Well, I’m back in Antigua but this time with a small group of Marine Artists, members of the American Society of Marine Artists. The group is small but does very high quality work.
For many years I have been attracted to marine art and have had a number of friends that are quite accomplished painters.
When I was introduced to the president of this group, Patrick O’Brien, a few years ago, I offered to organize a number of in-person events for the group.
There have been a few so far and after having Patrick join me aboard Pandora in the Caribbean two years ago, we decided to try and organize a small artist event here in Antigua.
There will be events each day including painting on the beach as well as tours and meals together. Tonight we will gather for dinner at Pillars, at the Admiral’s Inn, a place where I have done events for years on behalf of the Salty Dawg boats when they arrive in the Caribbean each November.
I rented a car for a few days so I can ferry the artists around the island. I look forward to seeing how the picture turns out.
Here’s Keith painting on nearby Pigeon beach this morning.
Pigeon beach where a number of artists are painting today is beautiful
As the week progresses, I will surely post some images of the finished pictures.
And, speaking of pictures, I am staying in a lovely cottage overlooking Falmouth Harbor, Bougainvillea is one of a number of simple Caribbean cottages all connected by stone walkways. They are open to the weather and very charming.
My room overlooking the harbor. Kitchen, sitting area and bed. Very charming.
And some visitors, bannana twits. They are fruit eaters so I put out some sugar water.
Nice view of the harbor, even if Pandora isn’t there.
And, of course, what is a blog post about Antigua without a night scene of the yachts in the harbor?
We will have a whirlwind of activities over the week and compared to the months that we have spent here over the years, this seems like a real rush job. Hopefully the artists will feel that the experience lives up to the “hype” and in they will return with their artist friends.
The artists that are here with me for the week have very impressive pedigrees. Check out these links to their work. There’s quite a variety. Let me know what you think.
Patrick O’Brien, President ASMA https://www.patrickobrienstudio.com/
Russ Kramer: https://www.russkramer.com/
Bill Sutton: https://williamsuttonwatercolors.com/
Alexandra Telghman: https://www.alexandra-telgmann.com/
Keith Wilkie: https://www.keithwilkieart.com/
Anna Bolton: https://annaboulton.com/ Anna actually lives here and I am hopeful that she will join us for some events.
I’ve been pretty good at getting sailors to visit Antigua over more than 8 seasons now, so let’s see if I can make headway with artists. Who knows, it’s worth trying.
More to come as the week unfolds so stop back and see what’s next.