Art = Life at R.L. Delight Fine Art: coastal landscape

Showing posts with label coastal landscape. Show all posts

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Day 1: Elements #1: Clouds

First plein air and first dropped painting of the new year!

First I would like to wish all a Happy New Year!

I have neglected to post and share what I have been up to, both in and out of the studio, for quite a while. There are times when life takes off like a spooked horse and you have to drop everything to chase it down or coax it back. Without adding a long story to this post, I will just say that 2017 finds us settling into our new house. Emergencies are sleeping at the moment and progress is slowly being made to rectify the neglect the house had seen over the years.

This past year has taught me to be relentless. I have learned the painful lesson of being relentless about getting enough rest, eating a very specialized diet, without fail, and getting daily exercise. I am still on the path to good health but I have spent the past year battling to improve and can honestly say I have been successful. I will have to be relentless about it for the rest of my life but shouldn't we all be?

I am learning to be relentless in my art and music. Daily practice has become my lifestyle and a privilege. I am sure there will be interruptions but I am striving with every fiber of my being to get in a daily practice no matter what, even if the house decides to spring another emergency surprise or there seems to be no time!

I have big and little goals to strive for this year. The plein air painting will continue but there will also be more studio paintings and, finally, I am turning my attention to getting a body of work done for the year. So, I will end with a painting I finished toward the tail end of 2016. I really enjoyed painting "Cara Cara" as Cara Cara oranges are my favorite snack. They are delicious and beautiful!

Where in life are you relentless?

-Renee

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Two Studies

I have been so busy lately with music and family that I have not had a chance to post my latest studies. Above is Wave Study #74 painted at my usual spot at the foot of Neahkahnie Mountain. The sun has been visiting off and on here on the Oregon Coast. I have been playing with mixing different colors and trying a few different ways to handle the brush.
The next study is a coastal landscape study done at Short Sands Beach today. You could not ask for a more perfect day. It was a balmy-for-here 72 degrees, light winds, sunshine, and warm, warm, warm. It felt delicious! Being a Sunday and all, Shorty was pretty crowded with surfers and visitors. I rather like the surfing crowd at Short Sands. They seem to be a cheerful lot, probably because they are doing something they love. There are always a lot of dogs running around and it gives the spot a friendly festival feeling. The beauty of the area is superb as well.
Here is my study from today.

This one did not exactly go smoothly. I was again trying different approaches and color mixing so it was a bit of a struggle getting this one to where I was somewhat satisfied. This is very much a study so I will leave it at that. I have decided to do many studies of this waterfall at the north end of the beach. I would like to eventually do a larger studio painting of this area based on my studies.
Here are a few pictures that do poor justice to the beauty of this beach. I think you all might understand why I can't resist painting here. It is a short 5 minute drive from my house. I could spend a lifetime painting within a ten mile radius of where I live. Lucky me!


Short Sands Beach. You can see my painting easel toward the left at the base of the diagonal rocks.

My office. Truly a perfect day in paradise.

There were many surfers today. View looking south toward my town.

A final view of my office.

I am working hard and will be posting more soon!
-Renee

Friday, December 27, 2013

Golden December Days

Short Sands Beach. Oswald West State Park

Did you hear that whooshing sound? That was the sound of the winter holidays speeding by! Our weather went from frigid winter to late fall warmth in the blink of an eye too. The sun is shining and the temps are up to the low 50º F which, for this time of the year, feels lovely.
The urge to get out to paint becomes a roar on days like these. I haven't painted as much as I would like to due to the seasonal celebrations. My mate and I spent the afternoons of Christmas Eve and Christmas day on Short Sands Beach. It is a 5 minute drive up the road and about a 1/4 mile hike to the beach through a beautiful old forest. The trail to the beach runs along Short Sands Creek which empties into the sea.
Christmas afternoon we took Twill's ashes to their final resting place. We still had them as I had a purpose for a tiny bit of them to remember her by. That will be included in a future post. She is now resting in a perfect spot where there are many dogs to visit her and a beautiful beach to enjoy.
Before Christmas, I took a field trip to the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

Columbia River Maritime Museum, Astoria Oregon

It is one of the best Maritime Museums in the state. The Columbia River meets the open ocean close to Astoria. The river is still quite mighty when it hits the sea and makes the Columbia River bar crossing one of the most dangerous in the world, even to this day. They had awesome footage of a huge cargo ship being tossed around in the waves. Even on a good day the crossing is tricky. I could go on for a whole post on the museum. I have been there before but needed to do a bit of research for a painting I have in mind.
Today, at last, I got out and painted. I went back to Short Sands Beach to paint and commune a bit with my Twill. As I mentioned last post, I am changing things up a bit. I didn't paint the waves even though they were quite spectacular. I was there at low tide so the surf was quite a ways out. High tide is after dark at the moment. Here is a two hour coastal landscape study:

I decided to paint a sketch as I am just starting to paint the rocks and trees. A bit of a change and I felt anxious the whole time I was painting. The light changed so fast. I need to take a different approach than the one I use for painting the waves.
The rock formations in this area are beautifully layered sandstone with jumbles of basalt scattered out to sea. The wind and water carve the sandstone into fantastic shapes and caves. Where we live, the forest meets the sea and creeks, streams, and waterfalls cross the sands into the waves. The Oregon Coast is a beautiful place. I could have painted several different paintings without even moving my easel.
The clouds will be returning over the next few days. I will be spending time getting ready for the January challenge and refining my goals for the new year. I am also happy to report that two of my paintings have sold!
Welcome winter.
Stay warm everyone.