Easter at Noreen's 3"13

Appetizers before  Easter dinner at Noreene's

Guess what CC found in her Easter Basket? 3'13

  Guess what BJ gave CC for Easter?

Boy did that garner a lot of comments on the course this morning.

Easter Weekend at CAG 3 '13

 It was my turn to Gallery Sit at the Charleston Artists Guild Gallery.  So glad I had refreshed my wall with Spring flowers.  The gallery  was busy busy busy with tourists and locals who were  there to celebrate the start of Spring and Easter weekend.

'Da Big Un' 3 "13

We went for a walk around the Plantation this afternoon.  All the gators were out sunning themselves on the banks of the retaining ponds.  This guy is the "Big Un".  He's a full 10 footer and weighs several hundred pounds.  Remind me not to go fishing for lost golf balls in his pond.

Mini Golfing the Grand Strand 3 "13

There are at least 38 Miniature Golf Courses in the Grand Strand ( Greater Myrtle Beach, SC area)

  Bruce has decided that we should  play all of them

We started with 36 holes at  the nearest to us  at Inlet Adventure (above)

and concluded with an additional 36  holes on the two courses at Runaway Bay ( above) --- plus a few replays of some holes while we were waiting for the party of eight ahead of us to finish their round..

Looks like our putting should be improving a lot this year.

Working Large Workshop: Saturday 3 '13

Saturday was the last day of the workshop.   We each continued to work on our painting(s), while Bill walked around coaching each of us individually.    I worked on my 30x40" painting until noon then set it aside  because I wanted it to be as dry as possible when I put it in the car.  After lunch I worked on the 18" x 24 " painting and  brought it to the same stage as the first,  Neither a complete.   Both will require fine tuning of shapes, and textures and highlights, but I am quite happy with both.

Several, like me, had miles and miles to go after the workshop ended.. About three o clock we ended the painting and gathered into a group around a set of easels for a critique. One at a time each set our paintings onto the easels.  Bill keeps his comments constructive and too the point, and he was very respectful of the opinions of the others in the group .

This was a very advanced group of painters, so often the comments from the other artists in the group were really helpful.  Often their insights were as informative as those of the instructor. When they finished critiquing my work, I not only felt good about it, I had a clear idea of where I wanted to make changes.   ( I will post some new photos of the two paintings when I complete them).

   More importantly, as the workshop's title promised, I feel I can now face the prospect of  "Working Large Without Fear"

Working Large: Friday 3 '13

When we walked into the studio on Friday morning, Bill had the large canvas he had stretched the day before, toned, and set up on his easel with the reference photo below it.

He immediately began  applying blue lines for the design and blocking in large blocks of color

All the while he answered questions about materials, techniques from the artists in the workshop.  I learned a lot from the demo... like how to thin the oil paint  with Liquin and stand oil, and how long to let a layer on a large painting dry before moving onto the next layer..  That my sound simple, but it can mean all the difference between having a bright vibrant painting or having mud.

Bill coaching Patty with her painting

 After the demo,  we were instructed to work on our own painting  for the remainder of the day In the meanwhile Bill went from person to person coaching them on how to solve the issues their painting presented.

30" x 40" painting when I stopped working on it on Friday pm.

In my case, Bill encouraged me to  let the paint set up a bit on  my first painting by starting a second painting. I agreed to let the first could dry overnight..  By the time the day ended I had a good beginning on a 18" x 24" painting from a different reference photo,

and had worked up a hearty appetite for the wonderful group dinner we had at the Purple Onion in Saluda  that evening.

Working Large Workshop: Thursday 3 '13

 Bill jumped right into instruction on the first morning of the workshop with a demonstration of how he  proofs his concept on a small  canvas before  working on a large one.  Above you can see how he taped  a reference photo to the side of his easel, then loosely sketched out the design in a thin blue wash onto a toned canvas.   He then filled in the design with large blocks of additional color which were build up from dark to light.  This gave him the first rough layer of the final painting.  

Stopping there, Bill asked each of us to put a thin wash of color upon the canvas supports we had brought with us, and select a reference photo  ( from his collection or one our own) to use as the basis for our first painting.

 I had already selected my reference photos and toned my canvas with red iron oxide prior to arriving at the workshop, so I set up my  workstation and began painting.  By lunch time I too had my design roughed in and was ready to start applying  the first large blocks of color.

But first things first.... a group lunch at the Saluda Grill.

After lunch, Bill gave us a demonstration of how to wrap a canvas onto a stretcher frame.

That was a learning experience for me.  Not at all difficult ( if you are 6'+ like Bill).  It gave me more confidence for  how I can work if I can't find the size canvas I need locally.

