It has been quite a week as I spend time with members of the American Society of Marine Artists here in Antigua. For several days, with a rental car, I shuttled them to beaches and lookouts so they could spend time painting. It has been wonderful to see what they come up with in just a few hours.
My friend Patrick, and president of the group, when asked how long it takes to do a painting. “A few hours? a few days? And 20 years of practice.”
I guess that’s a lot like being a ballerina. It looks easy if you practice for 10,000 hours.
Anyway, I have been following them around and it’s been great to see how things progress as they choose a spot to paint and begin laying down layers of paint, trying to capture what lies in front of them.
It’s been quite windy so finding a spot with a great view where their easels would not blow over has been tough. Alexandra and Patrick checking out spots.
Keith tucked in behind a wall in the fort.
Bill, the watercolorist in the group, tucked into a door in the old fort to get out of the wind.
Later that afternoon we were lucky to have the opportunity to visit a friend’s home on the point across from the fort.
I shuttled the group in a rental car, making a few trips to get everyone there. They couldn’t believe the view.
Some of us that aren’t artists just enjoyed the view and beautiful infinity pool.
I brought along a jar of rum punch from the Admiral’s Inn along with some wine and cheese. Not a hard drinking group and we all took in the magnificent view.
It was interesting to see the artists critiquing each other’s work. Comparing styles and generally having a nice time.
The artists painted all over. Russ chose to hang out in Nelson’s Dockyard to take in the place. I don’t know how he keeps it up with constant interruptions from tourists. “Hey, is that a painting? Did you do it yourself? How long does it take?”
While we were there one beautiful yacht after another entered the harbor. This is the 200′ long Adix, still beautiful after 40 years of sailing. When she races she has a crew of 30+. Big boat…
And speaking of boats, my friends Jamie and Jill hosted us for an afternoon outing on their beautiful catamaran. It was quite rough in the ocean so we anchored off of Pigeon Beach for a swim and to just “chill”. A very nice time and really appreciated by the group.
El Presidente, Patrick aboard,.
We had such a nice time. Jioia is more like a comfortable condo than a mere boat. They even have an icemaker.
Another big highlight of the day was a visit from His Excellency, Sir Rodney and his wife Lady Williams. To give context to their position, Lady Williams will be participating in a forum hosted by the First Lady next week and after that, they fly to England to meet with the King and Queen. Antigua is hosting a major gathering of the Commonwealth Nations in Antigua next November. Sir Rodney reports directly to the King and is a very impressive guy. I have had the pleasure of meeting with him a number of times including my first visit that I wrote about in this post. The meeting of the Commonwealth in Antigua takes place in November. It’s a big deal with thousands coming in from all over the world. It’s interesting to check out this link that describes the plan.
His Excellency and Lady Williams spent nearly an hour with us. I believe that they were genuinely interested and I am hopeful that this meeting will lead to something that can help the Society and Antigua.
Our group…
They both seemed to really enjoy their time with us. We certainly did. Adrian took this photo. Sir Rodney travels in a motorcade with a police escort, a security detail and a photographer. I hope to see a lot more photos of the event soon.
Patrick did a very nice job describing his work on a major painting that captured the dockyard as it was when Nelson was stationed here. He also spoke about the American Society of Marine Artists and why we are in Antigua. Based on our discussions, it seems that there is more opportunity. Note their photographer to the right.
Here’s Lady Williams conversing in German with Alexandra. Of course, Alexandra is German but we had no idea that Lady Williams spoke fluently as well.
There has been a lot of painting going on each day. I can’t show all of what the artists have done here in Antigua but i hope you enjoy a sample of some pictures that they have shared with each other on our WhatsApp group.
Patrick’s picture, painted from the private home overlooking Galleon Beach in English Harbor. He really captured the moment.
Alexandra did this piece out at Fort Charlotte at the mouth of English Harbor. Nice work on a very windy day. The artists had to hold tight to keep their canvases from blowing out to sea.
keith also had to hold tight onto his easel, and hat I expect, to keep things steady.
Bill has done quite a few paintings now. His picture of the entrance to Nelson’s Dockyard depicts a scene that would have been correct hundreds of years ago.
Russ even brought along a frame. He painted this in the Dockyard along side a very popular bar. I have had many beers at that bar over the years. Very nostalgic to me.
Adrian, our informal “official” photographer does amazing work. It’s hard to decide exactly what it is and if it’s even a photograph.
Today we began the day, with lots more activities still to come, on a harbor tour on a boat owned by the Admiral’s Inn. It was a very nice gesture. The group really seemed to enjoy the ride.
All and all, it’s been a whirlwind week and it’s hard to keep the constantly evolving schedule in my head. If it wasn’t for WhatsApp, I doubt that we would be able to keep on top of it all.
As they say, “But wait, there’s still more to come!”. After all of this, I think everyone will need a vacation.
Busy or not, I am having an amazing time with some very talented artists here in Antigua.