Some paintings

I went to Santa Barbara for two weeks of painting the week after my last Claremont Class.  It was supposed to make the fact that I had "retired " that much less painful.  It gave me something else to think about and that was good.  This week we will see how I deal without the class to prepare for.

Before I went to SB I was to decide what my series would be about.  Since I had been on many trips the last two or three years and seem many different oceans of the world I wanted to paint "The Feeling and Impressions of the different oceans."  I enjoyed the workshop and learned a lot, but was not sure I was successful in my series quest.  I will keep working on some of the paintings to see if I can refine them a bit.

 I had taken photographs, but the instructor asked me to put the photos away and just paint from the memories and feelings I had ov the various places.  This was the Pacific Ocean at La Jolla, CA

 The Pacific Ocean along the Oregon Coast

 Pacific  Coast of Costa Rica

 Caribbean in the British Virgin Islands

 Hawaii along the coast of Kauai

 When I went to Cuba because we were Americans we could not do the things tourists could do one of which was get in the water.  This is "Don't Go Near the Water"  It looks inviting, but stay away!

 Looking down off the boat in the Caribbean.  Belize

 Atlantic waves off the Carolina's

 Pacific swells in the Northwest

The family at the beach in Laguna.  I'm under the umbrella.

Sorry for being away so long.

What a great day.  So many friends together to visit with and enjoy seeing what they have been working on.  It was like a "love fest", and so heart warming to hear them say that I had had an impact on so many lives.  It is very humbling to think that over the past 20 years of teaching so many wonderful, talented people have passed through my class and so many have stayed in my life.

 Amelia made this cake with fondant representing all the aspects of my life.  Yes, I was all teary eyed over it.  Thank you so much.

 We had a "Show and Tell" and so many wonderful things were shown.  It was amazing how many different things we have done over the years and then what people did with the skills they had.  I'm not taking credit for anything more than introducing a technique.  You were the ones whoa then did something with it.  I have only posted a few photos, but it is a sampling if you weren't there.

I can't say enough about how wonderful it was to get together.  I will be leaving so many memories, but will be making new friends and having new adventures before long.  I don't plan to really move before September, and am keeping my house here for awhile to go back and forth since I'll still have 4 children in the area.  Who knows how this will all turn out?