Exploring Land and Color

When I left you last I had given you my first impressions of Door County Wisconsin and was eating pie at the end of our first day. On our second day we set out for one of the many parks on the peninsula, one aptly named Peninsula State Park.  Here we settled in to paint Eagle’s Bluff Lighthouse.  We were attracted to its warm light ocher brick and red roof and beacon against the cool olive trees. Later in the day we found a lovely cliff scene with abstract qualities of strong light and rock patterns which, I learned, was beyond my painting skills.  But I’ll try again! 




As promised, Cana Lighthouse-Lighting the Lake 6 x 6 oil on copper. Available.

Eagle's Bluff Lighthouse.  Soon to be a painting.

I like to cover a lot of ground, so the following day we set out for Kangaroo Lake near Bailey’s Harbor on the other side of the peninsula looking for marshes.  Unsuccessful in our search for an accessible marsh, we settled by the lake on this clear warm day.  Just as I was about to paint a lonely little canoe tethered to a dock, a couple came up and paddled away.  Woe to hopeful plein air painters.  So I settled on a scene of a few trees by the water's edge, which gave me an opportunity to play with the different greens and reds.



By Water's Edge 10 x 8 oil Available

Lunch time!  We found an unpretentious tavern near the lake and to my great delight they served bleu cheese and mushroom burgers.  This brought up a wonderful childhood memory of my Michigan youth when my grandfather made grilled hamburgers with blue cheese centers.

Determined to cover more ground, we then headed up north to Newport State Park where we had the sand dunes by Lake Michigan almost all to ourselves.  Below is a painting based on that afternoon. 




Beach Grass 18 x 24 oil. Available

We finished the day with an authentic fish boil dinner of white fish and potatoes.  We sat at a table with a couple who told us about a couple they saw at Newport seriously concentrating on painting —us!  We laughed.  The fish boil was very interesting to watch, but not to my taste—a bit bland.



"Santa Claus" preparing the fish boil.

With just two days remaining, we concentrated on scrumptious food (cream cheese and cherry stuffed pancakes for one!), the timeshare spa, and gallery hopping.  We met an artist facebook friend, Bonnie Parusch, which was a great delight.  We visited the Peninsula Art School, which hosts the well-known plein air festival each year. 

What do I think of when I think of Door County in spring? —cool, crisp air; birch trees and more trees; gently rolling hills; eagles and seagulls; apple and cherry orchards; daffodils and tulips; high, hazy clouds; white and yellow rocks; goats and cows; lovely historic buildings; lighthouses; wineries and barns; butter and fresh vegetables; jams and jellies; cheese; sparkling shorelines and cliffs; friendly people; parks; wildlife—and snow on our departure!

What’s up next?  Exploring my own backyard—Wake County and eastern North Carolina.  Then we’re looking toward Taos, Key West and Iceland in 2014 and beyond.

If you’re local to the Cary area, please join us for Final Friday Art Loop which happens—guess when?—the last Friday of each month!  Galleries open in the evening and provide refreshments and new exhibits.  I’ll be featured artist SEPT 27.

In Cary, my paintings are available at Cary Gallery of Artists 200 S. Academy St. in downtown Cary Ashworth Village. 919-462-2035 Mon-Sat 11 am - 5:30 pm. 

On the coast, my works are available at Figments Gallery, 1319 Military Cutoff, Landfall Shopping Center, Wilmington, NC 28405 910-509-4289

www.sheffieldartstudio.com

www.facebook.com/sarahsheffieldartstudio 

A Wealth of Beauty: A Painter’s Dream

Door Peninsula is well known for summer recreation and an outdoor painting festival.  Our trip in early May, well before “the season”, brought us cool temperatures and floating ice in Green Bay!—but, fortunately, the first beautiful sunny, clear days perfect for outdoor sketching and photography.  The peninsula is situated between Lake Michigan and Green Bay and has the most wonderful combination of farmland, woodland, parkland, orchards, marinas, lighthouses, inland lakes, and historic and quaint towns.  

We started our introduction to Door County with a drive up the peninsula viewing the many, many barns and silos and had our first cheese curd appetizer and white fish dinner, followed by a walk to the shores of Green Bay for a lovely sunset. We started the next morning with a breakfast of fresh blueberry coffee cake and a drive to the end of the peninsula to Washington Island ferry, looking for likely painting locations, taking pictures along the way, and then ate at Al Johnson’s Swedish restaurant, which is famous for goats grazing on the roof.  The goats had not been “roofed” this early in the season, alas.

We discovered fine galleries—Fine Line Designs Gallery and Edgewood Gallery and we were inspired by the wonderful artists.  (And later in the week the studio of friend Bonnie Paruch.) There are numerous galleries in Door County, but visitors be warned! While there are many galleries, most only operate late May until early fall.

Monday was our first day painting and we chose Bailey’s Harbor on Lake Michigan and the Cana Island Lighthouse.  It was fun seeing wild turkey and red squirrels along the path to the lighthouse.  Even with ice floating in the lake, the sun kept us warm as we sketched the lighthouse.

10 x 8 oil "Birch in Bud" Available

Cana Lighthouse-soon to be a painting

 We concluded the day with bumble berry pie (a combination of different berries, apples and rhubarb) after dinner and a drive to the town of Ephraim for a beautiful sunset.  

A painter's life is hard.

If you’re local to the Cary area, please join us for Final Friday Art Loop which happens—guess when?—the last Friday of each month!  Galleries open in the evening and provide refreshments and new exhibits.

In Cary, my paintings are available at Cary Gallery of Artists 200 S. Academy St. in downtown Cary Ashworth Village. 919-462-2035 Mon-Sat 11 am - 5:30 pm.

On the coast, my works are available at Figments Gallery, 1319 Military Cutoff, Landfall Shopping Center, Wilmington, NC 28405 910-509-4289

www.sheffieldartstudio.com