A Super Day at Princess Place

I had my doubts about Princess Place when I woke up at 3 AM, and the rain was teeming down, and lighting was flashing across the sky, and the thunder was booming. I assumed that at best Princess Place might be a soggy mess.  But no indeed, it was wonderful there!

It was a bit overcast early in the morning, leading the wildlife to feel safe to come out and show themselves along the narrow sandy roads. But the sun came out more and more as the morning wore on.

We had quite a nice turnout for the day too, as eleven of us gathered in the parking lot to meet up for the morning.

Some of us then wandered off to scout out the choice areas for painting.

There were certainly plenty of scenic options along the river.

Interesting architecture if you wanted to include some old buildings.

But along the riverfront was a prime spot as there was a lovely breeze blowing in off the water.

If you found yourself a shady spot and a bit of breeze it was just about perfect.

And many of us took advantage of that, whether it was with backs to the river.

Or facing the river.

Or changing positions for lots of small studies.

More thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon, but the weather was still holding out well by the time we took our break for lunch about 11:45.  We all enjoyed a nice leisurely meal together.

After lunch folks brought out there artwork for a "show and tell" and we laid them all out on the picnic table. So here are some snapshots of the work done in the morning. I love to see all the different subjects and styles that our members have to show!

So keep painting everyone. Remember we have a member exhibit coming up in September at the Orange Park Public Library. This is a non-juried show so any of your work is eligible. Keep that in mind over the summer, and now enjoy seeing what some of our members did this morning.

Princess Place paint-out again (and a quick peek ahead to September)

Once again we will finish up our season at Princess Place Preserve, in Flagler County. We had a wonderful paint-out there last June and hope this year will duplicate that:

Where: Princess Place Preserve

When: Saturday, June 7th

Time: 9:00 AM to 12 noon for painting, then stay for lunch!

Princess Place Preserve is at exit 298 (Bunnell) off I-95. Get on route 1 south from the exit.

Go about a mile or so until you see the little brown sign for Princess Place.  Take a left when you see the sign, then follow that road a couple miles until you see the entrance to Princess Place on your left.  Once you're heading into the preserve, you'll drive quite a ways on a dirt road.  Go past the marsh and camping area and you'll end up at the park office and parking lot.

The dirt road into the park is LONG. But keep on going. It's totally worth it when you finally arrive at the river! See you there.

Please bring a picnic lunch to join us all for a picnic around noon. If you forget your lunch there is a Dairy Queen right at the exit from I-95 onto route 1, and you can get lunch there and join us anyway. :-)

There are so many fabulous places to paint that the hard part of the morning will be picking one. We hope you can join us there.

Fall Members Exhibit

And keep painting over the summer. We plan to kick off the fall with a Member Art Exhibition at the Orange Park Public Library. We will be receiving and hanging this show on Tuesday, September 2, the day after Labor Day,  This show is open to *all* members and is non-juried, so any painting you submit will definitely be hanging in the show. If you are nervous to enter juried shows, or if you have a favorite piece that was rejected from a show, this is the place for you!