Back From the Beach

My sister, her husband and myself and my DH went to Emerald Isle, NC for a week then spent 2 nights in Wilmington, NC.

We had a really good time, but busy as my sister wanted to see every attraction possible in the area.  We took a ferry tour of the outer islands and saw the wild ponies on Shackleford Banks and the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.  Both islands are pretty much natural with little interference from man, especially Shackleford Banks.  Cape Lookout does have amenities of sorts including a visitor's center and camping is allowed and you can find out more about what's available HERE.

And this is a photo of the lighthouse itself:

I don't recall the lighthouse leaning that much but it probably did as the trees in the photo look straight!  You can see how 'wild' the island is.

I did a quick watercolor pencil sketch of the lighthouse while we were at the beach and added some colored pencil when we got home.

The original was the w/c pencil dampened with a waterbrush and looked kind of insipid.  I had lunch with my granddaughter yesterday then we went to Hobby Lobby where I found some Koh I Nor tri-toned colored pencils and had to buy them (I have said many times that I'm an art supply junkie!)  Anyway, I colored the lighthouse with these pencils but had to use a regular colored pencil for the black of the lighthouse pattern.

I'd like to try these pencils again on a painting that hasn't been pre-colored.  They don't seem to have the pigment load of a lot of artist quality colored pencils and seem to be more like the colored pencils we used in grade school.  But I do want to give them a fair chance.  Here's a link for you to check them out.
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/koh-i-noor-tri-tone-colored-pencil-sets

Wild Horses on Shackleford Banks

Even if you click on the photo to enlarge it, it's really hard to see the wild ponies in this photo.  It was taken from the ferry and was actually one of the better ones I got.  The ferry was in constant motion, of course, and many of my photos taken from the boat were blurry.  Fortunately, our trip included an hour on Shackleford Banks but we were let off some distance from where the ponies were feeding so there wasn't much time to hike closer to the horses, take photos then hike back to catch the return ferry.  If there's ever a next time, I'd get some extended time on SB and forego the visit to the lighthouse.  But, both experiences were great and if you've never seen the lighthouse, it's worth a visit.  And, no, we didn't climb to the top although it's allowed.  We'd gone to SB first and after all that hiking, we weren't in shape to climp the 200 plus steps to the top of the lighthouse!  As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not a spring chick any more and to tell the truth, would probably even be too old for the stew pot!

We also visited the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium (http://www.ncaquariums.com/pine-knoll-shores) and that was really interesting although I wasn't able to get very good photos.  They have some huge tanks and between the glass, water and moving fish, most of the shots were very blurry.  Oh, and did I mention throngs of rude children on field trips jostling you?  The following is one of the better photos:

Jelly Fish at Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium

I've been looking at new cameras but just haven't found one that I think will meet all my needs.  Actually, one that is exactly what I want probably doesn't even exist and I don't know what I should compromise on.

I have lots more photos and hope to find some that will inspire me to paint something soon.  It's been kinda hectic around here though and I don't really see any let up any time soon.  Maybe it will just be quick sketches with the new colored pencils for the time being!

One last bit of news, I just got notification that I'd sold a print of my calla lilies on Fine Art America.   It's one of my favorite paintings so it was especially gratifying that someone else liked it well enough to purchase it.  Here it is if you don't know what it looks like: