Art, Berries, and Community in Seldovia

Our first day in Seldovia was nothing short of dreamy.

The next day, we woke up, enjoyed yogurt with fresh-picked berries, and savored a mellow morning.

A few hours later, the Barnetts picked us up and brought us to their cabin. Anne pulled out the stash of toys stored under the cabin for Yukla, and the girls made a beeline for the hammocks.

I always look forward to sharing meals with the Barnetts in Seldovia. Family-style dinners are served in the small cabins living area, and we crowd around the table for a hot meal with good company.

This year, the Barnetts had four deckhands working for them, including their two kids, Sam and Alice, and two more cousins. Since deckhands were plentiful, Anne had delegated meal prep to the young crew. This time, lunch was an especially fun and bustling event. In addition to our family of six and the Barnetts and their deckhands, one of the deckhands’ families, the Tulips, were also staying with Anne and Shad. While the deckhands prepared dinner, the rest of us sat back and visited.

After Lunch, the kids headed back outside, and Melozi discovered that this year the blueberries were abundant. Soon, she was lost in the blueberry bushes.

One of the many things that Anne and I share is a mutual love for painting with watercolors. Anne started bringing her watercolors to Seldovia a few years back, and it’s been fun to see her learn, create a habit of painting, develop her style, and ultimately create dramatic and beautiful landscapes.

For the last few summers, I’ve made a tradition of tagging along for her plain-air painting sessions at the beach. While I had always hoped to paint with her, I ended up getting pulled away chasing kids. This year, Anne had started a community watercolor event on Tuesdays, and I was very excited to have the excuse to leave the kids with Woodsen and actually paint alongside her.

We headed to the Salmonberry gift shop, where Anne sells her art and advertises for the community painting events. While waiting for others to join us, I browsed Anne’s paintings and was tickled to realize I owned the painting she was holding in her ”About the Artist” blurb in the Salmonberry.

Three others showed up to paint, so we loaded up in Anne’s van and headed for Outside Beach.

Anne shared tips on creating a successful landscape paintings, then we took our time gazing out at the beautiful view, and painting the seascape with Mt Iliamna in the distance.

After a couple hours, we pulled ourselves away from the paint brushes and headed back towards town and the Barnetts’ cozy cabin.

While we painted, the kids had been busy picking berries and having fun around Seldovia.

We gathered around the table for another delicious meal and time together.

We had one more day to enjoy Seldovia and tentatively planned to make it a beach day.