Thursday, September 1, 2011

Beach Treasures at IA

Forgotten Treasure
 Angie of Artangel really sent me 
out of my comfort zone on this IA challenge.
Beach Treasures is the theme this week.

I love beach treasures.

I collect beach treasures.

I have a humongous basket of sea shells,
and enough sand dollars to open a sand dollar store.

But since the days too long ago to count,
when I lived at the beach and painted
watercolors of beach scenes,
I haven't painted any beach treasures.

Practice makes perfect,
and no practice makes a mess.

After a few false starts, this is my
beach treasure painting.

I was intrigued by the idea of the
splendid treasures we pick up and then
leave lying around forgotten when we think
maybe they're not that special after all.
Like this conch shell sitting forgotten on the chair arm.

In my mind, it's autumn and the beachcomber has
gone home (to the big city maybe), totally
forgetting the beautiful conch shell.
Perhaps while daydreaming in her little cubical
she realizes she never packed the shell
and wonders if it's still sitting there
on the arm of the chair.

Hmmm...well right now it is.

In the top photo, sunlight was streaming in
the window, and I don't normally photo my
paintings that way, but I couldn't resist.
The pic above is without the sunshine, 
rather more boring.

Now that I have opened my new Etsy shop,
I can say the painting is in my shop! Yay!

When I said I was out of my comfort zone,
it's apparent when I see this in my shop.
This one has no whimsy, no cute girls,
no bright colors, nothing humorous...
it's the exact opposite of everything else there.
Which is a good thing, because
variety is the spice of life!
They say.

Please check out all the beach treasure art
at Inspiration Avenue. You'll be glad you did!

I will be linking this up with 
since I finally completed something in time :)
Go see the incredible artists' work there too!
Signature

30 comments:

  1. Such beautiful textures in this painting and I love the beachy colors!

    I think both photos are great, but I agree that the sunlight in the top photo really creates an interesting effect :)

    xo
    Kristin

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  2. You may feel this was out of your comfort zone, but I love the subtle shades that remind me of a summer day at the beach. Very interesting take on the challenge this week, and the bit of daydreaming you created to go along with the painting was so much fun to envision, too.

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  3. What a lovely, peaceful image your painting presents. Makes me calm just imagining sitting there and staring out at the ocean.

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  4. The chair is the perfect piece to draw.

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  5. Happy PPF, love your chair with the conch. The sunshine streaming in really adds to this painting. Annette x

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  6. Awesome painting! Well done and like your style ~ thanks, namaste, CArol (Share the Creative Journey) Happy PPF ^_^

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  7. Maybe she didn't forget it, maybe she left it there for someone else to find.

    This is a really beautiful painting.

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  8. It's beautiful! What is it painted with?

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  9. A beautiful beach inspired painting! Love it and inviting for sure! Happy PPF! POP ART MINIS

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  10. this is lovely and I really like the idea of the girl back at work remembering the shell she left behind on her wonderful beach holiday! I love the sun-bleached wooden chair - really captures the essence of the theme!

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  11. beautiful painting, I love the background too.

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  12. I love this painting - the story in your head as you painted it is great, but one of the best things about this type of painting is that there are so many stories hidden in it - one for each person who sees it. A favorite of mine this week.....

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  13. M, I enjoyed your empty chair scene and story. I have a different story in mind, and I want to take a seat! Beautiful painting and textures.

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  14. Maggie this is so gentle and lovely! The colours and textures are perfect, just like they've been faded by the sea.

    Love the slightly melancholy feel too - an empty chair always has that effect on me! It may be outside your comfort zone but it's wonderful x

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  15. Oh wow, you did great for coming out of your comfort zone! I love the story you wrote with it too!!!!Gorgeous painting!!! Deb

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  16. This would look wonderful in my "beachy" bedroom. So peaceful and tranquil. :))

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  17. Its beautiful and peaceful, I just want to go sit in it and feel the warm sea air on my face. It doesnt look like its out of your comfort zone at all! Variety is definitely the spice of life.
    80)) E

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  18. I love the beach and this piece just feels so right. You did a beautiful job with it. Happy PPF!

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  19. I wouldn't say boring...serene might be the word you meant. The story made it for me...you are so talented with weaving words to perfectly match your painting. You Rock Maggie!
    ♥♥♥

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  20. this is gorgeous. it has such a wonderful feel, serenity and fullness to it - especially with your words - to me it says contentment and peace, and maybe some daydreaming! aaah real summer days!

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  21. This gives me such a simple memory of sitting out at the beach. Beautifully done.
    Stay inspired!

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  22. I love this piece. It gives me such a warm and comfortable feeling. I love the way you took the first picture too, it gives it even more dimension. Then your poem and story add so much more to the piece. I really like this a lot.

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  23. It's very healthy to push out of our comfort zones and you've proved you're a lady of many talents (although we knew that already!).

    I do love a story as you may have gathered and this is oozing character and plot. Love it!

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  24. Loved the serene feeling of your beach challenge...I would love to be there now!

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  25. I want to sit and relax in the Adirondack chair... beautiful. I'm going to check out your Etsy store.

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  26. This is lovely. I can almost smell the salt air.

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  27. beautiful, can I take a seat and just rest awhile?
    cheers, dana

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  28. Such a lovely scene...I so wish to sit in that chair and watch the waves :)

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  29. A lovely beach scene!! I bet that girl left the conch treasure there for someone else to see and treasure, maybe even paint a picture of...

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