Sapelo views

Sapelo Island is one of my favorite places to visit.  The large live oak trees, vast marshes and empty beaches are sublime.  It is worth the effort to get up early to catch sunrises on the beach.  

The road out to the lighthouse along the marsh has quite nice views.  I did the sketch for this plein air and finished painting it using the reference photo.

I also did a sketch of the Renold's Mansion.  It is a Georgia State Park, where you can stay!

Of whelks and snowflakes from Sapelo Island

I recently took a weekend trip to Sapelo Island, one of my favorite places in Georgia.  I was busy most of the trip working on a Friends of the Marine Institute project, but since I had taken my watercolor traveling kit with me, I did find time to sketch some Knobbed whelks (Busycon carica) that were on the window sill at the cottage we stayed in.  Outside the window in the background is a row of Snowflakes.

Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) are a bulb in the amaryllis family.  Their arching sprays of five to seven blooms appear in mid to late spring.  The dangling white flowers resemble small white bells with small green spots at the end of each of the six tepals.  In the south, Snowflakes are considered an heirloom plants and passed down from generation to the next.  It was introduced to Gardens in the Eastern United States by the first European settlers.  The bulbs are tough, surviving late frost and snow as well as deer and chipmunks.  The Snowflakes in my garden always remind me of spring on Sapelo Island.  This sketch to the right is a close up of Snowflake flowers blooming in my garden.

Rosie's porch

While visiting Sapelo Island back in June I met a new friend, Rosie.  She was happy to have visitors and welcomed us all to her porch.  I had taken a few photos of Rosie, and this one just seemed to say 'paint me'.  So I used it as my resource for my final Fall 2012 Advancing Art Class painting.

While working on the value I decided to simplify the composition by eliminating the second rug and trash can in the background.  I didn't even notice them in the photo until I started to make my sketch.

The majority of colors are shades of grey: blue grey, orange grey, green grey.  There is only splash of orange (rug, planter and some fur), and a bit of light green from the plant.  All of these colors were created from a palette of Winsor & Newton red, yellow, blue, and orange.

For the final painting I wanted Rosie to really stand out from the background.  So I used paler shades and less distinct lines and edges.  I changed the back wall from a blue grey to a green grey, and used the same green grey for much of in the plant.  I also used a paler shade of orange for the rug and ceramic pot.

Advancing art class: 6

Not all watercolor pigments are equal.  That is not to say that one is better then another, but they do perform differently, and so your choice of pigments can change a painting.  For my final paintings I used a palette of Winsor & Newton red, yellow, blue, and orange.  These are more transparent pigments then I had been using in the previous paintings.

I re-painted one of the previous classes painting using a this palette.  The difference between the transparent and semi-opaque pigments really standout in the jar.  The most notable other difference is the greens are more blue then olive.

I added glazes over the previously painted still life using this palette to increase the reflections on the copper and brass pitcher.  As I increased the bright reflections I also increased the darkest shadows.  These changes make the pitcher compete with the marble for the center of interest.

Advancing art class: 5a

We had two assignments for this class.  The first was to create a painting from a photograph using what we had learned about composition.  By cropping the photograph I was able to reposition the jar in one of the 'intersection spots' (Rule of Thirds), strengthening the focal point.  This also removed some of the distracting clutter of branches and leaves.  

While working on the value sketch, I removed some of the trees from the background that were competing with the focal point.  I lightened the darkest values in the building and trees effectively pushing the background back making the jar stand out even more.  I limited the number of values to just five, and noted which elements in the sketch were included in each value.  The focal point (the jar) exhibited both the lightest and darkest values.

For the color sketch I used a palette of cadmium red, ultramarine blue and cadmium yellow; with a little raw siena for the trees and jar, and a light wash of cerulean blue for the sky and pool.  The light and dark colors alternate in the sketch.  The darkly shadowed left side of the jar stands out in contrast from the light greens of the lawn, while the lit right side stands out against the darker shadowed lawn and background.

In the final painting the jar is the obvious focal point, standing out from the Reynold's Mansion in the background.  The shadows and lighter blocks of color form lines that lead into the painting from the edges.  Tree branches repeat the curve of the jar.  The pale windows on the building repeat across the background, their color is repeated in the shadows on the lawn and the jar.  The greens of the lawn are repeated in the moss on the jar, and the orange browns in the jar also occur in the background. Repetition of shapes and colors are said to  add interest and unity to a painting.

Advancing art class: 4

I am excited to be in Marilynn Brandenburger's fall Advancing art class at the Spruill Art Center.  This class builds on the class I took last Spring, focusing on the elements of composition.   The class meets once a month for three months (Oct, Nov and Dec).  For the first meeting we were each asked to bring recent pieces of art to share and critique.

At the end of the previous class, I had done two color sketches based on photos take on Sapelo Island beach at sunrise.  The first looked out across the darkened pre-dawn dunes at the sun as it was just clearing the horizon, backlighting the low clouds and reflecting off the calm ocean.

