Early Morning at Morris Island, plein air/Folly Beach

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on panel; $200 unframed

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I've been having quite a delightful summer.  My husband and I made the trek back to Charleston, SC where we were married, 29 years ago this month.  We lived there for several years early in our marriage, lots of great memories there. The city is more beautiful than when we left it many years ago- it hardly seems possible - we thought it was rather stellar back then. 

We stayed out at Folly Beach, close to where we lived many years back. Part of the day we'd spend swimming in the ocean, and for the other part, we'd go back into the city to explore.  We toured through so many galleries. I got to see so many of my favorite artists work, and even meet some in person. 

A couple of the mornings during our week-long stay, I got up early and went out to paint. I'd been wanting to get back to those southern coastal marsh and beach views. I love those large cumulous clouds that stack up early in the morning.  This view is down at the end of Morris Island (where Folly Beach is located). The light house is to the right of this scene...but I didn't feel like painting a "kitchy tourist scene".... my goal was to get in some large sky views. 

When working on small (6"x8") panels, it's helpful to keep design ideas simple. I was using painting knives as well as brushes in these studies, working intuitively.  The heat rises pretty quickly, so these views were painted before breakfast, about 7:00 a.m.