Up before dawn to take care of chores - stow sleeping gear, break down the boom tent, get rid of trash, clean up the boat. I plug in a couple battery packs for a stealth charge on the patio of the Oriental Marina and Inn. Walking back to SPARTINA, I hear my name called out from the porch at The Bean. It is Keith, a longtime friend and editor of TownDock.net. I head over to say hello, sit down and enjoy a blueberry muffin and iced tea.
Finishing breakfast I notice cars showing up and people getting out to set up easels. They artists from the Plein Air Art Festival in nearby New Bern. I have seen them here in the past, but SPARTINA has always been ignored. One year the artists focused on Martijn's PRINSES MIA, got all the attention. I guess having topless mermaids painted on the black hull will do that for you. This year, for some reason, SPARTINA gets some attention. How nice!
Three artists take up positions around the boat, two to the stern, one to the bow. I see other artists painting the shrimp boats across the water.
A woman at the stern tells me to ignore her, she's a beginner. I think she is doing a nice job.
It is an artist named Sarah that gets my attention. I see an early version of her painting and like it just as it is. She tells me to keep coming back, it will be changing throughout the day.
The man up forward is doing three versions of SPARTRINA. A "working" version at the bottom. A larger version at top left and then a third image at right. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that," he tells me. They all look good to me.
I head to M&M's Cafe for lunch, a crab cake on a salad. Excellent.
Back from lunch in time to see Sarah's final painting. Just beautiful! We talk about the boat a bit, she is surprised when she realizes I built her. I ask Sarah how much for the painting, she tells me a price that is more than I can afford. She is kind enough to let me take a few photographs. The painting, she tells me, will be shown at a reception in Oriental in a couple of days, then moved to a gallery in New Bern. I thank her for her fine work.
After dinner, a long walk through Oriental. Then a Dark n' Stormy at the Tiki Bar.
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