Have a dry and Happy 4th!!

Irregardless Landscape, 7x10" watercolor vignette

French is such a pretty language. And lucky for us, many of our words come from the French. Vignette, for instance, the word used to describe a borderless painting. Most of us are familiar with photographic vignettes, those often old-timey photos whose images fade into white. The same word applies to painting.

And then there’s en plein air as well as my term for the method I used yesterday to paint these two paintings, dans la voiture. How I chose to use this term for painting in the car, is better explained on my “Dans la voiture” blog post. Yesterday I had just enough time in which to paint these two vignettes before meeting customers for dinner at Raleigh’s Irregardless Café. It was necessary when I was painting, to turn on the air conditioner intermittently to stay cool, the heat on the dashboard to more quickly dry the base coat, and the defrost to defog the windshield so I could see the scene before me.

All this work was rewarded afterwards by a wonderful dinner at the popular Irregardless. I needn’t recommend this restaurant to those who have had the good fortune to dine there. Not surprising the engaged couple I had dinner with are considering the Irregardless’ catering services for their wedding reception next year.

Irregardless, the café, 10x7 watercolor vignette

Welcome to The Fishhouse

Old Homes Tour at The Fishhouse, 7x10" watercolor

This is actually the second painting I did of The Fishhouse. I’m including the first one below for those who didn’t see it in yesterday’s Behr Path newsletter.

The woman sitting in front was one of the hosts during the Tour. She would welcome people to The Fishhouse, invite them to enjoy some refreshment (see glass with pink lemonade on a nearby piling), and give them an introduction to the house they were about to enter.

When she saw that I had included her in the painting, she said, “Just like they used to wear—an apron and tennis shoes with anklets.” Since the house was built in the 1940’s, I assume she was referring to that era. It was intentional that I included her 21st century sunglasses. It was not intentional that the seagulls look like Greek sigmas flying backwards. Together, they could form a fraternity.

The Fishhouse, 14x22" watercolor

 

Old Homes and Garden Tour in Beaufort, NC

An Old Fisherman Lived Here, 7x10" watercolor

The biggest fundraiser of the year for the Beaufort Historical Association is the Old Homes and Garden Tour that takes place each June. My friend and Greenville painting buddy Dr. Lou Everett has for three years been the go-between who has benefitted two plein air groups, Greenville Brushstrokes and PAINT NC, by obtaining invitations for them to paint during the Tour in the lovely, quaint and historic seaside village of Beaufort, NC.

This year, I requested The Fishhouse as my preferred place to paint. The painting above is a corner of the inside of this must-see attraction on Front Street. The house was originally owned by the late fisherman and carpenter Captain Louis Christopher Styron. When I asked where she was born, the daughter of the Captain, Faye Styron-Brown, answered, “Right here.” The cradle in the foreground of the painting is where she slept as a baby.

With deep love and a high regard for things past and a lifestyle very different from ours today, Mrs. Styron-Brown has made The Fishhouse a literal shrine to her father Captain Styron. It benefits us that she is so graciously willing to share with us her former home.

Tomorrow I’ll feature the paintings I did of the outside of this popular stop on Beaufort’s Old Homes and Garden Tour.

June wedding

Trio, 6x9" watercolor

I just matted and put in sleeves sixteen wedding watercolors that were selected for purchase from those I did at a June 1 wedding in Durham, NC. For a limited time, I’m posting a slide show on this blog (upper right) for those curious to know how I paint a wedding. Fast, very fast. I like to include in my offerings when I paint a wedding at least two paintings that are more time consuming (2hr). For this wedding the top choices for these two paintings were the couple’s first home and the church where they were married. I did both earlier in the afternoon before the ceremony began. Black and flesh tones don’t mix well, so because the paint is wet, they need to be kept apart or given time to dry. Light blues and lavenders in a brides gown, however, are magical when they flow together, so no worry there when the colors mix.
Today’s featured painting was the first one I did inside the church. It was not one of the sixteen chosen by my customer, but still I like it.

House with boy toys

Fun house, 7x10" watercolor

Just a quick post here. Thought I’d share the house that was wrapped around the “High-heeled boudoir” I slept in last Friday night. Love the architecture, the palms, the touches of whimsy, all so perfect for my whimsical watercolor style. This is the smaller painting I did as a preliminary for a larger one.

Girls do just want to have fun

High-heeled boudoir, 8½ x 11" watercolor

This is not a dream. This is what I painted when I died and went to heaven last night. Got to stay at a customer’s house when a commission took me down to Ocean Isle, on the coast about 35 or so miles south of Wilmington, NC. My customer confesses his mom pretty much did this room. Called it the room girls tend to like. He got that right. Tired as I was, I had to put paint to paper on this one.

Irregardless Café

Irregardless Since 1975, 7x10" watercolor

I’d dined at this popular eatery in Raleigh before. Recently I enjoyed a delightful brunch with some customers here. Loved it. Loved sitting out front afterwards and painting the restaurant too. The following Sunday I had brunch again, this time with the owner’s Mrs., who then bought the painting. I’m delighted this watercolor will soon be hanging on the restaurant’s walls alongside some noted North Carolina artists.

Irregardless of the number (from 10-500), I’ve learned the Irregardless Café has a successful catering business. Click to check it out. I also learned that irregardless is not really a word, so be careful using it around spell check or grammar queens.