Day 2- St Augustine Beach Residency, May 7, 2013

Butler Park

Off A1A

Washington Oaks State Park Beach

Washington Oaks State Park Palms

Dunes and Mangroves

8x10 inches

oil on canvas

Notes From My Residency Journal

I headed down the coast today, stopping at the Oasis, my favorite place to eat a good old fashioned breakfast. I enjoyed corned beef hash, eggs, home fries and an English Muffin. I then stopped at Butler Park to take a few photos. I like that park. it is always quiet when I stop by. It has a boat ramp and covered pavilions for picnicking on the Matanzas River.

I continued down to Flagler Beach, enjoying the winding drive along the coast. My mission was to find my friend Sandi, who works in a gallery on A1A. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is a very nice gallery. I had gotten the idea that it was just a little bookshop with a painting or two. She gave me a nice tour and it was quite nice, with several rooms of art and photography. I asked her to give the owner my card. I might want to show a couple of paintings there. It is called Ocean Books and Art. The location is excellent, right on A1A across the street from the big pier, so foot traffic is good. They have an art walk once a month as well.
I drove around the town a bit, which has several tiny shops for the  tourist trade. I have always found Flagler Beach to be very eclectic, sort of old time, a bit shabby compared to its neighboring beaches, but lots of fun too.

On my way back to St Augustine, I happened upon another art studio belonging to a bird painter named Art Lamay. His studio was filled with reproductions of his watercolor bird paintings, in a very traditional style. A nice gallery.

I stopped at one of my favorite beaches at Washington Oaks State Park. During my last residency at
Chad and Sarah's Condo I went to the other side of the park on the Intercoastal. I really like the ocean side the best. The beach is unique and quite beautiful. It is one of the few beaches that have large rocks at the water's edge. The sand is a warm brown made from broken Cocina and sand. The water is beautiful.
Tonight I will do a painting from the reference photos I took there.

Each time I come here I find new and interesting places to visit and I learn more about this area.