Friday, August 16, 2013

Positively Buoyant Beach People


This view is looking directly north toward the mouth of the Saugeen River. I had a request to demonstrate both clouds and people in painting. The only clouds that could be clearly seen were along the lake breeze convergence line to the north. There was no difficulty in finding people to paint.  Including people in my plein air paintings is way outside my comfort zone but we all need to face our demons. I was worried about the people part of the painting but it actually worked out just fine. The splashes of paint have personality. The "people" are composites of several individuals who came and went. Cumulus clouds are created by positively buoyant air parcels. The swimmers and beach people were undoubtedly happy. If you combine the two, which was the motivation for the painting in the first place, you get the title.
Note the 25x50 foot Canadian Flag on the 135 pole at Dominion Lookout. A group of Southampton citizens formed the "Friends of the Flag" committee in 1994 to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the founding of Southampton. Everyday people can make a big difference and it reminds me of the Brockville "Flag Committee". That is where I go every evening to watch the sun set.

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