marysgardens

When first learning watercolor, I started by painting what I saw.  I now realize this process is teaching me to see things differently.

I paint landscapes in en plain air sessions where we stand for several hours painting a picture based on what we see around us.  The longer I look at the scenery, the more amazed I am at how much there is to comprehend. I  feel I need a simpler way to look at things.

The scenery changes before my eyes. Clouds, wind, light, texture, reflections shift continuously. Ocean waves appear and disappear, only lasting for a second, Lake waves lap quietly on the shore and then are no more. A dog runs in front of us, heading home. A bird flies by.

As I stand there taking in the scenery, my observations are also moving about, shifting and changing. What I see in the beginning is not what I see after spending an afternoon looking at it. My perception of what I see changes.

Colors and shading merge then disappear and reappear with new highlights Shapes erode into broad patterns of light and dark. I note new reflections bouncing off water and sky.

I move the horizon on my paper to consider how much of the universe I feel like including in my painting. Geometric patterns of buildings or objects are adjusted as I become increasingly aware of how angles, light and color affect my rendition of them.

The more I paint, the more I realize that I need more time to fully open up and visualize what I see. I need time to let the scenery seep into my mind and to learn to hold it as an impression. I need to recognize the myriad of patterns, colors and shapes shifting in front of me, offering various perspectives on how I might represent them, to reflect how I feel about seeing them.

While doing all this, I often come to some sense of how I want to paint my picture. Then, for several hours I am lost, completely lost in my painting. Time stops.

Seeking to better comprehend what happens in art, I attended some lectures given by Ruth Armitage at the Oregon Society of Artists. In her talks, she encourages us to look more deeply into ourselves for art inspiration and to also explore the work of other artists for ideas about techniques of expression.

At the same time, she encourages us to to express our own points of view more freely, without the preconceived notions and limitations of other’s prescribed reality.

Under her tutelage, I am at first shy and can’t figure out what to do with the canvas and my paint brush in order to express my supposed inner self artistically that I am still seeking to find. With time, I manage to begin to play with the lines and shapes, to magnify the colors, to soften the degree of detail that sometimes interrupt the painting’s underlying thought. 

Ocean Holiday

We are learning the pleasure of experimenting with perspective.  This is just a beginning and I hope to continue exploring art this way.

Celebration

Sargy Mann, a well known British artist who successfully painted even after becoming blind, spoke about the importance of perception in art.

He said, “I have come to the conclusion that drawing and painting could be almost like a sixth sense.” I believe the activity of art is a way of learning about this sixth sense.

Sargy Mann’s last interview before he died in 2015 is  inspirational and provocative and is HERE for others to enjoy.

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The High Banks Art Group has been meeting weekly for almost two years now.

It started so simply. Several of us wanted to learn to paint.  We had a neighbor friend who was an experienced artist and we asked whether we might sit next to her and paint. She was in the habit of sitting outdoors and painting natural scenes. We learned from her that part of the fun was choosing the site for painting.

We meet outdoors on Wednesday morning at a certain site, bring our own chairs, paper, art supplies, bug spray, sunscreen, and choose a quiet place to paint.

Melanie Rees at work

At first we were a bit shy, but in time, we learned to relax, chat for a bit, think about what we want to sketch or paint, walk around to place the chair in a good position and quietly set to work painting for several hours.  The peace and quiet in the setting are wonderful. We settle in to a comfortable group silence that lasts up until around noon.

Tara Lavallee at work

Lavonda Smith at work

Jake Jacobson and Marcia Fearing’s garden

Ann Capling, experienced artist

Under Marcia’s and Jake’s tent in the rain are Marcia Fearing, Ann Capling, Liz Key, Lavonda Smith and Mani Goulding

Brush techniques

Mani Goulding at work

Liz Key

Ann Capling

Eleanor Bruce

Marcia Fearing

Mani Goulding

Liz Key

Lavonda Smith

Eleanor Bruce

Lavonda Smith

Painted Chair

Lavonda’s hand made coconut plant holder

Lavonda and Bruce Smith’s Home

And garden

Melanie’s Home

Our High Banks neighbors have interesting points of architecture, unique gardens, great trees, striking fences, friendly dogs, amusing automobiles.  They kindly agreed to allow us in their yards and on their porches with chairs, paints, and trampling feet. 

It is good for us to meet up on a weekly basis because in the process we have established a system and a structure useful for learning water color techniques.  When we wonder what another artist is doing, we ask and they explain.  When we see someone doing something interesting and perhaps out of the ordinary, we take time out learn about it and try doing it too. It becomes a very likable sharing of ideas, techniques and experiences and we all benefit from this exchange.

One of our cooperative models at Melanie’s garden

We visit homes, gardens and the beach for the purpose of painting them and it leads to very interesting discoveries of great gardens, unique plants and visual imagery. We have great times visiting and learning more about our neighbors in a way that is not usually done, that is, by sitting in their yards or other natural settings and enjoying a specific tree, flower, fence, or appreciating their footpaths and backyards and noting how the shadows touch their steps.

Marge and Earl Hamilton’s Garden

Eleanor Bruce at work

Striking staghorn fern in Marge and Earl Hamilton’s garden

Liz Key

Jimmy and Liz Key’s home

Tara Lavallee paints Liz’s dog

Anne Capling’s tree

We have agreed that all are welcome to participate in our art group.  There is no formal structure, no invitations, no requirements to join and everyone is welcome.  Under these conditions, we meet and meet again.

