The same day that we painted the Siblings Seaside, I got to paint the Beach Hut down on the boardwalk in the afternoon. We painted the kids in the surf while it was morning, then once the light changed completely, we went out to lunch at a gumbo bar on the strand (awesome).
Afterwards, everyone had to scatter, but since it's such a long drive for me, I decided to stay and try to wrest another painting out of the day! This happy couple of buildings must be part of the same club: The Beach Hut. It's billed as "The Only Bar on the Beach in Galveston" and had a sand volleyball court and everything. For most of my painting, there were kids playing volleyball and they were going to be part of the painting. I really loved the way the ball looked when it was against the sky, and the kids in their bright bathing suits; I thought it would give the painting some action. You can see the yellow lines where I was going to plant it: see, at the foot of the stairs? But by the time I got to that part, they were on the balcony drinking some brewskies, so I painted that instead.
The woman inspecting the work in progress was parked behind me in a giant U-Haul truck, en route from Florida to California. She and her mom had an irresistible urge to stop by Galveston on the way and spend the afternoon at the beach. I love that about a beach. It calls you to just slow down or stop for awhile and relax.
Way in the distance, you can see the sparkling white line of the tank farms on the horizon, brighter than the clouds they were! The Houston ship channel is as busy as any major airport and floats every kind of vessel you can think of. It's surrounded by the arterial systems of roadways and train tracks; you get some kind of life-buzz watching it!
This is a view from a bridge going over the San Jacinto River late in the day. I believe the black hills in the foreground are coal.
I know that all of these buildings and barges have business to do but for me, they are fantastic light reflectors, their shapes and colors teasing my eyes.
I like that the earth is so intent on its job, but the sky with its carefree clouds wafts around overhead, a happy spectator. It participates in the light effects of the play below without even glancing at the script.
When traveling to Austin or San Antonio, I often stop for gas at a service station in Giddings. I always admire this scene while filling up my gas tank and scraping bugs off my windshield. It makes me think of the beautiful, interesting and mysterious things that lie along the side of our country roads. The last time I was there though, I had a sudden panic that, being as these buildings are on the outskirts of the town, they might not have much longer to live. Strip-malling (mauling) is making more and more places look the same now, but there are some spots that still show the unique thing that put them on the map in the first place.
I have no idea what these quonset huts were for but whatever it was, Giddings needed them by the railroad and the highway so they must have been important. Meanwhile, the old service station is in the parking lot of a new service station, like a grandpappy sitting in a rocker out on the porch, watching the comings and goings.
At this hour, the sun was striking them all just right, and I was struck too, with the determination to record them in this moment. This is morning light in a day's cycle but twilight in a life cycle.
I got to paint with my peeps in Galveston this week. These are the kids of one of the artists and they posed gamely as the surf got higher and higher, occasionally washing completely over the lap of the young man. The artists who got good spots ended up standing in water, too. I was in the back row, high and dry. I hope you're enjoying your summer~ thanks for stopping by!
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