Stewart Jones Art

A recent Plein Air event took me to New Smyrna Beach, FL to paint with twenty other artists to support Cape Canaveral Beach National Park. I don't get to the beach often enough in the early morning to watch the sun come up, so I took advantage of this event and did a series of sunrise paintings. The morning sunrises provided me with various atmospheric opportunities to paint the sky. I enjoyed painting the sun shining through the clouds as well as the way light lights up the sides of the clouds. One morning I was able to catch the end of a thunderstorm that passed by earlier that night. I was on the way to the beach and thought I might not be able to paint because of the storm but was delighted to see it had moved offshore. You can check out some of the artists and their paintings at  http://www.friendsofcanaveral.com/paintout/2016po_pix/

A few years ago I visited the Charleston S.C. area and spent some time drawing and sketching the shrimp boats of Folly Beach. The boats seem like majestic castles sitting on the water in the tidal flats along the Folly River. There, they are protected by the storms that authors could write about in their maritime novels. Seeing a shrimp boat at dock means the captains and the crew may be taking a little time off until their next adventure. After they have rested and they head off to sea again the dock will be empty, waiting for the next boat to return with their harvest. I looked at my sketches for years before I recently completed this painting. I enjoyed capturing this scene because the crew had deserted the vessel and was replaced by a flock of pelicans. A perfect place to dry-out from their morning dip in the ocean.

The beginning of March was the 10th Annual Wekiva Paint Out. Over 30 artists got together to paint the Wekiwa State Park and the Wekiva River area. The proceeds of the sales of this event are donated to the Wekiva Wilderness Trust and Keep Seminole Beautiful. This painting was created at Lake Prevatt in the Wekiwa State Park. One of my favorite places to paint because it is directly behind the cabins where the artist stay. I can get up early in the morning and take my paints down by the lake and start painting as the sun comes up over the horizon. I've created over two dozen paintings from around this lake. I also take a lot of photos and use this subject in my studio when I teach my painting classes in Sanford, FL. Wekiwa Springs is a first magnitude spring that forms the Wekiva River. There are more than 42,000 acres of protected land around the federally-designated Wild and Scenic River basin. This is truly a great place to paint.