Friday, August 12, 2016

Plein Air Diving Competition

And a funny thing happened.....
on the Jersey Shore
hilarious really if it didn't happen to you.

The Place:


I spent an entire afternoon painting Polly's Bait and Tackle on a dock on the bayside.
It's was very windy so I tied a beach umbrella around a piling and set
up my easel in the shade underneath.
I kept my left hand on the easel the whole time even though it was
heavily weighted down.
Until I didn't.

Honestly I felt the wind had died down late in the afternoon,
and I was getting tired, and I needed to clean my brush.
So for one second I took my left hand off and THAT was THE MOMENT
my entire painting kit did a back flip off the dock 
four feet down into the murky water.

My jaw dropped with shock!  
Just before I shouted a four letter exclamation (oops) in front of
a deck full of families eating dinner after taking a ride on the Pirate Ship,
most of which turned to look as I jumped into the water before everything floated
away on the tide.
After all I still had another day, I needed my stuff!
I knew it was low tide but it was deeper than I thought!

The Ugly Truth:
Everything you see here except the umbrella went in,
the palette box, backpack, easel, painting, me....

The Challenge:
It was clearly more challenging getting out than it was getting in.
After all it was a boat dock and not a swimming area.
But I didn't even think about that until a nice group of ladies ran over to ask if I was OK and
"Can you get out"? 
hummmmm
I hauled myself into a near by boat, no small feat I might add,
and they helped pull the ropes in so I could reach the dock.
Nice peeps, we'll probably keep in touch.


Most everything was salvaged successfully.
( Except sadly a few of my favorite Rosemary Brushes:((((
My new fried Polly from Polly's Bait and Tackle let me use her crab net
to fish out my turp can, part of it at least, once I realized it was missing and
the water settled down enough for me to see something shinny on the bottom.
Everybody need a little help from their friends:)

The plein air adventure continues.....
Next time more about the show and what I painted there...

Thanks for following along!






6 comments:

  1. Great post! And oh so true, plein air is not for the faint of heart but it's rewards are boundless. I hope your painting survived! You found a great sight to paint.

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to comment! Appreciated:)

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  2. I know it wasn't t funny at the time but what a great story and Lesson for us plein air painters! Thanks for sharing!!!

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    1. Hi Ellen, it was more of a grimance than a smile in the photo really...

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  3. Lucky you! Amazing experience, good story for years to come! AWESOME!!

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  4. Oh my gosh! Aren't you glad you use oil paints and not pastel or watercolors? thanks so much for sharing your adventure!

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