Boats in Motion

I'm sure that most of us living in Southern Maryland have seen boats docking.  Solomons has plenty of marinas, and waterside restaurants so you must have seen the good, the bad and the really... exciting docking maneuvers.

The other day, while on the back deck of the Solomons United Methodist Church, two boats grabbed my attention.  One was a Watermen's boat.  One the far side of the creek it lay tied up to the dock.  The seamanship of the operator was amazing.  The way he directed the boat with quick bursts of the throttle, and using forward and reverse was mesmerizing.  The level of skill was masterful.

Today, the Waterman's Festival at the far end of the island displayed even more skills in docking.  The docking competition timed a boat from leaving one slip  and docking into another slip two spaces away.  Can you guess at how long that might take?  Five Minutes?  Three? One?  Nope.

Most captains could get it done in around 23 seconds!  I sadly don't have any photos of the competition.  It was completely packed by the time we arrived and I could barely see at all.  I did manage to see what must have been the best effort of the event.  A young captain, I would guess around 16 years old, drove like a seasoned pro three times older.  He got out of the first slip quickly, backed down and ran around the cockpit to lasso the pilings.  The fourth piling was hard to reach, so instead of tossing the ring of rope like the rest of the competitors, he ran, jumped and did a small toss to the piling!  You read that right; he jumped, knowing he would have a water-landing.  Once back alongside the boat his mate pulled him up by his arm with no effort at all. All to the loud cheers and applause of the large crowd.  Awesome!  I have to go back next year and go early to get good seats.

The last description is of the Marchelle.  Again, from the deck of the Solomons UMC, I watched the poetry of motion as this 47 foot Tiffany Yacht was backed into its slip. Marchelle is one vessel in Bunky's Charter Boats.  Take a look.

 Did you notice that there is only ONE person docking this yacht? No help from anyone on the dock either.

To satisfy my thirst, I went over to Bunky's for a drink.  They have hot dogs, and ice cream too by the way.

I met the Captain of this vessel while in the store. Melissa is a humble, and extremely skilled, young lady.  She said she's been driving boats for as long as she can remember -  and it shows.  I told her it was a pleasure to see someone handle a boat so well. Melissa is not yet settled on a career path, but has earned her Captains License this year, and is taking classes in a local Community College.

So if you want to go out fishing from Solomons, check out Bunky's.  For more information take a look at their site: http://www.bunkyscharterboats.com

Plein Air Artists - Friendly

I'm still unwinding from the great experience of yesterday's Paint the Town for a Cause event.  I'm still catching up on sleep too, but again feel like I just can't wait to share a little more of the event.  Today I want to concentrate on the Invited Artists.  

I hinted at the graciousness of the artists during the Nocturnal Quick Draw when Bruno helped a fellow artist by loaning him battery powered lights.  Remember that this event is based on a competitive structure.  Awards are given for the best of the paintings, and it stands to reason that those paintings are going to sell.  Said another way, art is a way of earning a living for many of these artists as much as it is obviously a passion as well.  You would not be able to tell there was a competition at all.  The artists were all friendly to the crowd that occasionally would ask a question, or make a comment.  The fact that there was a deadline by which the paintings had to be completed did not stop the artists from conversing.  While continuing to paint, the artists would chat, and fortunately the crowd seemed very respectful to not be intrusive and kept the chat short. There are exceptions; well I'd say exceptional differences.

Mick McAndrews hails from Downingtown, PA, a fact made readily known by the badge he, like all the artists, wore.  I started a short talk with "You're from Downingtown?"  That's all it took to draw my Dad into the conversation.  My Dad had grown up not too far from there, and Mick chatted for a few minutes before getting back to his painting. Mick has amazing watercolors, you can see some of his works on his site. I took a few photos of Mick and liked these two.  One I posted yesterday as well... wondered if you saw the sailboat reflected off the window.  In the other I focused on the Sailboat in the window.

 

 I learned that some of these artists know each other from being at similar events over the US.  It seemed that they were all rooting for each other.  I saw a group of them head off to lunch together.  

I guess, in short, they helped create an atmosphere that made everyone feel at ease.  It was relaxed and fun, and I can't wait for the event next year.

 

 Lissa Abrams has been able to concentrate on her painting since retiring.  See more of her lovely work at lissaabramsart.com.

 There were quite a few umbrellas and if they were in the sun all the artists had hats on.

 I was asked to try to capture the event in a single frame, centered around the Gazebo where so much happened.  I have several similar photos, vote on which one you like best.  Ie, leave a comment please.

#1) fairly wide view

#2) closer with Solomons Island sign very clear

#3) tighter with more of the bridge and artists

#4) wider with more "PostCard" feel

I loved the shadow of the artist and easel

Mick's watercolor - in process

 This little girl was asking questions about the painting, and the artist was delighted to tell her about it.  He let her touch it and feel it - since it was already dry enough to do so.









 I mentioned Greg Johannesen yesterday.  You can find more about him at his site: http://gregjohannesen.com/












































 I like this photo of Dennis Young.  More can be found on Dennis at DennisYoungarts.com

 The judging was conducted at the gazebo.