The second was taken soon after sunrise, when the light still had that warm early morning glow.  The photo looks back at the dunes, which faced the rising sun, as the warm pink morning light washed over the sand and beach plants to the sea oats on the crest of the dunes.  Pink light and purplish shadows played across the sand.

What interested me in these photos was the play of different colors and the emotional feeling of peace and warmth they had.  The rough color sketches I had done last spring were layouts for bigger paintings, which I never had a chance to complete.  

          

 

Small color sketches like these can be invaluable for determining composition as well as color palette.  Using the photos and these color sketches I painted the two larger watercolors below, which I brought to the first class.

For the sunrise painting I used a limited color palette of ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, and cadmium light red.  This color combination allowed me to match the warm yellow of the sun, as well as the darker shadows in the clouds, water and dunes.  What was not at first obvious in the photo was a break in the dunes that I was able to capture in the painting.  The dark purple shadows on the dunes and clouds make the painting more dynamic.

The dunes painting used ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, quinacridone rose, and yellow ochre for the Sea oats.  These colors matched the warm glow of the early morning light on the sand and plants, as well as the darker shadowed areas.  

Sapelo Island beaches

Nanny goat beach

A road leads directly from the Reynold's Mansion to Nanny goat beach.   The road passes through the marshes and ends at a parking area behind the dunes.  A boardwalk arches over the wind blown dunes to the beach.  Sun rise at the beach is a magical time.  The quiet warm glow of the sun turns the sky and sand pink.  

Ghost crabs (Ocypode quadrata) seem to fly across the beach from twilight until dawn foraging among the wrack.  As the sky brightens they head for cover. Their burrows are tucked beneath arching stalks of Sea oats (Uniola paniculata), among lengths of pennywort (Hydrocotyle sp.) and morning glory (Ipomoea sp.) that reach down from the dunes to the beach.  The area around an active burrow entrance is covered with numerous foot prints.

The dunes are formed by an accumulation of wind blown sand.  The loose sand of newly formed dunes is easily blown or washed away.  Older dunes, stabilized by plants, shift and move more slowly.  The extensive roots and runners of the beach plants help them stay anchored on the shifting sand.  As the plants grow they form a mat that traps more sand making the dunes more stable.

It may not look like it, but the surf zone is alive with worms, crabs, snails and clams.  You just may not notice them.  Their presence is known by all the burrow holes and trails.   By following the large trails in the sand we uncovered Shark's eye Moon snails (Neverita duplicata) and a Lettered Olives (Oliva sayana).  Both of these snails are active hunters who prey on smaller clams and snails.  Shells moon snails have fed on have a small round tell-tale bore hole.

There are traces of other animals on the beach too.  The Plume worm (Diopatra cuprea) cements shell and other debris to its tube.  Pieces of the tubes covered in Dwarf Surf clam (Mulinia laterals) and small Tellin shells were found washed up on the shore among the very colorful Coquina clams (Donax variables).  Numerous empty Coquina shells were scattered along the beach, the living clams are just at the waters edge.  Small breathing holes betray them.  If you look for them you can find clams washed out by the waves rapidly burrowing back in the sand.

Sapelo Island Lighthouse

Lighthouse road runs along high land that curves around the salt marsh.  The lighthouse was built by Winslow Lewis and activated in 1820.  The lighthouse served as a guide for ships headed to Darien, and was equipped with fourth-order Fresnel lens.  A hurricane and tidal wave in 1898 covered the lower 18 feet of the tower for several hours causing severe damage to the foundation.

A replacement 100-foot steel pyramidal lighthouse tower was built, and the old lighthouse was left to decay.  These black and white photos were taken back in 1983.  Trees and bushes had grown up around the lighthouse.  The windows were gone and the interior was open to the weather.  Most of the stairs were missing, and the few remaining ones were seriously decayed.

In 1998 the lighthouse and neighboring oil house and cistern were restored.  The internal spiral staircase was rebuilt step by step and the exterior was repainted with its distinctive daymarks of six alternating red and white bands.  Today the lighthouse looks much like it did in 1820.

If you climb the 77 steps up to the top of the lighthouse to the lantern room you are treated to a panoramic view of the south end of the island and Doboy Sound.  Beyond the Range Lighthouse which was built in 1877, marshes stretch out toward the beach.  From here you can just see the ocean beyond the tree line of the dunes. 

Sapelo Island traces of the past

The ruins at Chocolate

The name Chocolate comes from a 16th century Native American town known as Chucalate.  There have been several owners of this part of the island, which was farmed at various times.  The area was in use from about 1815 until 1857 by several different owners.  Numerous tabby ruins can be seen here.

Some of the runes are from a plantation built between 1815 and 1819.  They represent nine slave quarters, a two-story plantation house, a ventilated cotton barn, and other outbuildings.  There are signs of recent work to shore up some of the buildings, but most of them are slowly falling apart.   Rain etches away the tabby blocks and chimneys and walls fall down.

Tabby is made from equal parts of shell, lime (made from burned salt-free shell), and sand.  It is estimated that about 37,000 cubic feet of shell was used to construct the buildings, and that some of the shell came from the local pre-historic shell rings on the island.  The 

shell, lime and sand is mixed with water and then poured into forms.  The resulting walls are very strong and durable.

