Posted in Updates

painting Umbrella Party & Umbrella Story

Umbrella Party:

Umbrella Party by Brooke Harker 60″ x 90″ x 2.5″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas
Click Here for availability and close ups bigger

This painting was recently delivered to Lu Martin Galleries! If the coast calls to you and you’d like to see it in person! Or if you want to try it out on your wall–be in contact with Greg or Lu at the gallery. 

Heisler Park – one of the beaches across the street from the gallery…if you aren’t drawn to a bustling crowd…there are so many places to charge your soul even on a busy day. Heisler is my favorite beach in Laguna. 

There is definitely a magic in Laguna that is worth a visit in the summer. 

With any painting, there is usually something that compels me to allocate the time and resources to make that painting.

With Umbrella Party, in particular it was the almost interaction between the little girl in the pink bikini and the woman in the red bikini that captured my attention to the point that this painting has been in my mind for several years. I actually couldn’t tell in my photo if they were looking at each other in passing.

I also had a dream of a colorful giant beach scene painting and woke up wishing I’d painted it…and then realized in my dreams I had. This painting isn’t quite what I saw in my dream…although it goes in that direction.

Similar to the painting I made in 2022 that contained 30 people from around the world, I collaged many interesting people into this painting from various photos. That’s what makes this painting different than most of my beach scenes that are from one shot.

Fun facts:
This painting contains 8 lbs of oil paint (first time I weighed a painting before/after!)
This painting is based on 40 reference images for this painting + imagination.
There are 100 people minimum in the water alone
Most of the umbrellas I designed and some of the towels too.
There is a rainbow towel dedicated to my friend’s daughter…and various other dedications I haven’t told people about yet.
My mom came up with the title “Umbrella Party” as she was visiting me and reading nearby while I finished the painting.

If you know someone who has a huge wall, who loves color and the beach…please pass this along.

Morning Shine:

Morning Shine by Brooke Harker 36″ x 36″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas
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painting Morning Shine to see scale

Umbrella Story:

Umbrella Story by Brooke Harker 34″ x 38″ ink, oil and & acrylic on canvas
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And whenever you see a painting you might want a reproduction of, let me know. Although they aren’t available all the time since I have reproductions made custom…I can message you privately if there is a custom order going in and yours can be added. It isn’t fast like Amazon…however it is specifically made for you with love when the stars align 🙂

As of right now the next order of canvas reproductions will likely be September 2023.

with gratitude–delivering the new paintings to Lu Martin Galleries