 I'm not completely sure what the topic was, but there was a good discussion going on here.  The elder gent was listening intently.. always a good sign.























Debra Howard has her work on http://www.artistdebrahoward.com/

 

 I hope you gained a sense of what this amazing event had to offer, and even better I hope you come out next year to see this fabulous festival.

And with that, I guess it's time to fold up the easel and call it a night.

Blessings,
Brian

Plein Air - For a Cause

Dateline: Saturday, September 20th.  Isn't that the way a news story might begin many (many) years ago?  I'm sitting here pondering today's Plein Air event.  Today the main event  was called Paint the Town for a Cause, as part of the proceeds are designated to help feed hungry children.  Beyond the specific 'cause'  though, I'm searching for words to fit the day.  Joyful. Fun. Colorful.  Maybe Hats, and most of all Smiles.

I couldn't help but smile nearly all day.  First my folks are in town for a visit, which is always wonderful.  To add to that, my wife Deborah was with me, all the artists were bringing life to their canvas, the scenery of Solomons is breathtaking...  and on and on.  Smile.  If you weren't there, well, I'm hoping I might bring you a snippet of the day here.

Team Hyundai brought in a bunch of cars to display.  A red hot rod, an old Dodge truck, an Oldsmobile, MG,  Corvette and a Cadillac.  They surrounded the Pavilion and most of the invited artists chose to focus on that scene.  This was a fantastic event, and the cars alone were show pieces that everyone could enjoy.  Under a bright sun and cooling breeze I walked up and down the Riverwalk and admired the other artists.  There were a few in some other places - like near the Episcopal Church too, but the Riverwalk and Gazebo had the vast majority.

Heather

While I've already told you the words that come to mind, there's another observation that I want to share.  The number of young artists and families was striking.  An Art Class from the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) La Plata Campus came out under the direction of Professor Andrew Wodzianski.  As it turned out one of his students was creating a painting of the Solomons United Methodist Church.  Heather was not anywhere near completed with the painting, but Deborah was already taken by its form.  So we asked if we could buy it.  This was a completely new experience for us and for Heather.  Not really sure what to offer, we walked away for a few minutes and did a little quick research and came up with what we hoped was a fair price.  We went back and made an offer -  which included me being able to take Heather's photograph.  The offer was graciously accepted, and Deb and I went back to the organizers to arrange for the payment.  Here's the funny thing... we have yet to see the completed painting.  We weren't originally sure we could be back for the 1 PM finish, and had made arrangements for the painting to be secured.   Our schedule changed and we did get to the gazebo to see the judging.  Professor Andrew told us that Heather was still working!  Oh my goodness!  Neither Deb nor I wanted to intrude on Heather's progress so we did not dare go back to see it.  When the judging was done, we asked Andrew to either leave it at the Gallery, or at the Church. He was a friend by now, so we can call him Andrew --- which is one of the beauties of Solomons, you can easily make new friends. I guess I'll need to post an update with the final, but I'm sure we're going to love it.

 The cool thing about this festival, was the variety of ages of the artists. A young family were together and all were painting.  I knew the children were young, very young.  Turns out they are 5 and 6!, and their mom (Nicole) was in the CSM class. The amazing part is that these very young artists were not THE youngest!  That honor went to a 3 year old little girl, and I might add that her 'abstract' painting sold!

Nicole

3 Yr Old's "Sold" art!

The next several photos capture another range of students:



  Liza is another CSM student.  She was just getting setup when I first met her, so I didn't capture her art.  Her smile though!  Now that's beauty!

Liza

I was asked to shoot a few photographs of a young lady that goes to our church.  She was so focused on her painting that I didn't want to interrupt her. 

Katie

The students were wonderful and really made the event fun.  I'm going to give the professionals a separate blog tomorrow.. soon anyway.  I want share the other smiles that I found.. some include the senior artists though.


I didn't catch her name, but another CSM student.  Loved the hat. Now that I think about it, there were a number of great hats on display.


Yes, as far as I'm concerned that's a smile from the German Shepherd.  He was gorgeous.  His owner is a photographer too.  Dawn took a photo of me while I was trying to get one of her.. I didn't quite get there  .. sorry Dawn:

Dawn, just finished getting my photo.. we both laughed

My beautiful Mom.

The female artist smiled after an interchange with a little girl that was walking by. 



 To the left, Peggy tried to avoid my lens, but I told her I really did want to take her photo.  I think this was one of my best of the day.

Peggy was volunteering with the sales and organization, and you may find her working in the Calvert Marine Museum.

 As I was taking the picture of the dog, the owner said she was surprised he didn't look away as he ALWAYS does..  He was smiling for me... you can see it right?

His owner has a beautiful smile too..  I'm telling you the event brought smiles to everyone.























And lastly, my wife 
bought a pastel done by Greg Johannesen.  She was happy, Greg was happy.  More Smiles.








That's all for now,  more to come, though it may take a few days.

I'll have a few more shots of some younger folk, and I'll show you some of the works of the other artists.

Blessings,
Brian