Something different.

Well Hurricane Irene rolled - or should I say meandered weakly - through here. It did trail some great weather in its wake - sunny, warm, and breezy. Like about half of Halifax I headed out to Lawrencetown this morning to see if there was any excitement on the shore. There wasn't much, so I parked myself up at the top of MacDonald Head to sketch in pen and ink (the breeze was a little too strong to break out the gouache, and I wouldn't have wanted to set up an easel for oils).


[The drawing is nib pen & brush, and Sennelier bistre in a little WC notebook]

Years ago a complaint among painters in the Paris countryside was that there seemed to be an easel set up in every corner. These days it's cameras - though I'm not complaining, it's enjoyable to meet & chat with people out enjoying the scenery. The beach itself looked like a camera convention.

BTW - if anyone from the Parks departments reads this - I can understand discouraging swimmers (the currents were pretty strong), but why block off the parking lots? It just means cars get parked along the road, which is hardly safe. Of course they were kind enough to block the entrances to the lots with picnic tables, which were easily moved out of the way. But really, just post "Swim at your own risk" and let Darwin work his magic...

MacDonald Head, November and December

In late November and early December, we had three or four Mondays in a row that brought big storms, and big waves, and high winds. So I would head out to MacDonald Head with Shorty, the sketchbook, and a camera, and catch whatever I could. And then dash back to the studio, dry off, and get back to work.
This is the first one; the wind was strong enough to make standing very difficult, but we tried working our way up from Stony Beach. Until a squall came in. It's a marvellous site until it's directly overhead...oil on canvasboard, 11x14



Another day we headed out - this one was cold and damp, with long rolling breakers coming into the outlet between Stony Beach and the eastern end of Conrad's, and grey foggy skies. In a funny way, it's my favourite weather. That cad yellow really is to harsh though. Oil on canvasboard, 9x12



During another storm, Shorty & I went climbing around on the head, which resulted in this picture. The offshore buoys were recording waves of 25+ feet, inshore I guess they were around 10-15 ft, though it's very hard to judge. What struck me then - and it's something that often does during these storms - was the odd colour of the light, particularly in the fog that rolled in and out. Oil on canvasboard, 10x14



But the storm moved off quickly; as it cleared the double layer of clouds stood out, and the rosy tints off to the south, and the sea which had been beaten into a froth. Oil on canvasboard, 10x14



And the next day? Back to something more serene.Oil on canvas, 11x14.

Some photos from today...

Another spectacular day, though a bit wet and windy...
Surfers at Lawrencetown:


Off Dyke Road, Grand Desert: