Watercolour at the Beach!

    Next week it's back to school and back to a regular routine! But that's next week - this is the last week of summer break and we are aiming to make the most of it!

    Today, the kids called a friend and we packed a cooler with some sandwiches, raspberry lemonade, and some sweet watermelon slices and headed out for a lazy afternoon at the beach....

    We've been adjusting to another bout of humidity and today a thick fog rolled in... the sun was shining somewhere up there - we could occasionally feel it's heat but the mist/fog mixed with the breeze coming off the water made for a lovely day for the kids to 'go jump in the lake' and for me to sit back and enjoy a few hours of painting!

    When we first arrived, we chose the little cove at one end of the beach to settle into and when I looked across at the expanse of the beach stretching away from us I loved how the mist and fog created 'layers' in the distant foliage... I've always been attracted to that kind of scene so I quickly pulled out my watercolour sketchbook and worked away at a loose composition while the kids strolled the beach looking for pebbles...  

"Fifty Point Beach on Lake Ontario"

(watercolour, approx. 5.5" x 8.25")

    The kids came back from their stroll to ask if we could move all our things down the beach to "the perfect spot - where the beach is actually sandy and not pebbly! Just beside the second pier thing-y."

    I love Lake Ontario beaches because the beach is pebbly - millions of perfect li'l pebbles just waiting to be discovered and photographed or picked up to be tucked into a pocket - they are beautiful!!  But the kids were still listing off every possible reason why moving our chairs would be worthwhile, so I began to pack up my paints and sketchbook.

    We settled down in our 'perfect spot' and the kids clamoured into the water and splashed happily while I looked around for something new to paint.  I didn't have to look far! The "second pier thing-y" we settled down by was an old weather-beaten pier... the once strong and mighty timbers held aloft by iron rods were now silvery timbers split and twisted from years of harsh weather and neglect - the iron rods now bent and rusting, grass-like weeds were growing lush atop some of the posts - it was wonderful and completely inspiring!!

    I quickly pulled my sketchbook out and set to work... Just as I was finishing my sketch a seagull perched on the post near the end of the pier, so I quickly added it in!

    "Pier at Fifty Point"

(watercolour, approx. 5.5" x 8.25")

    Now we're back home and I'm tired but happy!  I told the kids as I was packing up that I got two paintings done and that's more than I would've accomplished if we had stayed home so I was very glad our plan for a 'day at the beach' came together!! 

    ♥ Cath-