Some Days Are This

Some Days Are This

watercolor

11 x 14

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

That sky reflected on the wet beach was what inspired me to paint this scene. I love the way the ocean and shore is always changing, never the same almost from one moment to the next with changes in light, weather, wind, and tide. And sometimes it's like this, with so much happening on a short stretch of sandy beach.

Bamboo and Brown's Chapel

Bamboo and Brown's Chapel

watercolor

8 x 10 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

Sometimes we fail to notice the beauty in the most familiar places. This is a scene that I pass by often on my way to town and its beauty changes daily with the light and seasons. Here I enjoyed capturing those long, late summer afternoon shadows.

sketchbook :: peaches

It's that time of year. Yes, the peach truck is back in town. We have been enjoying peaches in fruit salads and I made a peach cobbler. I even found a recipe for a peach cake that sounds truly decadent but we'll need to buy more peaches to make that. This was sketched with pencil and watercolor in my hand made sketchbook.

Grackles on the Jetty

Grackles on the Jetty

watercolor

8 x 10 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

Grackles are funny birds. This noisy little group was perched on the jetty as we strolled along the beach one afternoon. They were looking for tasty treats in the surf and using the rocks as their observation deck. Amused by their stance I decided to make this painting depicting the scene.

sketchbook :: Edisto part three

Here are the remaining sketches I will be sharing from our trip to Edisto Island, SC., I promise! I had a goal to create one small and one large sketch each day. Of course that didn't quite happen but I came close. The sketch above was done sitting on the deck of our rental cottage, looking toward the intersection of Pompano and Cupid Streets, while the morning sunlight was creating a shadow play on the house at that corner.

Our trip to Edisto would not be complete without a visit to King's Market. These onions became a sketching challenge for our little group.

Our friend and traveling buddy has been collecting these blown glass vases and bowls for a few years now. This is his newest addition, filled with zinnias from King's Market.

So many greens! I was overwhelmed with the variety of greens in this simple view across the street from our cottage.

This sketch of the beach and jetty was created back at the cottage using a failed sketch that I did while sitting on the beach for reference.

And here is the sketch that I did while at Jungle Road Park, looking out at the marsh views.

While I have been getting caught up with posting Edisto sketches I have been making over my work space here in our mountain cottage. The room doubles as guest room and office and is often the place for wayward items. Well, it has had a total makeover these past couple of weeks. If you'd like to see the transformation I have been posting images on Instagram (Nemcoskyart) and on my Facebook page (link over on the sidebar). It's now completed and I am so ready to get back to studio work!

sketchbook :: Edisto part two

In addition to my two watercolor sketchbooks I also brought a pack of watercolor postcards with my sketching supplies. The small size of these cards makes for a handy small scale sketching kit for quick studies on the go. The cards were 4 x 6 inch Fluid 100 cold pressed paper, a surface I hadn't worked on before. And maybe it was because of that, or maybe because I was sitting on the beach in the warm sun, but the first few sketches that I tied with this paper (not posted here) were not making me happy. It was like working with markers, the paper just sucked up the pigment before I could move it on the surface. So out of frustration I removed a blank page from the pack and dipped it into the surf until it was totally saturated.

Returning to my spot on the beach, I laid the wet card on my towel and began again painting the surf. The salty sea water allowed the paint to move in delightfully suprising ways. While Kiddo enjoyed the waves riding her skimboard, I happily painted the movement of the surf exploring the colors of the sea and sky.

I so enjoyed the effect of watercolor paint on this saline saturated paper that I repeated the experiment on another afternoon.

I began thinking what fun it would be to do this process on a much larger scale, with big brushes. It is something I may try here in my studio, although I don't know if our mountain well water that comes from a spring will allow for the same effects that ocean water creates.

sketchbook :: Edisto part one

I brought two sketchbooks with me for our trip to Edisto  Beach, South Carolina. All of the sketches in this post were done in my handmade sketch journal that is 7 x 8 inches and filled with 140lb Kilimanjaro cold press watercolor paper. Some sketches occupied only one page, while others went across the entire page spread. I did not scan every sketch that I made on this trip as there were quite a lot!

The screened porch of our rental cottage offered many opportunities to fill a sketchbook page. Sometimes I practiced painting the palm leaves and I made many sketches of sea shells.

The limes were for a recipe we were planning to make along with fresh fish from the local market.

We were very good this year and only brought back our very favorite sea shell finds.Many that I sketched went back to the beach. Edisto Beach always boasts a lot of shells for the treasure hunter.

Not all my sketches were done on that lovely screened porch. This was from an outing to the St. Helena Sound side of the island. Our dogs enjoy this stretch of beach as the waves are much more gentle for cooling off in the water.

There was a canal behind our cottage and with a backyard filled with palms and live oaks it was a pleasant spot to sit and sketch. I even saw a great blue heron swooping along the waterway.

And just sitting on the beach with my sketch book was a wonderful way to pass time, practicing painting skies.