There are two intact buildings at Chocolate.  A Sears Home that was assembled on-site sometime between 1929and 1940.  And a large two story tabby barn with stalls and a two-level loft which Thomas Spalding had built in 1837, and Howard Coffin had restored in 1927.   The barn's open windows look out onto the expansive marsh on one side and the quietly decaying tabby ruins on the other side.

Shell rings:

On the western side of the island past Chocolate is a mostly intact, 15 foot high, 200 feet in diameter shell ring.  It was one of three rings, the other two having been used to create tabby for the Chocolate buildings.  The ring contains oyster, clam and snail shells.  It also contains some animal and fish bones, and pottery shards.  The pre-historic ring is a reminder of early human habitation on the island (2,000 and 5,000 B. C. ).

Sapelo Island Marine Institute

Reynolds also replaced the nearby farm buildings with a quadrangle of much more glamorous buildings: Coach houses, dairy house and barns, and a theater.  This whole assemblage of buildings now houses the UGA Marine Institute.

In the center of the quadrangle is a large “turkey fountain”, that has three tiers.  The lowest allows dogs to drink, horses can drink from the next level and people from the top.
There are many stories about the turkey fountain.  Including one where Reynolds tried to blow it up.  The fountain survived and still occupies the center of the quadrangle.  

Howard Coffin's Sapelo Island

In 1923, Howard Coffin designed a large water garden between the Big House and the buildings of the quadrangle (now the UGA Marine Institute).  It included seven islands, two of which are accessible by foot bridges.  The farther of the two has a large central tiled area under an arbor.  Plants for the islands and surrounding waters were grown in the island greenhouse.  Most of those plants are gone now, and the waters and islands have become haven for birds, alligators and other wildlife.

Howard Coffin purchased a Lutton “estate-style” greenhouse in 1925.  The building includes 13 individual rooms, a cisterns, a Lath House, two cold frames, and a water garden.  After the State of Georgia purchased the island from Reynold's estate in 1976 it was abandoned, and over the next 30 years much of the glass was lost and the structure was overgrown with trees.  Recently the Friends of the Marine Institute began a restoration project.

One of the Friends members took us on a tour of the greenhouse showing us all the work they are doing.  They removed all the trees and plants that were growing up inside the greenhouse.  Now the overhead glass panels are being replaced with modern safety glass panels.   They also have been working on the plumbing, electricity and other greenhouse fittings.

Views of Sapelo Island Ga

I recently spent a weekend on Sapelo Island, at the Reynold's Mansion which is managed by the Georgia Park Service.  I always love spending time on Sapelo, it is a wonderful place to be.  I took my watercolor journaling kit and a camera to capture photos of the trip.

Thomas Spalding designed the original South End House, with 10-14 inches thick tabby walls and an architecture similar to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.  This house was the Spalding's plantation manor from 1810 until 1861.  It fell into neglect and disrepair after the Civil War.  Howard Coffin purchased the Island in 1912.  He restored the South End House, adding indoor and outdoor swimming pools.  Which were decorated with full size statues.

Richard J. Reynolds Jr purchased the island in 1934.  Reynolds made several renovations to the South End House while he lived there.   The house today is very much like it was when Reynolds lived in it.

He hired Atlanta artist, Athos Menaboni to decorate three of the central rooms with murals.  The sitting room on the main floor, adjacent to the indoor pool has tropical plants and birds.  The large ballroom upstairs has a circus motif, complete with a tent ceiling.  The basement game room's walls have pirates.

Advancing art class: 3 the color palette and sketch

Color palettes:

Modern artists often build a palette based on the three primaries of "color theory", but that is just one way to build a palette.   Renaissance artists used a four color palette: red, yellow, green and blue.  The 'Velazquz palette', an even older palette used for centuries uses just three colors: yellow ochre, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue.

Color sketch:

Once the value study was done I thought about the palette for the painting.  I wanted a three color palette that would capture the warmth of the scene as well as provide colors similar to what is seen in the photograph.  The blue pigment I used for the value sketch matched the sky colors very closely.  I then selected Yellow Ochre, not the yellow in either my warm or cool color wheel, but a close match for both the float and the sea oats.  For the final color I selected a vibrant red.  You can see the primary colors (blue, red and yellow) and three secondaries (purple, orange and green) made form mixing the primaries to right of the sketch.  

Advancing art class: 3 value sketch

For my third assignment I picked a photo taken a few years ago on Sapelo Island Georgia.  It was taken just after sun rise, and the light at that time of day is very warm and soft.  The objects almost glow with rich warm color.

For my value sketch, I again used a dark blue pigment which can represent both the lightest and darkest values in the sketch.  The dark reds and greens in this photo made making a value study challenging.  While the colors are distinct, the values of the colors are quite close.  While doing the sketch I noticed how close the  values of the distant trees and shadows of the buoy are.  For the buoy to stand out from the background it needs to have a different value (lighter or darker).