From my chair, more or less
Posted: February 7, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized 27 CommentsI did a lot of painting from my beach chair on Grace Bay Beach in Turks & Caicos, mostly because I didn’t bring a big easel with me and a beach chair comes with an umbrella! From my chair, I could see sand and water of course, but the view was more interesting if I turned my back to the ocean. Looking up the beach, I found some interesting shapes — a white umbrella against the blue sky (it was more symmetrical than the way I drew it!), a yellow jug of water, some backlit signs and a few stacked chairs. I tried to lose the edges between the objects and their shadows, and just think of them as simple shapes.
We had a few days of turbulent weather. I went down to the beach and tried to paint the approaching storm. The high winds dried my paper before I get a big wash down, so I ended up with a blotchy mess.
I also tried to paint the dark clouds in the other direction, but it started to rain so I took a photo and painted it from my reference image. I didn’t quite capture the drama in the sky but at least there were no blotches when I painted indoors in a more controlled setting.
On our last day, the sun came out again but the winds were fierce. I think the palms say it all.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
The palms definitely say it all! You captured the wind well, Shari.
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Lois, thank you!
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WOW! Fantastic sketches and what a lesson on painting in adverse conditions, lol! The last sketch is my favorite, you nailed the depiction of the high winds — no explanation necessary!
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Thanks so much Yvonne!!
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Great capture of the wind and heat
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Thanks so much Marilyn!
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marvellous You xxx
love the wind swept palm trees!
xx
•••Karimobile
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Thanks Karim!
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Lovely paintings Shari. Those images brought back memories. We were there in 2017 during Hurricane Irma.You definitely enjoyed better weather than we did.
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Oh, wow, that must have been very dramatic! Those skies are amazing even on a calm day, but I can’t even imagine what a hurricane was like.
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Oh, exquisitely beautiful!
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Thanks Sandi!
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lovely sketches. I’ve been to Grace Bay several times myself and the scenes, beautiful turquoise water, and stormy skies look very familiar
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Lucky you if you’ve been to Grace Bay several times. It is SO beautiful. I still dream about that turquoise water, now that I’m back.
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Storms, wind, rain-looks like you still enjoyed a wonderful vacation. Thanks for “taking” us! Now, time for some snow ❄️
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Denise, we haven’t had any new snow for a long time. In fact we had rain which turned everything to ice. I hope it’s nicer where you are.
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I can feel that warm wind and hear the rustles of the palms. Gorgeous image!
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Thanks so much Aprille.
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The first painting may be “a blotchy mess”, but it really captures the ominousness of an approaching storm. I like it!
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Excellent paintings, you captured the windswept palms perfectly, I also like how you captured the white coreal sand, what colour do you use again for the sand? you mentioned it before.
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Shawn, I use Buff Titanium sometimes for this colour sand. It works pretty well as a pale, warm neutral. It looks a bit like putty when you squeeze it out of the tube.
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These are beautiful, and sun-drenched, and I love your “blotchy mess”. You have no idea how much I needed to see these beautiful pictures at this dark time.
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Betsy, thank you!
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..personally I like blotchy..
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Thanks Brenda! I sometimes like blotchy too, but not in this case.
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Looks like you had a bit of everything except snow while you were there. I love the bright colors that have me yearning for warm weather. Thanks for sharing bits of your trip.
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Joan, we did have a bit of everything but certainly no snow! As for yearning for warm weather, it will be here soon! I think we are over the worst of it! Hope all is well with you!
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