Jim O'Neil's photos with the keyword: seascape

I'm still playing with painting on transparent grounds. I've been painting on said grounds with acrylics but I've found a material that takes plain watercolor paints quite well. Watercolor on transparent polyester film (Grafix's 'Dura-lar' .004 wet media film), viewed through the plastic film. 11 by 14 inches.

More and more I'm convinced that we are not at all rational, that instead man is the rationalizing animal. Myself included, of course. This picture as an example: I started by viewing Martine's photo of the Seine www.flickr.com/photos/martinepittet/6336696775/in/contacts/ . Her photo reminded me of a sketch I did in Japan, a scene on the Seto Inland Sea of a ship across the harbor. I became so focused on sketching it that I never even noticed another ship come in to the harbor and tie up behind it until after I finished the sketch. It was quite a big ship, quite hard to miss, but quite invisible to me while I was doing the sketch! Which got me thinking about Umberto Eco's novel, "The Island of The Day Before". Picture yourself shipwrecked, marooned on a grounded sailing ship along the international dateline. Within sight is an island, across the line, in yesterday but you can't swim. Then I started this little painting. So! I can look back noting a sequence of events and rationalize the genesis of this little watercolor, step by step (although such steps are not necessarily logical)…. but, if I'm honest with my self I have to admit the pretty clouds in Martine's photo caught my eye and I just wanted to paint a striking sky!! :-) Yep a rationalizing animal. Watercolor on Canson's 140 pound cold pressed paper,9 by 12 inches.

Steven H's. Paul Gauguin portrait ( www.flickr.com/photos/34757743@N08/5626571243 ) reminded me of a very pleasant month or more that I spend on Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. I'm still playing with my really really basic palette; using only red, yellow and (Prussian ) blue and mixing any other shades or colors from those 3 pans. Watercolor on Canbson's 140 pound cold pressed paper, 11 by 15 inches

I spent much of yesterday feeling a bit depressed, I'm winding down toward the end of my visit here, only 13 days left! None the less, here is a view of the inland sea that I won't quickly forget!

Off Shikoku Island near Uwajima. The flats you see floating in the waters protected by the islands are cultured pearl arms, thousands of dollars worth pearl bearing oysters grow beneath them.

I'm backkkkk. :-) After a 16 day road trip I'm back in "my" cabin in Uninomoto, Matsuyama, Shikoku Island, Japan. We started by driving and taking a ferry to Naoshima, an island in the Seto inland sea, famous for it's highly overpriced and overrated underground art museum. None the less the island's a delightful place. We stayed in a little summer resort, something like a motel, but each individual 'cabin' was a tatami room with the side facing the sea all glass sliding doors. So! Slept well, listened to the waves and watched the sunset and the water change.

Watercolor. 300 pound cold pressed. 5 by 7 inches.