Watercolor/pen and ink - Ocracoke Lighthouse

Getting back to the topic of my recent visit to Ocracoke Island, here's another sketch from my travels. I haven't painted many lighthouses in my day (okay this is the first one!) but the lighthouse of Ocracoke is such a visible landmark on this tiny island. In fact it is also historically significant as is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the nation. (In case you're wondering, the oldest is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey.)

"Ocracoke Lighthouse" Original Watercolor & Ink on Paper

Ocracoke Watercolor art sketch: "Open For Business"

I previously mentioned that Ocracoke has a beautiful little harbor in the center of town called "Silver Lake". The hotel where we stayed had a view of Silver Lake Harbor, and and each morning we could sit outside,  sip our coffee and enjoy the peaceful relaxed beauty of scenes like this one:

"Open For Business" Watercolor & Ink on Paper

The only morning activity we saw was that of people strolling near the water, and fishermen quietly preparing their boats for the day's outing. But at one time this area was harassed by the infamous pirate known as Blackbeard. Blackbeard wreaked havoc all up and down the east coast and into the Caribbean. But his reign of terror was brought to an end when he was finally caught near Ocracoke by the British Navy in 1718.

Back from Ocracoke

Both painting and internet were sketchy down at Ocracoke, so this is a recap now that I'm back home. We really enjoyed our stay at Ocracoke! It has gained some popularity due to the great reviews of its pristine and natural beaches, but it remains a sleepy little 16 mile island only accesible by boat or ferry. No McDonald's or Starbucks there! Just lovely little harbors, small local restaurants, and shops ranging from artisan/galleries to a few peddaling souvenir schlock and surf gear. It is a great place to ride bikes, photograph, paint/sketch (if the wind is calmer) and watch the sunrise and sunsets. If you are into fishing, surfing and other watersports it seems like it is great for that too. We stayed in the village along Silverlake harbor and had all different kinds of weather. The last two days of our stay were absolutely gorgeous, though the wind was around 20-25 miles an hour so often that I decided to forgo the oil painting and stick to sketches like the one I did here of the Harbor:

"Flying Colors" Watercolor & Ink on Paper

Art Sketch- Key West Hideaway

This is a little watercolor sketch of the conch houses that have become one of my favorite subjects when painting down in Key West. To me these little bungalows encapuslate that feeling of a tropical getaway. Many are relatively small simple structures but they are adorned with an abundance of tropical foliage that add shade and splashes of brilliant color. Unfortunately a fixer upper sells for around 1/2 a million dollars, so for now I just satisfy myself with painting them!

 

"Key West Hideaway" Watercolor/Pen & Ink on Paper Image size: 6x8"

Art Sketch- May in the Luberon

Today I present a watercolor/ pen and ink sketch I've done in preparation for a larger oil painting. This scene shows a small stone structure alongside a poppy-lined path leading to a Provincial farmhouse in the heart of Provence. The stone structure is one of many I saw while traveling through the Luberon valley. It looked to be a mini-borie. A borie is a stone hut commonly used in agricultural areas for storage or shelter. Some in this region date far back in history, but they have also been built in modern times. I don't know what use this mini-borie would possibly have held other than decoration, or even if it is technically considered a borie, but it did have the same kind of honeycomb or igloo structure:

"May in the Luberon" Watercolor and Pen & Ink on Paper Image size 6x8"