Beach Trees in Summer

I just completed my three day July workshop. I’ve been doing this every year as a chance to get together with the people I normally work with during the year. I do a demo then work with people for the rest of the time. My demo was of a familiar scene–the two little cedar trees in Mattapoisett that I’ve painted many times. On this recent trip, I saw them for the first time with high tide and reflections, which I loved. So the demo gave me a chance to talk about a lot of things. I had 12 people, with 3 brand new, so I discussed trees, backgrounds, water and reflections, and grasses. I did a hard pastel underpainting using oranges in the sky and water and other warm colors under the trees and grass. Used aqua under the sand and the warm stuff on the water. (I told them I was becoming an expert in scum!!!) I loved the graduation of colors in the water, particularly the aqua to the left. This morning before filming it, I added darker blues to the bottom to help balance the dark of the trees. I kept the grasses pretty gestural and was happy with that. It was great to see people again, including some who work and can’t regularly attend classes. Next Friday I head to Oregon and Washington and hope to do some plein air paintings on the Oregon coast. Hope you are enjoying your summer and surviving droughts and thunderstorms.