Ocean house

For the past two summers, I have participated in the Ocean House plein air painter events.  I spend the day outside on their beautiful grounds painting whatever catches my fancy.  The Ocean House is a spectacular hotel, with a wonderful collection of art on view in their public spaces.  The gardens and croquet court are meticulously maintained and perfect to paint.  

Guests often look over my shoulder while I am painting.  They have shared many wonderful antidotes about the personal signifance of their summer memories vacationing here.  I love capturing a bit of that joy in my high key, clear summer day landscapes. 

On this day, a young girl in a beautiful pale cotton dress sat under an umbrella rocking and wiggling in the chair watching the croquet players.  The lavender was in full bloom along with the pink and blue hydrangeas.  

Napatree point

Napatree Point is, in my opinion, our little Ocean State's version of Cape Cod.  Sand dunes cover this thin spit of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean.  The piping plovers strut sprightly in a surf against a backdrop of turquoise shallow water fading to deep blue.   

With the ocean to one side and the Watch Hill Harbor on the other (below), there are endless views to paint.

Windswept Napatree | 8 x 10 in | available

Standing at the dune top entrance to Napatree Point, you can see the historic Watch Hill lighthouse and the distant land masses of Block Island and Montauk.  

And the sunsets... I love to zip over to Napatree after work to catch the dramatic sunsets.  Two of my favorite sunset paintings are below.  

You can find more information about the Watch Hill Conservancy and  Napatree Point Conservation Area here.