Kayak Painting and Exploration

I have my legs tangled up in kelp here to keep from drifting away as I paint some sea lion bulls.  My painting kit is a small box I put together with some hardware that keeps either an 8x10 or 10x10 canvas panel in place.  There's a tiny mixing palette.  This setup is for oils.  They're bulkier than my watercolors but respond  better when splashed with salt water! The paintings are a sweet reminder of a wonderful experience!

The sea lions who posed for us.  Thanks for all of the photos Marian!  See her blog by going to Musings of a Painter listed under Blogs I Follow.  She has many detailed posts about painting on the trip.

Putting on makeup or painting?
I think this is where I was doing the waterfall piece.

I adore this shot!  My friends Tanya Radik and Diane Nelson Gold look like early American explorers in 21st century attire.  I'm just hanging out in my own little world happy as the proverbial clam.  Thanks again to Marian Fortunati for the photos.

David Gallup showing me the sea cliffs up close and personal.  I was afraid of being crashed into the walls by uncontrollable forces (lol) before this trip.  This kind of kayaking is sooo tame but still took a little courage when I first tried it last year.  It was worth conquering my fears for the adventure.  I hope I can do this kind of thing for YEARS!  I plan on taking good care of myself just for that:)  White water rafting would be fantastic...

I'm back!

Mary-Gail King and David Gallup at Santa Cruz

Here's a snapshot from the Channel Islands trip I just took.  I'm still getting my land-legs back and my tripod has sand in it but what fun!  This photo is from our second day on Santa Cruz Island where I painted from the deck of the boat Conception.  The Painted Cave is the largest sea cave in the world and has become an old friend.

You'll notice that I'm painting in oils in the photo.  David teaches oil exclusively and I took up oils to study with him in his Masters Class.  I've learned lots of color theory and refined my philosophy and sense of design with him.  That with solid business coaching has made him an invaluable mentor.

Now to my first love...Here are some small watercolor sketches I did from my kayak.

I find that taking just five minutes to sketch an immediate response to wherever I find myself is like taking a deep breath of fresh air.  Here are a couple of gulps I took from my kayak...It was tricky keeping the salt water off of them as they dried but worth the extra juggling in the kayak.

For those of you unfamiliar with watercolor salt causes granulation of the paint when applied to watercolors.  In the waterfall painting the sides of the cliff show this effect.

Small Waterfall on Santa Cruz

Caves Painted from my Kayak

 I took a photo of my travel kit as well.  It's small enough to fit in a pocket or small fanny pack.  That and the cap from a water bottle are all that's needed for a portable studio.  I've painted all over the world with these tools and the little postcard sketches are both charming and engaging

Dreaming...

:) I just went through my "old" posts and found this one. It's worth publishing just to remind myself that the little things become the big things. I've been a little anxious about making progress on my latest BIG DREAM. This entry is from a time of great happiness and contentment when I knew I was doing all of the right things. Reminder to self,"Trust yourself, be kind."

No posts for a while... It's funny that I say that.  I used to beat myself up about not doing something "perfectly" every single day.  Then I started noticing some things.  I've kept journals of some kind since I was about 15.  I'd write the first ones at night in a spiral bound notebook and talk about things like my latest crush and what I was doing for homework.  I'd write for a few days or weeks, then take an unplanned break because of school, a social life or a general lack of motivation and come back to SLAM myself about not writing in my journal.

When I consolidated years of writing a couple of years ago I had two bank box files filled with them!  I destroyed some of the old high school books.  It wasn't because they were incriminating.  They were just boring and redundant. When re-reading them I did notice I was much happier in high school than I remembered. That was good.  It was nice to have the old me talk to the current me and share that.

I enjoyed peeks into my everyday life as a young business professional and then mother.  I saw my journey into a progressively more creative life.  It's the little things I chose to do every day (or most days) that have helped me to grow and develop into a healthy, well rested, active, happy, etc, person.  Those little things are what have made my life so special.  The big things come.  Recognition, a giant painting or exhibit, fitting into a gorgeous new dress, finishing a marathon.  All of those things are built from the little choices I make every day.  When I get up and do something different it's good to just enjoy that and keep looking at my goals.  I'll get there.  I always do!

Master Class

The other thing I learned from my past selves was that I need to be gentler with myself.  Over time I'm VERY consistent.  Thirty-five years of journaling can testify to that.  I'm glad I didn't do it every day!  I'd never be able to go through them all.
So, in spite of missed posts I know what I put in here is sufficient.  In the meantime I stay busy.  I've started filling my classes for fall!  My commissions are plugging along; I continue my Master's Classes with David Gallup; spend time with my friends; take road trips...