Princess Place paint out kicks off the summer

If you have not visited Princess Place Preserve in Flagler County you owe yourself a visit! It's easy to get to, just south of the St. Johns County line, the Bunnell exit, exit 298, off I-95. The turn for Princess Place is just a couple miles off the interstate. The turn that is, of course. Once you turn down the road you are on a long sandy stretch of road that seems to go on and on and on.

Trees line the road on either side, and bird sing sweetly and raucously on all sides. You might even catch a sight of other wildlife, such as this curious deer along the side of the road. Just when you think you can't possibly have to go any farther you come to a *second* sign for the Preserve, and then continue on another long stretch of sandy road.

But eventually you arrive! And are rewarded was an inspiring vista of the Matanzas River, and a lovely old lodge on the riverbank, with rocking chairs on the porch you could spend the morning on.  We were blessed with excellent weather too, sunshine and a light breeze, and the heat and the thunderstorms held off until well after our morning had passed.

About a dozen FCPS members showed up for our last get-together before the summer break. Many took some time to look around for the "just right" spot to set up their easels. There were certainly plenty of spots along the Matanzas River.

There were also shady walking trails leading off into the woods, dappled in sunlight and shadow.

Also trails leading along Pellicer Creek, with towering cumulus clouds adding lots of interest to possible sky scenes.

One could even set up right at the picnic grounds, which was where we all gathered at noontime for lunch, artistic fellowship, and a chance to share our work of the morning.

We even had canine participants.

We all brown-bagged our own lunches, and had fun sitting together, and talking about our mornings, and our upcoming plans for the summer. And afterwards those who wanted to took turns showing the works they had started, or even finished, during the morning's paint-out.

Although Princess Place was a long drive for many there was no one who felt the miles were not worth the trip, truly a treasure of a place, fit for a princess. We hope everyone has great summers, and keeps dusty! We look forward to new adventures with the First Coast Pastel Society in the fall.

Princess Place Plein Air Paint-out

Where: Princess Place Preserve

When: Saturday, June 1

Time: 8:30 AM to 12 noon (for painting, and then stay for lunch)

It's almost time to wrap up our formal activities for the spring, and we're finishing up with a plein air day at Princess Place Preserve. Princess Place is just off route 1, a few miles south of St. Augustine. If you have never been to Princess Place you are in for a treat! It consists of 1500 pristine acres along the Matanzas River and Pellicer Creek. Painting options abound along every twist of the trails.

Since it's our last meeting before the fall we're hoping you'll all love to attend, and will bring a bag lunch with you so that we can share some food and artistic fellowship at the end of the morning.

Princess Place is very easy to get too, just off route 1 exit from I-95, but it's a long trip into the property. Here are directions from Lyn:

Coming from the north:   take I95 south to the Route 1 exit (the last of the St. Augustine exits).  Make a right off the exit and 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.  

Lyn is right, 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.

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. :-)

Member Show - All the Entries

As promised, here are *all* the paintings entered into our Member Show. Pastels are a powerful and durable medium, but must be framed under glass to prevent smudging. Thus once they are framed it's hard to get a good photo without glare. Some of these paintings don't show here nearly as well as they do in life. But you can still get an idea of the great caliber of this show, and you'll just have to get to Reddi Arts to see them all in person. So here, in alphabetical order, is the show:

Lyn Asselta: "Straight up the Middle" 

Lyn Asselta: "Morning Walk"

Elaine Marie Austin: Untitled

Elaine Marie Austin:  "La Florida 500"

Note: what a shame you can't also read the Ode to Florida underneath the painting.

Jimmy Blackwell: "Unused, Needs a Fix-Up"

Jimmy Blackwell: "Haws Creek Preserve #1"

Janet Christenson: "Koi Pond"

Debbie Cusick: "Shall We Dance?"

Debbie Cusick: "Garden Surprise" 

Kim Daniel: "A Never-ending Muse" 

Kim Daniel: "613 Duval"

Kay Ellen Deuben:  "Sophie"

Kay Ellen Deuben: "Woody Go?" 

Jeannine Theri Dufour: "Northside View"

Jeannine Theri Dufour: "Finding a Niche"

Lisa Fiore: "Little Boy and Tall Trees"

Lisa Fiore: "Guard Tower"

Linda Green: "Mrs. Cummer's Vision"

Betsey Hogan: "Calico Queen"

Betsey Hogan: "Winter into Spring" 

Steve Johnson: "Into the Arboretum"

Steve Johnson: "Nature's Nuance" 

Richard Lundgren: "Solo Sax"

Richard Lundgren: "Lunch With a View"

Rick Petersen: "Morning Shadows" 

Rick Petersen: "Rain's Promise"

Jackie Piontek: "Marsh - Fort Mose"

Perry Russell: "Arms of a Florida Oak"

Perry Russell: "Saluda Serenity"

Christi Shatzel: "Summer Morning"

Carron Wedlund: "Morning Calm at Beaver Pond"

Carron Wedlund: "Marsh Waters"

Our first Member Show kicks off

What: First Coast Pastel Society Member Show

Where: Reddi Arts, Jacksonville, FL

When: May 4 - June 28

After three straight days of rain we finally had a good turn of weather, and it was a delightful afternoon for the opening reception of our very first Member Show. It took a lot of work to put this show together. Thanks go to Lyn Asselta, our President, for having the vision for this society, Richard Lundgren, the Show chair, who worked so hard to organize the show, Carron Wedlund, who did such a great job in acquiring wonderful donations to give as prizes, Betsey Hogan for organizing the goodies, all the people who brought goodies - and all the artists who entered the show, and all the guests who showed up yesterday to enjoy the show!

With the turn of the weather even folks who had been stuck by the rains were finally able to get out and about and enjoy the show. Guests came from far and wide. Even Elaine, our member from Miami, came up for the show!

After mixing, mingling, eating, and admiring the show we all came to the most exciting part of the afternoon, the presenting of the prizes awarded by our great judge, Andy Kenyon. We had four Merit Awards of Excellence, and First, Second and Third place awards. The Merit awards went to (in alphabetical order):

Jimmy Blackwell, for his painting "Unused, Needs Fix-Up".

Richard Lundgren, for his painting "Solo Sax".

Rick Petersen, for his painting "Morning Shadows". 

Jackie Piontek (who was unable to be with us) for her painting "Marsh - Fort Mose". 

And then, for the three top prizes we had:

Third Place to Carron Wedlund, for her painting "Morning Calm at Beaver Pond".

Second Place to Lyn Asselta for her painting "Straight up the Middle". 

And our top prize, First Place, was awarded to Janet Christenson (who also could not attend, alas) 

for her painting "Koi Pond". 

Huge congratulations to all our award winners, and we hope they can make great use of the fabulous prizes they won. Stay tuned to this space and we'll soon show you all the artwork entered into the show. When you see the whole body of work you'll see why judge Andy Kenyon had a hard time picking the winners!