Waiting for the Book Club

11x14, oil on panel
In July of 2015, during the Ocean Park Plein Air festival, I was drawn to the beach like flies on cowpies. Toward sunset the lifeguard chair got more and more striking with the yellow-white sunlight against the blue-green sky and the long shadows. But, as I was painting, a lone woman plunked herself down right in front of me reading a book. I took a step out of my comfort zone and dabbed her in. A little while later a whole group of women joined her in a circle. They all came over to see their painted-in comrade, ooooed and ahhhhed and told me they were a book club having their meeting.