Sketching at Oak Island

Vacations are a great way to get away and see the world, or maybe just explore your own backyard! I recently visited the southern coast of North Carolina, specifically, the Oak Island/ Southport area. This was a great trip with lots of wonderful views of the area. As an artist, everything became a subject for a new painting!

The beaches this time of year are pretty vacant, but you may still encounter some beachcombers looking for shells or surf fisherman looking for a bite. The pelicans cruised the shoreline and the sandpipers plucked sand fleas from their burrows in the sand. Sketching is a great way to capture the essence of your vacation. It is wonderful to be able to share the sights with all of your friends and family.

I took along my Kilimanjaro Watercolor Paintbook to record all of my travels for the week. This is one of my favorite travel companions and quite a unique journal. The Kilimanharo Paintbook comes with 20 sheets of 70 lb. sketch paper alternated with 20 sheets of 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper. It is also available in 300 lb. cold press watercolor paper, with 10 sheets of each. The sketch paper gives you ample space to record value sketches and notes on your day. Kilimanjaro Watercolor Paintbook comes in the original bright white paper as well as natural. They also come in a variety of sizes. The spiral bound pads allow the freedom of working flat or one page at a time, and the standard sizes make it easy to pull out a favorite painting or sketch and pop it into a frame for a great souvenir. Also, you can create postcards from your pages and clip and mail them to all of your friends and family back home, or even better, use the Kilimanjaro Baby Block, which is the perfect 4" x 6" size required for postcards! Either way, your loved ones will want to know how much fun you are having while you are away! (note to the wise, find the local post office quickly upon arriving at your vacation destination, as my postcard arrived the same day I got back!)

I took my Kilimanjaro Paintbook along with me to the beaches and also to the local lighthouses. Oak Island is home to one of the seven lighthouses in North Carolina. It is an active lighthouse that provides ships with a bright beacon, warning them of the shallow waters of the shoreline. Large tankers are still escorted by pilot boats that help them navigate through the tight passage between the sandbars and the shoreline. The Bald Head Island Lighthouse is a close neighbor to Oak Island. Nicknamed Old Baldy, it is the oldest of the NC lighthouses, having been built in 1817. It was decommissioned in 1935 and is now a historic attraction of the island. It is open to the public and with 108 steps to the top, it was quite the climb. The view from the tower windows, however, was well worth the effort! You can see the entire island from the top. It is very close quarters up there, so make sure you are very good friends with anyone with which you are sharing the view!

The next time you plan a vacation, don’t forget your art stuff! While you’re packing, why don’t you try out one of Cheap Joe’s very own Kilimanjaro Paintbooks. You’ll wonder how you ever traveled without it! Happy Journaling!