Whidbey Island

Ka-Ching! Painting sales

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Last week I attended the Whidbey Plein Air Paint Out in Coupeville, WA. Along with 70 other painters, I spent the better part of a week painting the fields and barns of Edey’s Prairie, the bluffs and beaches of Whidbey Island, and the quaint buildings of historic Coupeville. The weather was great for painting… and for camping at Fort Ebey State Park.

I made the most of the time, painting three paintings each day for a total of nine paintings. For me, that’s a lot of painting! On Thursday afternoon, I turned in my best three paintings to be judged and displayed in the weekend show.

At the gala on Friday evening, I celebrated with my fellow artists as we showed off our paintings to each other and the many guests. I didn’t win any awards, but I was happily surprised to be told that all three of my paintings were bought by patrons of the arts! It’s a good feeling to know that my paintings have new homes. And I have to admit, the money is nice.

I woke up Thursday morning to a thick fog in the trees, so I drove the short distance to Point Partridge and made this painting. Because it was so humid, the paint took a long time to dry. After each wash, I ran up to the car and dried the paper with the car’s heater. While I was painting, a young couple merged from the trail and strolled down the beach, so I put them in the painting.
Ebey’s Landing is a well-known beach on Whidbey Island, underneath one of the many bluffs along the shore. I liked the wind-blown tree and featured it in this painting.

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Crockett Lake from Fort Casey

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On my way through Whidbey Island after picking up my paintings from Scott Milo Gallery in Anacortes, I had to wait an hour for my ferry at Coupeville. So I drove up to Fort Casey, right next to the ferry terminal, and set up my easel on a point looking out over the shallow waters of Crockett Lake. My fellow painter Lorraine Goddard showed me this location during the Paint Out. I made a background wash of the clouds, the distant hills and the lake, but I couldn’t finish because the paint was drying so slowly. I packed up and got on the ferry, and when I got home I finished the foreground trees. Pretty happy with this one.

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Honorable Mention award at Whidbey Plein Air Paint Out

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I was flabbergasted and delighted to be awarded an Honorable Mention for one of my paintings at the Whidbey Plein Air Paint Out on August 18. More than 50 painters gathered on Whidbey Island for a four-day festival of outdoor paintings. I camped at Fort Ebey State Park and painted as much as I could for two days. It was wonderful painting alongside other artists and sharing our work. On Friday we hung our paintings in a show which was juried by Kyle Ma. I entered three paintings. Out of 145 paintings in the show, only a handful were watercolors (most people paint in oil). Mine were definitely the loosest of the watercolors, which probably made them stand out. Anyway, I was thrilled to get the award. It’s the first time I’ve been in a juried show, and my first award.

The painting awarded Honorable Mention. Looking out across Ebey’s Prairie near Coupeville, WA
Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Whidbey Island.
Stores in downtown Coupeville, WA.

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