Treasures from Insomnia

I received a shipment of black Colourfix pastel paper that I'd been saving since June.  I was originally going to use it on a portrait but decided it was too dark to use for that particular subject. I had planned on painting this weekend some smaller beach paintings from Jacksonville.  However, the muse of Insomnia woke me up at 3:00 a.m Saturday morning and I could not, no matter how soft my pillow was, fall back asleep. I found myself opening back up the black paper roll, wrapped up in its brown packaging like an unopened Christmas present.   I decided to go  through my archive of photos and I found one of Jekyll I really liked.  It was of the marsh at sunset.  It showed the tiny lights of the island houses in the distance, the colors of the sky lit in brilliant purples, pinks and yellows. The grasses of the marsh are not completely silhouetted, blanketed in rich shades of olive green and gold.   

I began to sketch out the largest shapes with a small terracotta colored pastel pencil.

Then I layered in color with deep magentas, purples, greys and tangerine hues--base colors for my sunset sky. I continued to layer and smooth, blur and push the pastel into the paint until I was finally satisfied with my first layer-- and I was finally sleepy, giddy with the thought of a new painting awaiting its final strokes. 

I posted one final photo before heading off to bed around 4:30 a.m.  I am happy to report some viewers thought it was "finished" just the way it was-- how even happier it makes me feel to think that I can convey the feelings in a painting with so few strokes.  

I continued to paint intermittently throughout that Saturday, between the usual weekend routine of laundry and cleaning and of course, feeding my family.  As my daylight began to fade, I realized my painting was becoming “bluer” than I had intentionally envisioned.

  SO I reworked the  painting until I finally felt I had just a little more to do and called in another pair of eyes to look it over.

“Stop,” she said, “you’re done.”  “I’m not done quite yet,” I replied, “I’ve got to push some more green in over there and maybe some lavender over here, and..”  “Stop,” she said again, “it’s there.”   

Finished is not an easy word for me to swallow.  There is always hesitation in that last stroke.  Even afterwards, when it’s hung and ready to take to the framer, the question of “Is it really finished?” is rolling around in my brain. But I took her advice, posted one final photo with the text included, “For Sale” and uploaded the photo to my website.

Thanks to my sister who gave it its title, “Marsh Treasure.”  A frequent visitor to the Golden Isles, she is referring to the treasures that local Glynn artists leave for tourists and locals to find upon the shores. See article link here.

You can find the painting listed in “Original Works,” or just click here for more information or to purchase.  I’ll have giclees and prints of the painting available for purchase later this spring.