Our meeting usually begins at 8:30 each Wednesday morning.  We agree on where to meet outdoors.  We gather at the designated place and speak with each other for a few minutes when we first arrive.  We then casually disperse, carrying our chairs and our art supplies to various locations nearby, walking around to find a place to put our chair and establish a point for painting.  We next pull out our paper and paints, our pencils and erasers,brushes, and set to work.

If there is a newcomer to the group, we offer them paper, paint, pencils, a chair, or whatever they need to get started. If someone just wants to sit and watch, they too, are welcome.

From time to time someone shows up just to walk through and see what we are doing.  We greet them, then return to our painting.  They watch and then slip away when they are ready to go.

Merle Askeland

Art Capling draws a building

We listen to ideas

And paint our own perspectives of buildings.  Painting by Tara Lavallee

Jake and Marcia’s place

More recently, we head outside to very interesting locations such as big beaches, marshes, ponds, old roads and paint there.  It is usually quiet for several hours, as each of us works on sketching and painting.  We photograph the setting in which we are working so that we can revisit the colors we choose, the structures and shapes we draw. After an hour or so of quiet, we begin walking from one place to another, looking at each person’s work and commenting on what we see, asking questions, or comparing approaches to our work.

Karon Teasedale chooses an interesting location for painting

On the beach ,Eight Mile Bay

Group setting on the beach

Melanie Rees

Susie Lill

Melanie Rees on the beach

Susie Lill’s first painting

Ann Capling

Melanie Reese and Ann Capling

Over by the River

Ann Capling’s perspective

Karon Teasedale’s perspective

Mary Chamie’s perspective

Lavonda Smith’s perspective

We take photographs and make albums and share them showing what happened each time that we met.

Liz

Liz Key, Melanie Reese, Lavonda Smith, Ann Capling, Maxene Tanner

At the end of the session, when people have begun to stand up and stroll around to look at what others have done, we then meet in a circle to discuss each other’s work, consider techniques we might want to learn, and to plan the next meeting.

We then disperse and head home, refreshed and relaxed from the quiet and productive morning.

We are fortunate to have so many neighbors and friends who show their love of art by sharing their gardens and yards and the crafts and paintings that they make.

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Steve Knowles, Wood Turner

One of our neighbors down the road, Steve Knowles,has a hobby of woodturning in native Bahamian wood.  Beautiful bowls and other artifacts that he turns are then sold at local art fairs.  His workshop has become a popular stopping place for Abaco Nature Tours to visit when they bring bird watchers to Bahama Palm Shores to observe the Abaco parrots  and other birds. 

I often stop by to see what Steve is making.  Our out of town guests ask whether they might visit Steve’s workshop and see what he is turning out.  They like to take Bahamian arts and crafts home with them.

Steve works with wood from a number of native trees including mahogany (Swietenia mahogany), mahoe (Hibiscus tiliaceus L. Malvaceae), tamerind (Tamarindus indica), red cedar (Juniperus bermudiana) and poison wood (Metopium toxiferum), among others.

Workshop

Wood stock

Light is focused on the bowl Steve is turning.

Toy top

His workshop is filled with all kinds of equipment and tools for turning wood. Wood shavings are piled in the corners and logs are on the floor. It is a very productive and active place.

Lantern bases

There are examples of wood that he has turned into bowls, lanterns, trivets,  and tops for children, among other things.

Street signs

Lately, Steve has been making up road signs to help people figure out where they are on the way to Hole in the Wall and other places nearby, where signs are scarce. He asked whether we saw some of the signs he had put up when we went down on our tour to Hole in the Wall last week, and I told him we had seen them along the way.  It helped us to know where we were in the national forest.

He has a whole set of billy clubs that he has prepared for use by local fishermen, that are made out of a variety of woods. Of course, we always joke around about the many uses that we might find for such an item.

Then he showed us the trivets he was working on. We have  trivets that Steve made hanging in our kitchen.  They are also pretty to see on a decorated table, and are great for placing hot bowls of food.

Many of the trivets that he makes are shaped like various kinds of fish.  Sometimes he adds color to their eyes to jazz them up a bit.  Some trivets are beautifully plain and show off the grain of wood that he has used to make them.

The trivets can also be used as cutting boards and are very functional and look good when placed around the kitchen workspace.

We looked at a number of bowls that he made.  They are all so beautiful that it is difficult to decide which one is our favorite.  Here are some recent examples of his work.

Madeira Wood 2008

Fig wood 2012

Tamarind Wood 2012

Mahoe wood 2009

Fig Wood 2012

Some bowls were still poised to be turned and completed. 

Steve is also a conservationist who is concerned about native trees and protecting the local environment.  When we talk, he encourages us to be knowledgeable of and to respect native trees.  He emphasizes that the wood he gets is from trees that were felled by storms or branches that have fallen. Steve encourages the planting of native trees so that others will have the pleasure in the future of viewing them in the forests of Abaco and in our yards.

Steve Knowles is one of the many talented and interesting people living in the Bahama Palm Shores community, which makes it a very nice place to live as well as visit.

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