VIRTUAL PAINTOUT - U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

Who knew that the Virtual Paintout for September 2017 would be the last one until August 2018?  It was a surprise to me when Bill Guffey, the paint-out's creator and host decided to go on hiatus.  It was only supposed to be for three months but turned out to be eleven months.  I know Bill needed a break and some time off.  I missed the paint-out.

I was very surprised when my monthly check of the website announced the return for August.  The U.S. Virgin Islands sounded like a wonderful place to see via Google Street View.  The U.S. Virgin Islands include St. Thomas,  St. John, and St. Croix, a lot of area to check out for a painting spot.  I found these islands really interesting to see.  I know I won't ever be there in person.  I happened to go down Strand Street where the picturesque Hotel St. Croix is located.

7" x 5" Watercolor

Lake Flowers

Last month we returned to Echo Park since it is Lotus blooming season.  They are so beautiful that we can't miss visiting to check out the flowers.  On my previous visit, last year, I painted The Park Bridge.  Besides the lotuses, there are also water lilies, and this time we noticed some tall red and yellow flowers out in the lake.  I should have taken a close-up photo so I could identify them later.  We found some shade with a view of flowers, the boathouse, and some of the many palms.

Gouache 7" x 5"

A pink blob of invasive apple snail eggs

Water Tower 2

It's been two months since my last blog post.  I've been painting as usual, so I guess it's time to post some of the paintings.

The Saturday paint-out group recently visited one of my favorite places to paint, Pasadena Water and Power.  I decided to try the view I painted on my previous visit, Water Tower, but this time using gouache.  My small area of shade seemed to diminish even faster than it did last time so I painted quickly.  There are so many interesting views, and it's a nice, quiet place to paint.

Gouache 5" x 7"

Looking through the fence