Thursday, June 1, 2017

Fire Island Lighthouse Paintout

I belong to Wet Paint Studio Group and for the last few years we have been having a 2 day paintout at the Fire Island Lighthouse. For some reason this year it was scheduled for the Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, a very busy time. I hoped to go on Friday but the weather wasn't great and I didn't want to get stuck far from my car if it started raining. My plan was to go on Saturday but get there before all the people who were celebrating the holiday. It can get extremely crowded there on the weekend.

I left home about 6:15 am, picked up a bagel and coffee for breakfast, and then realized I had left my lunch at home. (Presently there is no food available at this beach due to remodeling). I turned around, went home and was at Robert Moses State Park Field 5 at 6:45. I had my breakfast, used the porta-potty (the ladies room at the concession is also closed), grabbed all my materials and headed out to paint. I've painted there so many times that I really wanted a different view. I walked all the way past the lighthouse and down to the dock. I was able to stand about halfway out so I could get a view of the water as well as the lighthouse. 


For my second piece I moved closer to the lighthouse along the walkway in front of the lighthouse.


By this time I was ready for a lunch break...and so were most of the other artists who were in various places painting too. The staff at the lighthouse had a room set aside for us with coffee, treats and comfy chairs for us to relax for a while. It felt so good to sit down since I had been standing for about  5 hours already.

For those who have never done a paint out, in addition to your painting supplies you have to be ready to hang your artwork. So in my cart that I brought along with me I had mats and frames as well as anything I  thought I might need to get the paintings ready to hang. I brought along 3 frames so I figured I might as well do one more for the last frame. This is the boat house and after I painted it a docent came along and opened it to the public.


Our group now has about 23 paintings hanging for sale in the lens house next to the lighthouse. They will be there for the next 2 weeks.

Here is my setup for the first painting. I had an umbrella up until I finished painting the sky. The sun was behind me and I didn't want the sky to dry before I got all the blue done.


Here is part of the painting against the view.


9 comments:

  1. I really like both paintings of the lighthouse. How different they are with an intimate close-up and a full landscape. Good for you. I am sure that you will find good homes for them.
    You are a committed plein air painter FOR SURE! I am full of awe. Just the thought of lugging frames and mats as well as all the other gear...and not a restroom around...Lordy!

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    1. Thanks, Julie. Luckily the restrooms in the lighthouse itself were open after 9 am. I was able to survive until then. lol I do have a rolling cart that I took with me. The easel and the framing materials, my lunch, and extra layers of clothing went into that. All my art supplies are in a backpack.

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  2. Wow, that's a lot of work for setup and afterwards, too! But These came out beautifully, so it was worth it.

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    1. Thanks, Tina. It was definitely worth it. It is easier to paint on an easel there, because if you sit down you don't see as much. But it is exhausting to stand for so long.

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  3. Your paint out was a great success! Nice after the hard work.

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  4. Fabulous paintings Joan! The paint-out followed by a display sounds like a great idea. We don't have anything like that here which is too bad as it sounds like a place where there will always be visitors. Hope your work finds a good home!

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    1. Thank you, Val. One of our members volunteers at the lighthouse, so she arranges this for us. It is nice because people passing by see what we are doing and stop to look. Hopefully they will look at the display also...and purchase something. Last year quite a few paintings sold.

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  5. I swear you are my hero. These turned out really well, think my fav is the second one of the lighthouse. You also get so much out of non-strokes - it is fabulous

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