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Thursday, March 18, 2010

To Lunch, over the water!







There are many beautiful boats and lots of activities to admire in the harbour of Saldanha. Part of a visit along the West Coast is finding a super place to have lunch. While I fidgeted, my husband's "dining experience antennae" discovered The Slipway Restaurant. Inside the restaurant it is light and wide and pleasantly open to the views. Nothing could beat the front corner table we were shown to and soon we had cool wine, and calamari and mussels fresh from the ocean served simply with flavored rice and lots of lemon.

I was fascinated by the small boats arriving from the sailing yachts, which fastened right there on a jetty leading into the restaurant. To break away from the symmetry of two boats and two people, I imagined a little girl showing off her skills in walking off the jetty and over the little plank bridge. Stylistically, of course, she leads the eye in the right direction and shows the way.

19 comments:

  1. What a wonderful vignette in the life and day on the docks. I love the care you took in rendering that sweet little girl in her hat.

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  2. I think I need to come visit you Marie.....lol! Your painting are gorgeous and your posts are delightful. The Slipway Restaurant sounds like my kind of place.

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  3. There are so many interesting things going on in this painting, but you are right, the eye is led to the girls direction. I'd love to be tasting some of those mussels. I've had them with martini sauce and Sambuca. Wonderful!
    Thanks for you comment on my blog, Marie. When my paintings were turning out too blue, I looked on the internet and apparently some cameras have a "white balance" setting. Sometimes a sunny room can capture too much blue. Its complicated, but worth changing the setting if your camera will do it.

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  4. The slipway Restaurant also sounds exactly like my kind of place Marie! I can almost see the restaurant as the little girl heads off towards it - LOVELY painting!

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  5. Thank you, Sheila! The girl has disappeared for a while as I am trying to edit her close-up pic!

    Thank you, Catherine, Manon and Maree, I think I will add a photo of that restaurant too. Believe me, playing around on this blog often takes up more time than I spend on the painting!

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  6. Gosh Marie. You just don't seem like a fidgeter to me! LOL The painting is beautiful and I love the determination in the little girl's movement. I could sit seaside all day and just simply watch the water.

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  7. the reflections and the foreground came out great. what about a painting of your photo. i love cafe/restaurant scenes.

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  8. gratulation for your nice and interesting blog.

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  9. You make me long for the days of summer, and plein air painting at the beach. Spring is here and soon I will be back at the beach. Your paintings are lovely.

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  10. Thank you, Sherry! I do fidget, will not sit for a long time, and always getting up from a table to discover the vicinity!

    I like your suggestion, Liana!

    Danke, Johannes and thank you for visiting!

    I am with you on that one Joan! Soon you will have your lovely summer and we here in the Southern hemisphere will start shivering. One good thing though: it was on one of those days with winter approaching that I started my blog to have something to do in winter!

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  11. Thank you for sharing the painting, and the blissful moment! I love the close-up, too, so we can see the figure work and the brushstrokes better.

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  12. Beautifully done, Marie. After a rather snowy. cold winter her in Pennsylvania USA, this painting reminds me of the joys of Summer. A very nice thought to say the least!

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  13. Thank you so much, Kelley and Claire!

    I also received a cute comment (in Afrikaans) on Facebook which I would like to post here:

    Zelda Muller ...Marie , my glimlag word net al hoe groter hoe verder ek jou BESKRYWING van die oggend lees...en dan natuurlik van die DOGTERTJIE!!!!!....daar breek altyd 'n KONINKLIKE SONSKYN deur DOGTERTJIES...en dit is hoekom almal haar raaksien!!!!....en nou is sy nog bowenal 'n "LADY-IN-RED"!!!!!....pragtige "painting"...pragtige POP...en pragtige beskrywing...ek lek nou nog daardie laaste titseltjie "lemon" van my lippe af!!!!....x

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  14. marie,
    beautiful picture of a beautiful place...
    liked the reflections on the transparent water...
    the dreamy looking boats in the distance are nice to watch...
    congratulations...

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  15. Marie, you've been busy while I've been absent from blog land. I am impressed with how you used the very same scene and achieved different moods by changing how close the viewer is to the scene. The first seems serene and the second has lots of energy in it. Keep -em coming!

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  16. Catching up here Marie! A great painting - you capture the areas of West Coast so perfectly!

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  17. Hi Marie!!
    I see you're enjoying life to it's fullest!! Great painting..

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  18. Thank you for the visit, jyothisethu, my poetic friend!
    Mary, welcome back, you made an interesting observation as I never realized that I had both qualities in the same painting!
    Thank you Liz, as you know the possibility of subject matter is vast.
    Thank you Marian, yes, searching for material and being treated is the best way of doing it!

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  19. Hi Marie, All of these boat themed paintings are just wonderful. Can't believe you posted three since I was here last. The sea gull with all the rope is so appealing as they all are. Such nice work

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