From My Sketchbook:
As can be seen, this piece wasn’t finished. If you could see them, the palm trees actually are tall, full, beautiful and frame the buildings, but anyway, I like the drawing and had a nice time doing it, and while there took advantage of the location and went for a quick swim before going out to eat.
This is one of the places I have stayed at while visiting St. Croix, and I highly recommend it to you. It is a family run establishment, there are several buildings with a variety of accommodations to select from, a very kind and helpful staff, a beach-side area where you can grill if you wish, a very fine restaurant next door, and it is only a half mile from downtown Frederiksted. As the name suggests, the property is situated along the shoreline with a sandy beach that stretches out into the warm blue-green water of the Caribbean.
On this particular day in January, it was sunny, with a soft breeze and the temperature was in the upper 70’s. But then again, most January days in St Croix are balmy and in the upper 70’s to the low 80’s, and sunny. As you may guess, I was sitting on the beach in the shade while working, looking into shore toward the buildings. This particular drawing offers a look into how I start and proceed through a pen and ink drawing by planning what items will be drawn in first and then surrounded by adjacent details. For example, I began with placing some of the beach furniture first, followed by the lower half of the palm tree trunks, and then constructed the buildings, with the intention to finish the tops of the trees at the end of the work. But as I said above, I had run out of time and needed to leave shortly. A regrettable situation, but that’s the way it is sometimes.
And right now, while sharing this, I am already looking forward to my next visit. Perhaps the next time I go there I will be able to finish a sketch of the place.