What's all this white stuff? 3 '13

What is all that white stuff? I got snowed on Wed. nite in North Carolina. Big surprise... caught me totally unprepared. I was late to the workshop the next morning because I couldn't see through the ice on the windshield, and I didn't have an ice-scraper in the car, so it took me an extra twenty minutes of using the defroster on high to clear the windows enough to drive safely.

Working Large Workshop: Reception 3 '13

I am in Saluda, North Carolina for the  William Jameson workshop

"Working Large Without Fear"

Jeannette, Maryann, Anne, Judy, Patty

The workshop opened on Wed. evening  with a reception hosted by Ann and Bill Jameson for all of the artists and their families .

Eddie and Bill

It was a great chance to get to know one another and the spouses. 

and to learn one another's skills

Then Bill gave  us a tour of the studio space we would be working in, and gave us an overview of the next three days' agenda.

Bill, Patty, Ron, and Veronique

He also showed us samples of his work,

and what he means by working large.

I must admit... The latter revelation was more than a bit intimidating.

Oh Well, one can's progress unless one tries. Right???

My camellias 3 '13

My camellia bushes are in full bloom. They have such beautiful flowers.l!  I can't wait for this storm season to pass so I can go see  Brookgreen and Magnolia Gardens' blossoms. 

Easter is just around the corner 3_13

St Paddys Day deco's are stored away until next year, and

 Easter is popping up all over our house

Happy St Paddy's Day 3 '13

Celebrating St Paddy's Day at  the home of our friends Janet and David is now a running tradition.

Janet makes the main course of Corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes and carrots, and all the guests bring appetizers or side dishes. David supervises the buffet set up.

 Of course, eating is only half the fun, getting to mingle with all our neighbors and friends ( old and new)  is the best part of the evening.

 

For such a small house, it packs in an amazingly large number of people.

Sometimes the party even over flows into the Carolina Room

Or maybe it's easier for these trouble makers to think up mischief if they're out of ear-shot.

As always, Sally was the biggest party girl of all.

Chaney Bay 3"13

Remember that photo I posted of Chaney Bay in full bloom on 12/12/13? ( see  photo above)

I finally got around to painting it this week. Yellow is a difficult color for me to work with, but I really wanted to capture the 'stop ya dead in your tracks' dazzle of the yellow marsh daisies.

 I think I nailed it.  The painting will go on exhibit at CAG tomorrow.

Continuing the Celebration 3'13

It was raining too hard on the morning of our anniversary to do much out of door activity.  No Problemo!   The Myrtle Beach Grand Strand is not only the championship Golf Capital of the World, it has more miniature, fantasy and putt-putt golf that anywhere else in the galaxy! Take your choice of  theme  course  challenges: fire-breathing dragons, smoking volcanoes, swashbuckling pirates and thundering cannons.    

My first Choice would have been to play at  the "Hawaiian Rumble"  which is home to the the U.S. ProMiniGolf Association's  Masters National ProMiniGolf Championship held in Myrtle Beach ... but given the amount of liquid sunshine coming down, we might have drown attempting their out of door course.

 Instead we chose" Molten Mountain Golf"  in North Myrtle Beach  which features exploding volcanoes and the usual island-themed obstacles, but what sets it apart is air-conditioned indoor play for those tropical spring deluges that South Carolina is prone to have.  But we got to play some putt-putt golf and stay dry too.  It's nice to have options.

We're Celebrating Us 3 '13

We normally celebrate out anniversary with a long vacation in some exotic location and fill the time with a whole series of out of door activities.  This year' weather has put the kabosh on that tradition .  Every direction we looked  it was raining, snowing, or under tornado watch.  So we decided to stay home but  pretend we were  on a dream get-away.

This year's  dream vacation-- golfing in Scotland

(Courtesy of the Grande Dunes Resort Club)

  Ever since he read that this local 18-hole golf course was recently named the “National Golf Course of the Year” by the National Golf Course Owners Association of America, and PGA Magazine called Grande Dunes "one of the great golf clubs in the world.",  Bruce has been after me to play it with him.  Our anniversary week seemed good a time to make make this wish come true.

 

  Its spectacular layout, a Roger Rulewich Group design, is positioned on a high bluff creating a spectacular view of the Intracoastal Waterway, Grande Dunes Marina and the four-diamond resort, Marina Inn at Grande Dunes. 

 Situated in the midst of a upscale community,that could at times have passed for Newport Beach California,  the landscape definitely did not look at all like the low country. 

This Myrtle Beach golf course  is known for its superior links-style design. (Referring to the original undulating  Scottish coastal dunes courses) .  And with all the undulating fairways, vast open views, sand traps, and gray skies it was easy to imagine we were golfing  in Scotland.

Of course, this was Bruce's dream more than mine but the week isn't over yet ...

And ... this type of course required a different style of golf ... less brute force, more strategy and finesse. That took away much of the advantage men have with power drives... my ball usually wound up within feet of Bruce's.

I loved it.