Here it is, still on the easel and getting last minute touches on Saturday, when we had to deliver our art Sun/Mon. As I suspected that it might come down to the wire, so this one was painted with (fast-drying) acrylics instead of (slow-drying) oils. Using acrylics had an additional bonus. I got to finger-paint 90+ percent of it. Everything except the dormer window and some details on the front porch. Fun! And, messy!
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Have been spending each 3rd Saturday of the month at lovely Wharf Park in Leonardtown MD, participating in the monthly Coastal Arts Market. A really nice selection of fine arts and quality handcrafts. I'm very pleased to be one of the artists accepted. (I take a mix of my smaller paintings along with my "pebble pieces"). As a bonus, there's a quaint "downtown" to explore nearby with some nice shops and good restaurants. Plan a day trip for the next 3rd Saturday, and be sure to stop by and say "Hi"!  Promised myself that I would try the "tent event" circuit once I retired. That would have been last year, but Covid got in the way. The first local opportunity that popped up was "Second Saturday Market Days,", a new venture from nearby Montross Brewery  (Photo on far right taken pre-Covid. Plenty of room for patrons to spread out in the garden).
 Just finished this painting, "Out on a Limb." 12 x 12" wrapped canvas. It will be in the "All things Osprey" show at Jarrett Thor Gallery this month to coincide with the Colonial Beach 3rd Annual Osprey Festival.
When the Osprey return to their nesting sites along the Potomac River near Colonial Beach they are always a welcome sign of Spring's arrival. Sightings of the birds begin to be mentioned all over social media. The couples, which mate for life and normally return to the same site as previous years' to nest, have been given names. They are watched out for and then are welcomed joyfully as returning friends. Photographs and even web cams keep track of their progress as they rebuild the nest and lay eggs. The hatchlings are named as well, and we enjoy their melodious warbles and peeps of the chicks as their parents hunt for fish to keep the family fed. After about 6 months of giving us the pleasure of their company, the osprey head for warmer climes until the following spring. This past summer, I had the good fortune to come across several osprey feathers while on walks around my hometown. So, I added this tail feather when making another "Pebble Art" shadow box this morning "just because." As always, the pebbles, driftwood and grasses used were all encountered along the local beach.  Supporting the "3rd Annual" OSPREY FESTIVAL in Colonial Beach. (Visit the Downtown Colonial Beach FB page for more info about the festival). https://www.facebook.com/downtowncolonialbeach/ These little pebble and driftwood osprey chicks will be at Jarrett Thor Gallery soon, along with a variety of artists' depictions of this intriguing annual visitor to Colonial Beach. Found myself missing color and just working with paint as I continue to create these pebble/sea glass small pieces. Trying to be ready for (hopefully) this year's art fairs!
The bits and pieces are being glued to sturdy Canson "Oils or Acrylics" paper. I am painting colored backgrounds on a few (see examples on left and right). I'm a bit ambivalent about them, however the colored background did let me use white sea glass for the jellyfish. Sea glass along my local beach in scarce, and most of the few pieces of sea glass I've found have been white. What we do have a lot of along our shoreline is the yellow and rose quartz used in the middle picture with the cat and birds. To me, this piece has a bright feeling, thanks to both the pebble colors and the subject matter. It feels "springlike," and I am happy with the result. This was to have been a Christmas present for the "mom" of these 3 furry friends. Instead, all she got was the promise that it will get to her as soon as it's done! It's my first attempt at pet portraiture, which I find almost as daunting as the idea of attempting people portraiture. I am working from a photograph. Do feel like I'm learning quite a bit as it goes along, but now feel the need to turn to YouTube for some tutorials on how to paint animal fur, and especially white fur! (I know! Should have looked at those first).  My home is a few blocks from a long strip of beach along a tidal river. Being able to walk there almost daily is a great pleasure and often serves as a source of inspiration for my art. Recently, the beach has also served as a source of materials for simply crafted scenes composed of beach pebbles and driftwood. I saw and admired something similar at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk Art Show a few years ago, but that was a rather more 'delicate' treatment, with slender, sandpiper-like birds created with 'sea glass' in shades of blue and green. Very pretty! Unfortunately, colorful pieces of sea glass are not commonly found washed up on my local beach. Although I do keep looking hopefully! These are also destined for the local art Guild's upcoming Christmas Market show.
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