Summertime On Long Beach Island

Sally and I started out Thursday morning at the far north end

of Long Beach Island, at Barnegat Inlet.

Wanting to get some photos of various walkways to the beach, we headed south.

Fragrant bayberry grew wild at one entranceway.

It was still early and there weren't many people at the water's edge.

Although many flowers were past peak,

we didn't have to look far for beautiful colors.

An abundant variety of textures, smells, sounds and styles

 awakened our senses and got the creative juices flowing. 

People watching is always a big pastime on the island.

Spending quality time together, relaxing and just hanging out

is a large part of what a shore vacation is all about.

A solitary sentinel looks towards the ocean from Holgate

at the southern point of the island.

Dad's doing a really good job here.

Probably the first Family Portrait with their new addition.

Find out more about Long Beach Island

and see great photos from a long time resident, Sally Vennel.

A Morning Visit To Long Beach Island, NJ

Spur of the moment on Wednesday, I decided I was going to go down to Long Beach Island on Thursday, to shoot my new camera and 28-300mm lens. I called my friend, Sally, who lives on the island, to see if she wanted to meet me. She did, and said she gets up at 5am. I don't get up that early and it takes me 45 minutes to get to her house, so I was down there by 7. I should have gotten there earlier, however it was an overcast, grey, flat light, kind of morning anyway.

We visited the Barnegat Lighthouse.

This is a 5" x 7' oil painting I did of it a couple of weeks ago.

Many varieties of flowers are planted around the lighthouse and the park there.

We met some nice people.

And we watched the fishing boats head out to sea.

Then we went over to the Viking Village Marina, just outside of the Barnegat inlet. 

A leader in the Commercial Fishing Industry here on the East Coast,

much of this country's shrimp, scallops, crab and fish come through this port.

Here many commercial fishing boats and charters are docked. 

I even found one with my name on it!

Then off to the yacht club, where not much activity was taking place.

Wow, I wonder who lives there, across the bay.

After checking out the bay, we headed off to the beach side.

I took lots more photos there. I'll post a sampling of those shots next time.

Here's a parting shot of my friend, Sally Vennel in a contemplative mood.

Check out her wonderful photos on her blog here. 

Fun With Foxes

Here's another sketch I did from a photo by my friend, Sally Vennel.


And here's today's resulting watercolor painting using the sketches from her photographs with some imagination and artistic license.

Fox Face on Facebook

My photographer friend, Sally Vennel, posted an album of her foxes on Facebook this week! Truly wonderful images of amazingly gorgeous creatures, the new pictures inspired me to do some sketching today. Here is Sally's photo and my working sketch from her reference. This drawing is not meant to be a finished piece of artwork. Her photos are copyrighted, so it's always proper to get permission before posting other peoples' work or if you are copying photos to be used in artwork that will be for sale. I usually draw from photos for concept, structure and design exploration, often using reference from 6-8 photos for a single painting. The practice helps to develop and refine my seeing and improves my hand-eye cooridination. During the summer months of June - August, I draw and post a new image everyday on my sketchingeveryday and drawingeveryday blogs. I teach drawing classes and workshops and I am currently getting ready to do a drawing demo at an art show next week. See lots of Sally's beautiful photos on her Natural Images By Sally Vennel Blog.

Sally's Natural Images of Colorado

I'm so grateful to have Sally Vennel as a friend. Her generosity really is overwhelming. She and her husband put me up in their gorgeous home for a week and took me out to all the most beautiful spots around Crested Butte. A wonderful photographer, Sally also let me download any of her photos that I wanted to use as reference for paintings. See more of her recent July Colorado shots on her blog. Here are some of my favorites. Thanks a million Sally.

I love this shot of an old fir tree stump.

Here's a shot of me in a typical Colorado pose.

Sally's quick reations get her the good shots. This one is of a
Weidemeyer's Admiral.

I love this photo of our early morning visitors as they were making their retreat back to the stable.

Last but not least, this magical shot of Crested Butte Mountain and ski slope was taken from her dining room window.

Visit Sally's blog at Natural Images by Sally Vennel. Leave her a comment and tell her Sandy sent you!

Beautiful Natural Images

I just checked out my photographer friend Sally Vennel's blog and she has been busy posting some beautiful images! This one is of Barnegat Lighthouse or "Ole Barney" as the locals call it. This was taken a week or so ago when the "Beach Plum" was in bloom. I didn't even know there was such a thing! Check out Sally's breathtaking photos at: Sally's Natural Images.

Crested Butte, Colorado

I'll be flying out to the mountains of Colorado tomorrow bright and early. I am really looking forward to the trip. I'll be staying with friends, Sally and Chuck Vennel. Below is a picture of the ski slopes on Crested Butte mountain taken by Sally, photographer extraordinaire. With over 24 feet of snow so far this year, lots of snow = lots of excitement!