Salvation Army Art Exhibition

I have 5 pieces in the Salvation Army Art exhibition to be held this Friday-sun at the Salvation Army Headquarters church in London street, Hamilton.

I have a soft spot for the Sallies( as they are known) as they truly seem to do good work without the overt canvassing that drives me slightly scatty. They have helped out a friend in dire straights and provided her with great support when she was on the bones of her arse, scrabbling in the wreckage of a horrific divorce. They are the touchstone for many who are attempting to get by in our economically savage world and they do it with a gracious heart.

There are lots of local artists exhibiting…..a great time to see local talents before local gets too expensive! I will be doing some Xmas shopping there, myself, as I saw some great pieces when dropping my paintings off.

Windy day
320 x 410 mm
oil
framed
$325

Reflective beach

I spent a lovely evening walking on this beach, taking photos and sketching , making notes as I went along. I felt very authentic and present, appreciating the experience of being there, but had a good laugh when I read some of my notes today ,as I was getting ready to paint

" How much do you thing a seagull weighs?'
" I wonder  what they taste like...chicken?? "
" Wet sand is darker( orange +purple?)warm grey than dry sand"
" I wish I had a Gin& Tonic"
"Gin tastes better when it's hot...best Gin was in Zimbabwe"
" Clint Eastwood is hot" ( He was shooting a film at Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, when I developed my taste for gin)

and so on and so on.....

Clearly my ADD was not on hold!

But the notes and the photos put me straight back there an,d as I hid from the ferocious heat today, I painted the scene as it felt. Cool and tranquil.

Waipu cove beach
24 x 18 cm
oil on unstretched canvas

Waipu cove eavesdropping

Ridiculously pretty beach

Waipu Cove is a charming seaside town in Northland, New Zealand. Picture postcard pretty and with fabulous views in every direction. I sometimes feel the scenery stunts the painter when it is too perfect...I like a little fuggly in the mix!

The only fuggly thing about the beach was the smell!  A recent algae bloom/red tide/ grimness has been washed up the river and the lack of high tides had left it unable to cleanse itself again, so the smell of rotting vegetation was pungently obvious.

I decided to paint atop the dunes, not 20 meters from my cabin at Waipu Cove Campground, and paint at dusk. As I live inland, scenes of the coast, especially the east coast, are not frequently my subjects, but I really enjoyed getting to grips with the subject and the light.

The teenage girls watching the surfer boys were a hoot. Clearly I was giving off the air of one too occupied to bother being an impediment to their discussion, or maybe they just didn't care, but I got to hear all about the hotness of the surfer boys, the hotness of their tight wetsuits, the hotness of their tans, their bleached hair, teeth.....you get the picture. If you can catch "Hormone-itis" , I was worried I might have done so!

20 x 30 cm
oil on paper
Waipu Cove 

So I painted, communed a little with the beach and the beady eyed seagulls, then went home. Richard told me of a seagull eating his paint once!! Clearly , they have moved on to  fish and chips as I witnessed families dine on the beach. My palette and I left , unmolested.