Bomb Island – a new Lake Murray watercolor painting

Bomb Island, also known as Lunch Island or Doolittle Island,  is the summer home to many thousands of purple martins. Each summer, a huge flock of Purple Martins fill the predawn and evening skies, establishing their seasonal roost at Bomb Island, located in the middle of the lake. The island is the site of the first official sanctuary in North American designated solely for roosting Purple Martins.
 

The island got the name Bomb Island from the days of it’s being a practice target for World War II pilots, nicknamed “Dolittle’s Raiders”, who later became famous for their attack on Japan which helped to bring an early end to the war.

 

I wanted to paint a local painting for the South Carolina State Fair, and as this is a pretty well known landmark here on Lake Murray, I chose one of the photos that we took there this summer to paint from. Hopefully I am juried in again this year!
 
11×14 watercolor on cold press

One View – Two mediums

This is the beautimous view from my backyard…. painted once in acrylic (top), and once in watercolor (bottom). The first was done en plein air, and the second was done from a photo taken from the same spot. I don’t normally paint outside, but we have had some amazing weather in the last couple of weeks of August. Highs in the 80s rather than the 90s and 100s! It was too perfect to pass up! 

4″x4″ acrylic on canvas  – Click here to buy

5″x7″ watercolor on cold press – Click here to buy

Etsy Treasuries

I wanted to give a huge thanks to Empty Nest Egg, Simply Suzula, and Caitlin Sainio for featuring me in their lovely Etsy treasuries!

Abstract Trees, Cello on Sheet Music, and Pale Morning were all featured! Find them all in my shop!

Hostas Turtles and Lake Murray

I met the sweetest lady through The Art Spot recently when she bought a print of my succulent painting. She also lives on Lake Murray- She is redoing her great room and the colors in that print were the exact colors that she was looking for. She looked me up online, found my blog, emailed me and asked me to do a larger painting in those colors… and after touring her beautiful home and beautiful gardens, we decided that the area called for two paintings and that they should include her favorite plant, hostas, turtles and the lake. Here’s what we came up with! It was an awesome project because usually when I’m commissed to do something it is a picture of someone or something or a place or a pet… but for this I got to incorperate things that she loved, her home, her own garden, and in her favorite colors.They are both watercolor on cold press.

Lake Murray Towers From Below

I love doing paintings of Lake Murray and the towers. These and the other well known landmarks of the Columbia area are all done quite often… so I am always looking for a different and unusual angle. I’ve been feeling much better since my foot surgery a couple of weeks ago, so we went for a ride out to the dam and I made my husband drive round and round the towers and took some great photos, so I think I may do a series of the Towers up close and personal. It was nice to get out on the lake after being couped up for so long!

8×10 watercolor on soft press

Buy it here!

Lake Murray Towers at Sunset

8×10 watercolor on cold press

The Lake Murray Dam is a landmark here in South Carolina. I think it was built in the 30s, and then a few years ago they started a new backup dam. It was finished recently, complete with a 3.4 mile walking pathway. It is a nice quick run and I have started bringing my camera with me when I go, because the sky is always so beautiful! For sale in my shop!

New Lake Murray Painting – Pale Morning

I am lucky to cross three bridges and the Lake Murray dam every morning on my way to work and every afternoon on the way home. I pulled over and took a picture at the second bridge (see the star on the map) on a morning when the sun was just starting to light everything up. Some mornings the sunrises are amazingly bright… and some mornings-like this one -they are more subdued. Either way they are beautiful!