Food Poisoning and other disasters

Having a wonderful time visiting with my parents! We hit the shops, the art show, the waterfront and Venetian Village where we had lunch at M Waterfront Grill. Enjoyed it. But 24 hours later both my mother and I were sick as dogs. Exactly at the same time. And the only thing we ate in common was the nice Wedge Salad. 36 hours later we're still light headed and off our feed.

The rotten thing for Mom and Dad is that they came to Florida to go to a reunion that they missed due to a wedge salad.

Skim Board Pack 14 X 11 Oil on Linen

Winding Down

I've now gotten 10 new paintings framed, or nearly so. The weather has been spectacular so I have a lot of material to work with. I have been painting in 11X14 format to make my life easier to transport and I am liking the space. Unfortunately, once you frame 10 of them there's nowhere appropriate to store them!

Fishing

Last night we had a fabulous meal of personally caught fish from the Naples area. Thanks to Captain Mike, who also showed us some tricks with the local fauna. Dolphins seem to love the wake. And after catching a skipjack, our captain whistled to the eagle to get the fish without working at it. Unfortunately, the pelican scammed it before the eagle had a chance!

FLorida Sunshine

IT was so busy on the beach today it's amazing there were people on the roads! Decided to paint plein aire. Also did a bit of beach walking. Had visitors all week, so my painting time has been reduced. However I did finish this one.

FLorida for a second season

The weather here never ceases to amaze me. I could be home watching drizzle or snow or just flat gray clouds...instead I wake to blue skies and green grasses and the jaunty toss of palm trees. Yes, it does get chilly now and again, but one or two days in a month never hurts!

I've been painting at the Von Leibig Center for the Arts in Naples and enjoying the time with instructor Ann Sullivan. Building up a backlog of beach plantings, this time oil on canvas boards some linen. Had a great time playing with paint and only turps. It dried so quickly I got a completely different look. (See mother and child image..) Ann takes the time to photograph student work in sequence then gives critique the week after, which is nice. And she provides you with the works in progress shots which are entertaining!

The Toronto Watercolour Society invited Stephen Quiller to do some workshops in mid-May. His palette was interesting and his use of watermedia was fabulous. His brushwork and practiced use of layering was amazing. This was one demo.

I've been away from my brush. Madly taking classes to get back into the mood and into the groove. It finally clicked and I have built three paintings in four days. I'm frustrated with the surfaces. The change of thin to thick paint just happens to me, I don't plan it. I need to figure out how. Fun class on portraits with Klaas Hart: did a colorful rendition of Jeffrey, our model. I'm thinking maybe I should try a few landscapes again...