Inspiring moment?

[Stoy Jones]

After commenting at Kevin's thread "A Test of Faith", I got to thinking about lighthouses again. I grew up in Jupiter, Florida only miles down the road from a lighthouse that was built in 1860 and is still in operation today, so in a sense it is a landmark of sorts for that area...a good reason to do a painting of it as a reminder of "home". I found a few pics I have taken of it before and nothing seemed to gel. The colors and angle of the shots didn't seem right.

Still feeling inspired, I turned to the image library and found a decent pic of a light of a different kind. Settling with this for now, I painted it in pastels. Mind you, I'm still wet behind the ears with pastels and knew nothing of color when I did this. I must say, it is one of my best for doing lanscapes or architecture, either of which I'm normally terrible at and haven't produced anything better along those lines since. Simply put, acting on a moment of inspiration carried me through what would have been a difficult piece for me.

Someday soon, I will go down there and take the right pic or better yet, work on site to paint my subject.

Got any pieces born out of inspiring thoughts, please share them!

Stoy

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/Projects/lib/560/completed/18715/lighthouse2.jpg

[LarrySeiler]

there are a couple lighthouses in upper Michigan off Lake Superior. I paint up there frequently during the summer months. The near 315 inches of snow during winter kinda makes it more difficult to navigate...

I've taken some photos, and my preferences are to paint live on location, I'll have to dig up where my other photos are of a lighthouse in the Pictured Rocks area, but here is one...Grand Island near Munising, Michigan....this one is very old....
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/22-Apr-2004/532-five.jpg

Larry

[Proverbs 3:5-6]

Both of those pictures are great, guys!! :clap: :clap:

[Stoy Jones]

Thanks Prov! If you have anything, let's see it... :)

Larry, Nice pic! Is the vantage point taken from a boat or land? I have relatives north of Chicago, in Lake Villa, Lindhurst area. Winters don't get that bad, but bad enouch to get a good idea as I'm sure you know, being in Wisconsin.

Painting on location appeals to me more and more. I'm doing portraits from life two days a week currently and really enjoying it compared to photos, so I can see the benefits of working on location and will look forward to trying that with a landscape sometime.

Stoy

[sassybird]

You did a wonderful job with the pastels. The coloring is just right for a sandy enviorment.

Larry, I love the picture:)

[Stoy Jones]

You did a wonderful job with the pastels. The coloring is just right for a sandy enviorment.


Thanks Charissa. I have improved since then and changed mediums somewhat...so no telling what I may get when the notion strikes again.

Stoy