Category: heaven is an empty beach

Breaking Resistance Mode in Twenty Minutes

Peach at the Beach (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
7×10 Watercolor

The latest watercolor is finished. You can see how the colors change with the different lighting, but the feeling is the same. Sunny, breezy, comfortable day at the beach. Can you feel it?

The second photo was taken in the afternoon after I painted from my beach photo for twenty minutes. I took the top photo this morning which is more blue with early light, rather than the yellow of late day light. That’s what Monet was seeing when he painted his water lily garden and other scenes in all times of the day. Different time of day, different shadows, different color of light, different paintings of the same scene.

I wonder if Monet painted for only twenty minutes at a time. Makes sense if he did, because if he didn’t and painted on one work all day, the light would be different as the day passed and I know he has many works of the same scenes. I will have to look into it.

Anyway, I enjoy working quickly, when I do paint. Lately I’ve been in resistance mode and twenty minutes has been helping break that cycle quicker than usual.

As far as my subjects, I think it’s interesting to mix objects that would not normally live together in real life life fruit and sea shells. These were nice shells too. Great shapes and colors to keep it fresh.

If the momentum keeps up it will be a good thing. However, the weather here has turned cooler and it’s not conducive to beach going. Beach weather is on it’s way out, but memories of a great beach day will have to suffice.

What a Day at The Beach!

Tuesday was a beautiful day. Gorgeous was with the Princess visiting a friend and I was going to go to the beach by myself. I don’t have a problem being alone at the beach. It’s family friendly, peaceful and there’s usually plenty of other lone people doing their own quiet thing.

I brought my travel watercolor set, fully intending to put it to good use. I also brought along a book to read before I felt like painting. I managed to remember to take a few photos before I settled into my inert position in my sand chair.

For a beautiful sunny day, this beach was practically empty. Fine with me. Empty beach almost all to myself is a wonderful thing. The few kids on the beach just had to play football right near me though. Of course I had to tell them to move down the beach and hit other people with their football. Geez!

I had my little lunch, read my book, and ate my peach when I realized I had planned to paint that peach with a few shards of sea shells. Oops! So I just kept reading and enjoying the scenery. I answered a call from my mom and while we’re talking I felt a weird movement as I sat in my chair. I thought it must be the wind pushing me funny. 
My mom said her desk was shaking and she felt dizzy. I told her Wait a minute, I feel the same thing! I noticed other people began to stand up on the beach and look around, and said such to Mom. It was almost 2PM and I decided I am done here. Wait, is this an earthquake?
Texts were flying into my phone from Gorgeous, my sister, Son#2, Mom. Some of my outgoing texts would not go through. I couldn’t access voice mail either. As I was leaving I asked some other women if their phones worked. They didn’t. Well, everyone started talking about what was happening.

New York had a 5.9 earthquake yesterday and I was at the beach when it happened. Now that I think about it, what a jerk I was. I should have ran out of there as soon as I realized what was going on. Did I want to be in the middle of a tsunami resulting from said earthquake? Uh, no thank you. 
What kind of New Yorker am I? I was lulled by the beauty and peace of the beach into thinking I was safe. 
Next time, run you idiot.

Big Yellow Umbrella at the Beach

Today was an amazing beach day at Pt. Lookout, N.Y. At home it seemed as if the weather would not cooperate, cloudy and overcast with a hint of a sprinkle. There was no way I wasn’t going to the beach. No way. I packed myself up and left. Total drive time to the beach was fifteen minutes without traffic. I arrived at just past noon.
Other people must have thought it wouldn’t be a good day, but it turned out beautiful. Like I always say: Heaven is an empty beach. After relaxing in my chair for a while and having lunch, I got out my trusty travel watercolor set and pad and set to work painting the big yellow umbrella right in front of me. 

Big Yellow Umbrella (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
7×11 Watercolor on Canson paper 

Twenty minutes and I was finished with this painting. I don’t know if it’s the paper that dries so quickly or the beach weather. It was a pleasure to sketch with the paint and forgo the pencil for most of this work. I did draw just a little to get some proportions correct, but overall I just went with paint. And it was good.

At Pt. Lookout Beach

I finally made it to the beach this Sunday. Pt. Lookout was beautiful on a warm sunny day. Traffic going there was light, not many people hogging up the sand, the water was warm, as was my company of family. I never got to take a photo of the beach itself because I didn’t want to enjoy the whole day through the camera lens. It was a perfect day in every sense.
But I must be really tired because I just posted this to the wrong blog! I thought my banner looked a little different after I pressed the button that says Publish Post! Yikes! My apologies to the 100 Paintings Challenge if anyone was over there and up popped my beach pics! Hahahaha! My bad.

Rocks on the Beach

Beach vacations are pretty much similar where ever you travel, some more luxurious than others.  We’ve been to quite a few different places where the beach is the main idea and each destination is unique.

Cancun, Acapulco, Nassau Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Greece, Long Island, Las Vegas, oops Las Vegas has pools, all have some aspects that are similar and different.  Some have sandy beaches and others have rocks. 

The Mr. was born in a Greek island with rocky beaches so that’s what he looks for in a beach.  In fact, most Greeks are lured by calm waters and a rocky beach, something that resembles home to them.  But I’m a New York girl so what do I know other than sand and waves like Jones Beach and Pt. Lookout?  Rarely did we travel to the Long Island Sound with it’s calm waters.  It’s fine with me, I’m drawn to the water, rocks or not.

One fascination Greek island people have is watching the ferry arrive with it’s passengers, trucks loaded with produce, cars and stuff.  The ferry is so huge and things keep coming off.  Then it gets loaded back up with the same stuff going the other way. 

In Greenport there are ferries that shuttle all the same kind of stuff and people to Shelter Island, all day and night, back and forth.  So of course, we’re fascinated by all the action.  They loaded a huge tractor trailer onto this little ferry, plus people in cars, people with bicycles, and just people on foot!  I was in awe, just like we are when we’re in Greece! I know, whacko.

When we were finished gawking at the ferry coming and going we were ready to head back to the beach.  The sun was high in the sky and glistening off the clear blue water.  Not many people were on the beach so it was all for us to enjoy.  Like I said, Heaven is an empty beach! 

Except for the seagulls.  No matter where you go seagulls will take your food, throw it around the beach and eat it.
Our last full day I took out the watercolors at the urging of The Mr.  He said, You brought your set out here, now get to work!  Oh gee, thanks.  I was so happy to do nothing on this trip, absolutely no brain waves nothing.  But OK, it was time, and the rocks looked so interesting. 
I began sketching out a few nearby rocks with some dried seaweed clinging to them.  So The Mr. says, You’re going to paint rocks?  What’s wrong with the water and the sky?  I don’t know why but rocks are neat and painting the scenery was sort of intimidating with watercolors.  And anyway, I have pictures for later. 
Without penciling in the subject I just went with the paint.  The brushes I keep with the set have a great point so I can sketch with color and blend in the paint with the side of the brush.  I added color and tried my best to keep the whites white.  The good thing about this little travel set is the limited palette.  That seems to keep me in line or I’d add every color I can get my brush into.  Bad, good, I don’t know, but that’s what my brain tells me to do. 
©2009 Dora Sislian Themelis

I thought I would try to paint every day on the trip, but thinking about doing it was stressful.  I needed to wind down my brain and think of nothing and of doing nothing.  Once I started painting I guess by that time I was really ready for it. 

OK, when’s the next trip?