beach scenes – Melanie Stokes Art

May 21, 2018May 21, 2018

A Seat for Sunset

melaniestokesart.com — A Seat for Sunset
8×10 Oil
$120

“I come down here every evening,” he told me. “I come with my drink and watch the sunset.”

I had been painting the swing and the tree en plein air, after a full day of learning at Plein Air South. As I painted, this gentleman took a seat on the swing. It didn’t seem to bother him that I was looking his way. I took a photo of him to use as a reference later.

The end result that day was disastrous. I was ready to wipe the oil paints off. But the artists with me encouraged me to leave it and look at it later. The gentleman came over to see if he was painted into the scene. He was not especially impressed…and neither was I.

The next afternoon I got busy painting sky and water and thought no more about the panel tucked into my wet canvas carrier in the car.

The third day, I sat in James Richards’ two hour session about Abstraction in Landscapes. I learned so much just watching him paint. As he started his painting with BIG shapes of dark and light values in random colors, he suggested that we simplify shapes by painting OVER too much detail and bringing it back to an abstracted form. I remembered the painting of the landscape with the swing and knew what I needed to do to fix it.

As soon as the session was over, I drove my car back to the waterfront. There was the empty swing, hanging from the curving tree. I spread red paint over the top portion and yellow on the bottom. I began defining the abstract shapes of lights and darks and masses were formed. Reminding myself to stay loose and abstract, the scene developed.

On cue, at 5 p.m., the man came back out with his cup in his hand. We talked of painting (he thought this one was looking better), of Georgia (he was from Moultrie), of mutual friends, of careers, of life choices, of faith, of retirement and old age. The time came for me to pack up to get to dinner on time. I planned to put the swing in later from the photo.

Back in my studio, I added the swing and since I had a photo reference, added my new friend, Mr. Lowery. It would not have been the same without him there. After all, it is “his” swing — his seat for sunset. May he enjoy many more of them! And I hope he sees this post!

May 17, 2018May 18, 2018

It Stopped Raining and WOW!

I’m in Port St. Joe, Florida this week for Plein Air South: a gathering of artists who paint outside and a faculty of ten or twelve of the best contemporary plein air artists I know of, from which to learn! It has been raining all day and many of the outside activities had to move inside. But this afternoon, the rain stopped. The sky cleared and the clouds and colors were amazing!

melaniestokesart.com

After observing all morning, I was ready to paint. I went out by myself to find a pavilion (just in case another shower passed over) and painted until sundown. What a great time to be a plein air painter!

The smaller pictures are photos. A highlight of the afternoon was seeing both ends of the rainbow that appeared. The three fishermen, the couple on the pier, and myself, were brought together to share the moment of adoration and wonder.

The atmosphere was crystal clear as the setting sun illumined the earth and sky.

As I drove back toward Mexico Beach and the rental house, I pondered why I love painting outside. It’s not just the finished painting, it’s definitely the process. Painting from life causes me to be acutely aware of all my senses. Not just seeing and touching, but feeling the breezes, hearing the birds, smelling the fish. And yet, feeling so small against a huge backdrop of life. It is a time of worship of the almighty Creator God and admiration of His art. Amen.

March 9, 2018

Progression of a Painting

It all began with a photo, my photo, taken on a sunrise walk at the beach. I truly believe that a painting is not all mine unless I am the one who took the photo, the one who visited the setting, the one who had the experience in order to be able to share it.

Back in the studio, I revisited that morning by first painting a small study to establish colors, lines and composition.

About a week later, I progressed to a 24×36 canvas. I sketched the shoreline with charcoal and washed in a rose underpainting with Gamsol.

The second photo shows the underpainting with liquid (Gamsol) washes of color. The third step was to look for “darkest darks” and apply them with thicker paint.

I thought I was finished when I reached this point pictured below, but after consulting some other artists, realized I needed to pull the viewer’s eye back into the painting. An artist friend pointed out some “con trails” (I had to look that one up) in the photo reference. I call them “airplane trails” and had intentionally left them out because they didn’t seem a part of nature. But looking at my photo, I realized that was what attracted me to the composition in the first place. The position of the trails were needed to hold the viewer in the picture plane.

I love the addition –the “wake up, it’s morning!” feeling that the lines contribute to the painting. And once again, an allegory comes to mind: in trying to leave out the impact of civilization on the natural world, I was leaving out the accent mark that added much to the composition. The Creator made this earth beautiful and then He added humanity as His icing on the cake. I’ll remember that and try to stay sweet!

February 11, 2018

Strength in Times of Darkness

I showed this to my husband and asked, “Who does this look like?”

He answered with a question, “Us?”

(Good answer, but not who I thought he would recognize.) The models are his brother and sister-in-law. But it could well be “us” with the sentiment behind it. We are strong together, even in dark times.

As I painted, I was impacted by the play of light against dark, the blinding strength of the sun, and the deepest cold darkness of the side away from the light. I could feel the wind of that fall morning on the beach and the warm comfort of an arm around my shoulders.

My Protector, My Strength, My Constant… all words that I use when I think about God and his relationship with his people. But these words also come to mind when I describe my husband! (yes, really)

It does not offend my worth as a woman for him to be the strongest, for him to be the bravest, for him to even be the tallest. I know he loves me and is my best friend. Almost forty years of marriage hold many stories of facing darkness and many blessings in the light. The faith and principles we base our marriage on have held us together. And in times of darkness the light always seems the brightest! (ok, not immediately, but in hindsight…)

This brother and sister-in-law have seen some recent dark times with health. They have come through on the other side, ready for the morning walk, ready to soak up the warmth of the sun, ready to see light and all that it will illuminate day by day.

Celebrating love, life and light!

August 5, 2017August 6, 2017

Building Castles

Have I mentioned that I’m a grandmother? I have four grandchildren – two in my home state of Georgia, and two in Texas. Recently, my Texan son and his family visited for a week. What a joy to be able to spend time with them! And part of that time was spent at the beach!

As I looked back through photos of the days, this one seemed like a good one to paint – father, mother, and both brothers, making memories as they built a MEGA sand castle. No doubt, Luke was remembering the many sand castles his father and brother helped him build. (I could identify with my daughter-in-law’s stance as the one who was content to observe.)

As I painted, I thought about how they are not only building a castle, but building a family, building a home, building men, building memories, building life. They are building a castle that lasts longer and is worth so much more than any castle they could ever build with sand — or bricks and mortar for that matter. Parents are builders – it takes hard work and lots of time, but so worth it!