The Beach

is a place of ultimate relaxation for most...where schedules, compulsions and vanities melt away.  Such a vacation was ours to be had this year.  And, in the small square of condos where we stayed, I viewed at least three people taking up brushes, paints and sketchpads in search of the creativity that such freedom provides.  And, while making art is my profession, I don't aim my sites all that high at the beach.  Sand is everywhere, making its way into paint wells and brushes and eyes.  The light is all-too-pervasive, offering little in the way of contrast.  Values are skewed....when extreme light becomes the norm.  And the subject matter becomes a bit too sweet.

But what the beach does provide is the sense of playful painting, of painting without consequences.  I usually bring only a watercolor block and some pan colors, all in a small format.

These are my more successful results from this year's bunch.  There were others...not so successful.

But who cares?  I am on vacation.

Values tell the Story

Sand Dollar, Starfish, and a Stone with a Hole in It   watercolor   6.75 x 8

We can easily use values to help purvey a mood. Values that all hover toward the lighter end of the scale emit "lightness", romanticism and a lack of seriousness. Those are my interpretations. Beach condominiums are filled with prints of such artwork. Of course, vacationers are vacationing FROM seriousness and responsibility, so these pictures work quite well. The mood is set for lightness and fun. Also, there is so much light in the South and at the beach, that a higher drama picture with darker values is simply not possible. Light is everywhere. I find that most watercolor painting students love these kinds of paintings. I think that these works represent the quintessential watercolor in so many ways. It also could be that these very students leave their responsibilities at home and at work and want to have fun at painting class. O.K. I am all for that. I much prefer works that convey both darkness and light and a resultant feeling of the interlacing of both the darkness and the light, the combination of which makes life so ripe and so genuine. But I guess that it doesn't hurt to leave the responsibility at home now and then.