Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Admiralty Head Lighthouse - view from afar

First view of Admiralty Head Lighthouse (WA) - Claire

This page was painted from a photo that my son sent me back in June of the Admiralty Head Lighthouse in Washington state .... he took the picture as he passed by on his bike. He knows how I've developed an interest in lighthouses over the years. I looked up this lighthouse on the web to find out more about it. To my surprise.... I found out that my son's view of the lighthouse only captures the top floor. There is more that you can't see from this image.

We later visited my son and I got to see the 'whole thing' for myself and take pictures for future paintings.

They just caught my eye....

These are tiles on a retaining wall in San Luis Obispo, California. I discovered the tiles when we took our middle son back to college. We were actually in route to an art festival, but I couldn't resist looking at these tiles as we parked the car. I decided to snap a quick photo of them to use for a sketch later. Just a reminder to me .... that I can find a subject to sketch just about anywhere.... and its time to get back into the practice/habit of frequently sketching and painting. I'm glad to be back!!

P.S. This is painted in my handmade leather journal that contains handmade paper. It is a different experience working with the handmade paper, but it is fun to work with something that feels so organic or relaxed. It contributes to the informal style of the sketch. This isn't the journal that I usually work in, but it is fun to work in it for a change.