Marcie Grace: the last of the beachbums

You can see the photo I used to paint this pet portrait on my website

Here is Marcie Grace, the last of the beach bums. I chose this group of paintings for the first round of ‘Feature Art Friday’ because I love the beach. I actually had a vacation scheduled for the gulf coast just before starting the blog, but it was canceled due to the oil spill. When I think of the effects that spill on the animals, and the environment, and the fishermen and an untold number of others, I still cringe. I’m happy that the recovery effort is still moving forward but I wish we could go back and erase the need for a recovery effort at all. The beach bum paintings reminded me of fond childhood memories from the beach so I put them first.

There is a conference in southern California in a few weeks and I am counting down the days. It is a work trip but no matter how long you have to sit in a conference just knowing that you can be at the beach in 15 minutes makes it feel a little like vacation. That and the palm trees… I can’t be in the presence of palm trees and feel like I’m at work…even if I am.

See? I wasn't kidding... this is 15 minutes from the conference hotel.

What is it about a large body of water that makes me feel so peaceful and centered? Even a lake has a very calming effect on me; I used to live right by a lake with friends, and I loved to sit on the dock in the evening and watch the sun make the world blush before dipping behind the trees. In the quiet that comes with night I could lie in my bed and listen to the water lapping at the sea wall. That was the most peaceful sleep.

The thought of sitting on the beach in California with sand between my toes and the sun on my face fills my mind and spills over into my heart.