a laughing gull

Day # 25 of this direct watercolor challenge . . . and I must admit that I am missing my fountain pens for simple ink and wash sketching! But I am feeling a bit more relaxed and confident in applying watercolor.

Today’s watercolor sketch is from a photo taken at sunset on Galveston Island this past April, of a laughing gull taking a stroll along the beach. Normally the gulf water in this area is a bit gray but at sunset it takes on a lovely strong blue color.

my beloved gift from God

Okay, for tonight’s watercolor painting I truly went out on a scary limb . . . and painted our second son, Matt. I call him my “beloved gift from God” because that is what his name, Matthew David, actually means. Of each of our three sons, he is the only one with my coloring (and the only one with my brown eyes!) but he is the one who most closely resembles his father in personality.

It is very scary trying to capture people you dearly love, even when painting so loosely. I admit that I did use a faint pencil line this time to get the proportions right.

pelicans and a crippled gull

I loved watching the brown pelicans feeding in the gulf waters near sunset in Galveston. They soar so gracefully in the air . . . then do a belly-flop landing in the surf! And as they take off again, sometimes they make like a motor boat along the surface, leaving a huge wake behind them. But they are very hard to draw! I thought sticking to silhouettes might be easier.

All along the sea wall, newly planted palms are held firm with wires, replacing all those lost n the recent hurricane. Many homes and businesses are still boarded up or undergoing repairs; we saw one business being raised up onto a higher foundation.

In the morning on the beach, we came across this laughing gull with a broken leg, hopping around waiting for the incoming tide to bring his breakfast. Another gull would not leave his side, patiently walking along beside him.

The gulf waters near Galveston usually look gray but as the sun sets in the West, they take on the most magical deep blue hue. Once while camping on Mustang Island further south, we saw the white caps reflecting the pink of the sunset behind us.

last sketches from Mustang beach

I waited until coming home to sketch this heron from Mustang Island State Park --- I wanted to try using liquid masque on the waves. But my masque is a bit old and came out in globs. Oh, well . . .

We saw the heron when exploring the tidal pool area. He didn't seem to mind my getting very close for a photograph. I was also watching the man standing in the Gulf up to his chest, fishing. Sometimes waves washed up to his chin . . . I wonder if he actually caught any fish?

The tiny jellyfish was seen half-buried in the sand with the incoming tide --- I'd never seen one this color before.

This seems darker than previous pages because I had to photograph my sketchbook inside on a very dark and rainy day. Need better lighting!

more sketches from Mustang Beach

Higher-than-normal wind and an increasingly high tide forced us to leave Mustang Island State Park a day early, but what an adventure we had camping on the beach! Bill and I set up camp Thursday afternoon, with Matt, Misty, and Quen arriving late that night --- so much fun setting up a tent in the windy dark by starlight and car headlights! 

The moon was just a tiny crescent slip but stars seemed enormously bright --- so bright that the wave tops actually glowed in the dark reflecting their light! Winds continued through the night, growing stronger through Friday when Kristen and Mikala arrived. 

By Saturday afternoon, the wind had partially collapsed two tents. But the weatherbug app said wind advisories would not be in affect until 9:00 that night? We were getting sand-blasted and the stronger-than-normal tides were rising. Normally there is a wide room for driving down the beach between the shore and the tent sites; this had already been covered by algae washed up during the night (the so-called red tide) and the tide water was quickly approaching the center tents' edges. So we decided to break camp early and head home a day early.

Loved camping on the beach in spite of the wind, even when our air mattress failed to hold air, my sunblock proved to be past its shelf-life, the dump cake burned beyond recognition in the fire pit, and family dogs Bradley & Scout both proved to be afraid of the water. Love the family time!

Next family camping trip, Lake Somerville . . . without the sand in our teeth.

beachcombing sketches

As I was recently going through old sketchbooks to find work to post for the 5-day art challenge, I also came across these sketches from nearly 5 years ago. We had a lovely day in Galveston with Mikala and I got a lot of sketching done onsite.

And just because it seems to fit a theme on this blog post, here is a random seascape I once painted:

~ no vacancy ~

Early on our 2nd day at Galveston Beach, I excitedly picked up this gorgeous little shell to keep . . . . until I realized the original occupant was still there. So I took a couple of quick photos and let the next wave take him back.

Galveston, TX

It seems like forever since I sketched or posted anything. My final week in Texas was a real whirlwind of activity and travel!

We drove to San Antonio, picking up Bill who flew in from Kansas, then headed to the Alamo and River Walk. Even with the holiday crowds, we had a fantastic time . . . . Bill and I decided to return to celebrate our 40th anniversary 2 years from now.

Bill and I then drove to Austin for a few days with our son, Matt and his family. Though Misty had to work much of the time, we greatly enjoyed our time with them. Three yr. old Quen and I painted together in my smaller sketchbook; I was NOT happy to find that I forgot the sketchbook when we drove back to Houston. They left the following day on a train trip to Chicago, so it will be a while before they mail it to me.

Our daughter, Kristen, has been so busy on the Galveston hospital job that we took 7-yr. old Mikala with us to Galveston to play and spend time with Kristen. I LOVE Galveston! A large portion of the population has not returned since the hurricane; there are still many buildings boarded up, abandoned. Yet there is also new construction going on. We spent Thursday and Friday at the beach.

Then the L-O-N-G drive home to Kansas, followed by unpacking (after vacuuming up excessive cat hair everywhere), laundry, catching up on bills, depositing rents, updating bookkeeping, etc. I may even have to buy groceries soon . . . .

What a wonderful time I had with kids and grandkids these past 3 months! How blessed to be able to spend time with them all --- now our youngest son, Jeff, is looking at colleges in the Houston area for when his enlistment ends in December. Texas still has quite a draw for us.