One Good Tern, 5x5

Miniatures are a lot of fun, especially when there is so much going on that I have little time to paint. Friday night I will be helping my friend and Pieces of 8 sister, Cindy Michaud, at the opening of her book, "She Knew." This event will be during the Eau Gallie Art District's First Friday, where all sorts of artsy things will cause the street to jump. Music, books, art, goodies--what could be better?

There are other big things coming up by the Pieces of 8, including The Pleininator!

Lemon Nemesis, 5x5

This week our Pieces of 8 member Carol Schiff challenged us to do an abstract, and it was so much fun, I don't know why I didn't paint abstracts before. This started as a lemon, which was terribly boring, then it became this abstract. The other enjoyable thing this week was painting during the grand opening of the Lexus place in Viera. What a huge and beautiful place it is. There is art everywhere, and on that night there were artists everywhere, painting on scene. There was food, drink, music, and some very nice cars.

Dragonfruit, 8x8

I bought this strange-looking fruit at my favorite produce place and presented it to the Pieces of 8 group to paint this week. Everyone did a lovely painting, then we followed my credo: Paint it, then eat it. It was quite tasty, and I am showing how it looked when cut open.

Deep Creek, 8x8

I painted this river while sitting on a rock on a very damp day. It was our first day out, and everywhere I turned was a subject suitable for painting. Go to Piecesof8.net, where you can see some of our activities. No whitewater rafting this time, though, although we enjoyed watching others fall overboard.

Home Again

I've been on an artists' retreat with the Pieces of Eight, and it has been a fabulous time, as usual. We painted on the mountaintop, by the river, in a field by a barn, and in another field with cows, bugs, brambles, and poison ivy. We are so dedicated that we barely notice such trivialities. People passing by showed interest and we invited them to a "Still Wet" sale, and a good time was had by all. You really meet interesting people when you're sitting outside painting. While I was gone, my husband had to deal with disaster: a washer hose broke and flooded the house during the night. It's always during the night, so that the water can do maximum damage. He had to rip out the dining room carpet and spent all week drying things out. Now he is enjoying the pitter-patter of little feet in the house again (mine). When I got home I thought I was hallucinating, because there was a gorgeous new oak dining room floor! What a surprise! He never ceases to amaze me. He and our son Chad put it down over the weekend.

I did some watercolor in North Carolina, so I'm just posting a little maple leaf I painted. The leaves are just starting to turn, and I love the brilliant red maple color.