Calming the water with yellow ink

24 x 24

And so it seemed that the sun reached over the clouds 

to spill pale yellow ink onto the waters to calm them.

A boating weekend!

ink sketch of crew teams after workout

ink sketch on the dock at Shilshole

going through the Chittenden Locks in the rain

on our way south, we saw lots of sailing groups out on the water

our new boat at her home port in Olympia ... sweet!

Some rain, some sun, and a weekend aboard our new boat. Finally, the work was done and we were able to move the boat from Seattle to Olympia. Lake Union, in downtown Seattle near the University of Washington campus, is about 25 feet higher than Puget Sound. To navigate out of the lake, we had to go through the Hiram M. Chittenden locks. Lucky for us, it was a dreary week day with no boat traffic and we were the only ones in the lock. We tied our lines to moving cleats and held fast as the water was evacuated to let us leave the lock on flat water into Puget Sound.

Overnight at Shilshole Marina on the guest dock. We woke up the next day to blue sky and lots of people getting their sailboats ready for the race just outside the breakwater. I couldn't resist pulling out my sketchbook to scribble down their personalities. Gestures, done when the people don't stay still, it's an aerobic art activity! 

Our trip south was sunny and on flat water and truly a delight. Fun to take our first cruise with our new boat. You see her in the last photo, safely tied up at the dock in Olympia. She's a beauty! And she has two great art areas for painting. One, the enclosed fly bridge. Two, the enclosed stern cockpit. The windows can come off completely when the weather is fine. How great is that?!

More boating adventures ahead! I'm excited!

Summertime

Imagine, hanging on the anchor at Echo Bay near Sucia Island ... it's almost sunset and the sky is turning shades of pink and orange. From a sailboat somewhere nearby you hear the sound of a trumpet playing "Summertime" from Gerschwin's "Porgy and Bess." Jazz styling. And the sound fills the air and slides across the water until it bounces off the land in a sweet echo.

It doesn't get better than that!

Buoy

Anchoring Buoy
12 x 14, pastel

Watercolor sketching

Change of scenery

I don't think that it gets better than to be on a boat in the Puget Sound when it's a sunny day in the high 70s. Does it? The sound of the wind in the rigging of the nearby sailboats is like a sweet melody in whispered voice.

So far, I've just done quick watercolor sketches, this one is my attempt to capture light like Hopper. I think I can do better, but I'm pleased with it for a first try. I hope to pull out the big guns tomorrow morning and capture the morning light on Skagit Bay. We will wait until noon for slack tide before going through Deception Pass. Plenty of time to paint!

Life is good!