I scheduled two overnight stops along the route for some painting time. First in a quaint seaside town of Beaufort, North Carolina and second in historic city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Unfortunately the wet weather splashed, dashed my hopes into high waters, completing one hastily done painting along Cove Creek, NC.
Off the beaten path from Beaufort I stayed at Cove Creek Fishing Lodge. www.thecorecreeklodge.com
I painted the neighboring creek scene from a narrow gangway running between two boat ramps. I had to keep an eye on incoming wakes churned up by working tugboats pushing barges of potash and outgoing large shrimp boats and the other eye on storm clouds gathering behind me. And then, my third eye was on the canvas and investigative Bogart.
Although the skies were threatening, the light of an overcast day can create beautiful greys, along with subtle combinations of low key chromas. Oooo, that blue-grey and orange combination.
I decided to get myself over to Beaufort for some sight seeing and a lunch of fried oysters where I watched dozens of pelicans splash and dine on something salty, delicious in the placid river.
On the way home, I stopped in Fredericksburg, Virginia for a visit to Belmont: the studio, galleries, estate home and gardens of the American Impressionist, Gari Melchers. The 27 acre estate is located just across the Rappahannock River in the town of Falmouth. Unfamiliar with history of this successful artist, I was delighted to acquaint myself with his beautiful work during a two hour tour on an overcast dampish day. If I couldn't paint outdoors, this was the best way to spend my morning, reveling in Melchers masterful brushstrokes. www.GariMelchers.org
Here is Melchers' very human interpretation of that holy night when Christ was born: with Mary, an exhausted new mother and Joseph, her pensive husband.
Merry Christmas!
