Thirteen Of Thirty

Old Baldy, 11x14 oil on panel, ©2014, Fay Terry

The great thing about islands is that many of them have lighthouses; the light on Bald Head Island is one of my favorites which  I have painted  many times from different angles.

I am fortunate that my good friend Teej invites me to visit her there and I usually get  a lot of painting done while on the island. It is a painting paradise.

The light is always referred to as Old Baldy. The first lighthouse was built in 1795 and was pulled down and replaced using many of the same bricks in 1817. It was covered with a plaster mixture of sand and lime. Old Baldy was built to light the mouth of the Cape Fear river and was not meant to illuminate Frying Pan Shoals, a dangerous area for ships, which is eighteen miles southeast of the island.

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The lighthouse and the artist

Monhegan Lighthouse & Artist working, photo by Harvey Spears

I arrived early one August morning on Lighthouse Hill and I was painting before the fog even began to lift while wishing for a sunny day. The lighthouse was not my subject, instead I was painting the white, red-roofed buildings to my left, and the large rowboat beside them.

Completely in my zone, I was not even aware of people coming and going at the scene. Later in the day I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful photographer who had been capturing images in various spots on the island, including some of me at the easel. 

 I hope you will visit Harvey's website and his wonderful blog.

click to see website (amazing photos)

click to visit blog (Mr. Spears is also a good writer)

Soon I hope to post the painting I was working on, but it needs a little more work!

By the way, the sun eventually came out.

Bald Head Island Light

Old Baldy, 5 x 7 " oil on gessobord panel, ©2013, Fay Terry

SOLD

This is a painting I did while I was on Bald Head Island. We had wonderful weather and I worked on lots of new paintings. This is one of my favorites because I have been planning to paint "Old Baldy" for quite a while and finally got around to it.  I am very pleased with the way it came out. I used Prussian blue in the sky which I consider to be a warmer blue than Ultramarine which I often use. It was also a good time to see the marsh grasses showing some fall color.

The Bald Head Island Light is the oldest standing lighthouse in North Carolina. It was built in 1817 so it will be having a 200th birthday soon. It is a hundred and ten feet tall and has five foot thick walls. It was built with red brick and then coated with stucco which was originally white. The stucco has been repaired many times giving it a charming patchwork look.

Scene From Bald Head Island

The Essence Of Summer, 16 x 20 " oil on canvas, ©2012, Fay Terry

This painting is available at Franklin Square Gallery, Southport, NC

This is inspired by one of my favorite photos from Bald Head and is one of the most painted landmarks on the Island.  This is Captain Charlie's House.  It was once home to the namesake lighthouse keeper and is very charming. (The lighthouse is known as "Old Baldy".) It is also available as a vacation rental.

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