Final Morning of Plein Air

On day three of the workshop, we met at a conference grounds, full of chapels, tabby cabins (converted slave quarters), views of the water and marshes, bells playing hymns every 1/2 hour, weddings, guests wandering the grounds.

Perfect magnolia
Bill chose the tree.
Marty chose the closer tabby cabin.
I wanted to paint this cabin, but made myself choose something harder.
I chose this scene, because I have a bent toward bridges as a painting (and drawing) subject.
Funny to call this a “bridge scene” when there is more sky than anything else. Part of why I chose it was to learn from Laurel how to turn a fairly nondescript subject into something worth painting.
step one, following my sketch but with modifications after I eavesdropped on Laurel helping Peggy refine the same view (minus the bridge).
Step two, but what did I do this photo? It looks weird.
step 3
Step four

Then we had lunch, did a critique, and chose our afternoon subject. Not everyone wanted to do a second painting, but there was something I really wanted to paint.

And back at home, the kitties were just fine.

Show you tomorrow, our final travelogue post about my trip to Georgia.

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4 Comments

  1. Jana, the use of the word “tabby” refers to the way buildings are constructed. When I was in Savannah, I saw reference to “tabby” as a building material made of lime, oyster shells and gravel used to tie together courses of brick. This struck me as very interesting since I use the term “tabby” in weaving and I am married to a bricklayer who uses lime and cement to make mortar to tie together courses of brick. In the old days, oyster shells were used in place of lime since it was readily available and when crushed, it provides the lime needed. (see Google note below) In weaving, the term “tabby” is used between pattern shots thereby giving a ground cloth that holds together the pattern shots that lie on the surface as decoration. Some weavers refer to plain weave as tabby.
    From Google:
    Tabby is a type of concrete made by burning oyster shells to create lime, then mixing it with water, sand, ash and broken oyster shells. … Revivals in the use of tabby spread northward and continued into the early 19th century.

    • Thank you, Nikki! I knew it had to do with oyster shell construction but not in what capacity. The reason I don’t like the term is that it ignores the original (and nefarious) use of those little structures, and whitewashing history feels wrong to me. But I am probably being overly sensitive.

  2. Gee, I thought “Tabby Cabins” were where the cats lived!

    (Oh, hi, Scout!)

    • Me too, Sharon!


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