After a relationship breakup, what is left to do but get to the beach?! This sketch is my first crop of summer paintings. That’s a relationship I can rely upon. My pastels for this sketch are the Nupastels set of 48 and a new type for me: The Mungyo Pastel set of 64 half sticks. The paper is USA Art Supply’s version of Pastel paper, 80lb.
Two sets of friends were at the pier area and I got lost both times trying to find each. The one who was quicker on the cell phone to help navigate me to their location is where I spent the day. It was Memorial Day and the crowds were out. It was beautiful to see people just having fun being family groups. The beach shared its wild areas with humans and colorful umbrellas.
My friends know that I’ll pass the time at the beach both in the water and pastel painting. The new Mungyo pastels were an effort to get to learn. They’re hard pastels. I think they’re harder than the Nupastels. I don’t usually like that level of hardness in a sketch. But they had some neat colors like the lavendar blue that I used close to the horizon line.
On route east to the beach, the entire pack of 64 kept jumping out of their box placements. During a drawbridge up halt, I scrambled to find all those little colorful buggers and put them back before they got crushed being naughty run-outs. So the box itself isn’t a good engineering construction to house the half sticks. Nupastels tend to stay put. Their boxes fit them better.
On route back to my car, I stopped in on my other friend. She came with her church picnic and settled at a rented pavillion. Obviously, she’s no better than I am at direction giving or else I would have started there. They brought food! But the joyful sound coming out of one her lady friends was why I stayed. Singing from her heart and her spirit, the black woman with the mike was making me dance with my body knowing why: being set free from bondage. Yeah…that’s why I visit churches. To sing and dance with freedom of being. My Spirit danced my body joy.
I call that a Memorial Day.
And to the veterans, I always pop $ for the poppies and tie them to my handbag. The vets who remember other vets are my connection to giving back to them. Thanks.