Leslie Landers

I baked lots of Christmas cookies this year. For these I pulled out some paintbrushes. Here’s wishing a very happy holiday to all!

I returned from a trip to Georgia to news that my painting “Ayala Weekend” received an Honorable Mention as part of this year’s Los Gatos Art Association’s Annual Juried show. This means a great deal to me because I so admire the judge, Kim Lordier. Plus … between us friends can I also just say … there is ample self doubt that comes with this painting stuff and it is so lovely to receive an unanticipated affirmation. Thank you Kim!

Jekyll Island is 7 miles long and 2 miles wide. It’s situated between the Intercoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. The paintings in this post were done on on the Atlantic side. The scene above gives a glimpse of the dunes that offer protection.  Native sea oats are key to the process. They  grow and gather up sand berms. Stepped up wooden walkways straddle the dunes enabling them to remain undisturbed by visitors.

Jekyll’s Atlantic side beaches are broad, the sand is fine and well packed. They absolutely perfect for taking long walks, watching shorebirds and listening to the waves.

After one of our walks we stayed for sunset margaritas and tacos at Tortuga Jacks a combo that is perfection. We also appreciated having access to the terrific pool, restaurant and beach chairs available to us at the Jekyll Ocean Club (which is managed by the Jekyll Island Club). It was great having access to both properties with on-call friendly shuttle drivers to take us back and forth.

Jekyll Island … I’ll be back!

I’m just back from a fun week on Jekyll Island Georgia. Though we were worried on the bumpy flight into Brunswick Georgia, the projected hurricane missed us. As a result, we had bluster and blue skies and I was able to get in some painting every day.

The turquoise fishing boat in the painting above was docked about 200 yards from our hotel room on the western side of Jekyll Island in the  Intercoastal Waterway.

I knew the moment I saw this boat, I knew I’d paint it. I enjoy painting boats but particularly like colorful boats. There is something a little boring about a marina chocked full of white fiberglass. Anyway, this fishing boat is named “The Other Side.” Its owner, James, mostly uses it to take kids from his church out fishing. He invites them to bring kids who aren’t affiliated with the church too. At least that’s what I heard from a local resident who greatly admires him.

I painted the scene below of dawn in low country Georgia from the wharf as well … just facing the other way toward Jekyll Island. Both paintings were painted early in the morning and there is something kind of delightful about painting before breakfast.

I just returned from a great trip to the Georgia low country. We stayed at the historic and beautiful Jekyll Island Club. After 1900 and before WWII, Jekyll Island was the exclusive playground of 200 of America’s wealthiest. Most members arrived on the Jekyll Island Wharf by private yacht to enjoy manicured surroundings with mossy oaks and slender palm trees.

There are three watercolors in the slider below. The first is of the white adirondak chairs at the hotel’s entrance. The second is a sketch of some ladies knitting to pass the time during a rain shower on the veranda. The third is of the Jekyll Chapel which is notable for its intact Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows. My panting which was done from a bench outside doesn’t show off the windows but they are beautiful when seen from the inside of the chapel.

There is a great deal of history packed on this little Georgia island. Way, way back, it was a seasonal indian fishing camp. The history turned dark in the 1700 and 1800’s with a legacy of slavery. Today, there are about 800 people who live on Jekyll and welcome vacationers like me.

Recently, I went on a bit about the beauty of Sussex County New Jersey with a post that included some of my watercolors from the trip. This was the first time I also took oil painting gear on a vacation as I was able to manage things in a way that was compact and solvent free.

The paintings in this post are oil paintings of the historic Waterloo Village State Park. The painting above is one of the many historic buildings in the restored 19th century village along the once commercially important Morris Canal.

Waterloo Village is a charming place to stroll and have a picnic and paint. There are many classically dutch buildings and working structures (sawmill, blacksmith shop and so on). Strolling around gives one a sense of things from 100+ years ago and the setting is lovely. The painting below is of one of the bridges crossing an off-shoot of the canal.