Blue Pots, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

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I love the colors of Mexico. This is Number Five in my series of paintings of San Miguel de Allende, and it almost has a Florida Gators orange-and-blue look (but not quite). Spanish style houses are my favorites, especially if they have beautiful courtyards. In San Miguel there are no front yards or sweeping lawns, but the casas' openness and courtyards make it feel as if you are very comfortably living outdoors.

San Miguel Sunset, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

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Our rooftop garden in San Miguel Allende was a delightful place to unwind at the end of the day, and the sunsets were beautiful. I loved the rosebud silhouetted against the sky. The rooftop garden held roses, bougainvilleas, margaritas, and good company.

Sunflower, 8x10 Oil on Canvas

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I have finished up a couple of still life paintings that I did in the Qiang Huang workshop last month. I hated to stop my San Miguel series, but just didn't have the time to start anything new today. I will start it up again next week.

My new exercise program is Weedobics. I went into my yard and it's a jungle out there. Weedobics consists of bend, pull weed, discard, and repeat until exhausted or weeds are gone, whichever comes first. I am working my way gradually around the property. It's Florida, so by the time I get to the end it will be time to start at the beginning again.

Tiny Dancer, 8x10 OIl on Canvas

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While in San Miguel de Allende I got to witness a big Aztec festival, with scores of people in bright costumes and huge feather headdresses. They were dancing in the streets, celebrating their conversion to Christianity. So many people dancing in unison, wearing bright colors and glittering outfits presented quite a wonderful sight, but this little girl was my favorite, trying to keep up with the grownups.

When I uploaded the image to Blogger the purple shadows became very bright. I don't know how to overcome that. They are not that bright in the painting.

Here are some of the adults in their costumes. I was so lucky to be town that day!

San Miguel Morning, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

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This is the sight that greeted me on our first morning in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The little bird posed obligingly on top of the dome. Bougainvilleas bloom profusely there, and there were many flowers I didn't recognize.

One night we went to Mi Casa, and heard incredible music; it was so good that there was no conversation or clanking glasses. The violin practically wept with the sound of moving Argentine music. It was worth the trip to hear something so profoundly beautiful.

One night we had a fiesta at the villa, and eleven Mariachi players strolled in playing their wonderful music. They had everyone dancing and our cook demonstrated how salsa dancing is supposed to be done.

So Festive

Surrounded by Mariachis

Beautiful Music

San Miguel de Allende, 6x8 Oil on Canvas

Casa Gibson, Oil, SOLD

I just returned from a wonderful vacation in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where my sister and I enjoyed a pampered life for a week. We stayed at Casa Gibson, along with eight very accomplished women, including psychologists and diplomats. They were so much fun. We had a great time watching the Oscars together and criticizing all the dresses.

We were in a tower room in the villa. The views of the city were spectacular. We took a drive to Santa Rosa, through countryside that looked as though Clint Eastwood would ride up wearing a serape. Santa Rosa is a tiny little village with a wonderful place that makes Majolica pottery. We shopped and shopped...

My New Favorite Person is Veronica, the cook who provided us delicious meals morning, noon and night. I made it very clear to her that Mi Casa Su Casa.

Veronica and Effie (assistant cook/maid)

Bouquet, 7x5 Oil on Canvas

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If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? Even though I live in Florida, my yard is so bedraggled right now. A tree is dying of a mysterious disease, my huge frangipani tree has not a leaf on it, but a little cluster of pink blossoms sits at the end of one branch, embarrassed at arriving early to the party. Oh, how I want that TV guy who comes home with you and redoes your whole back yard! I'll be watching for him when I'm at Lowe's! Until then, I'll just paint cheerful flowers and be happy I live in Florida, where the winters are beautiful.

The Lonely Little Frangipani

Rose Bowl, 7x5 Oil Painting

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This was a painting of red bowls. I let it sit on my easel and hated it more each day, though I liked the colors. I finally painted over it completely and used the same color scheme. That's the nice thing about oil paints, they are fixable.

Art restorers frequently find that the old masters had other paintings underneath their masterpieces. There's one thing for sure: the painting underneath is not a masterpiece, or they would not have painted over it. Just let that thing stay hidden under there, complying with the artist's wishes. You would not want to embarrass him by revealing his red bowls or whatever...

Brett, 16x24 Charcoal Figure Drawing

NFS

Once a month I participate in the Stephen Perkins workshop at the Artists' Guild in Melbourne, Florida. I need to do life drawing at least weekly, but I just can't squeeze it into my schedule. I need to do better, because it is available both at the Guild and at Ralph's Art Supply in Eau Gallie. If you can draw people, you can draw anything. I should spend a year of my life drawing and painting people from life. Yep, that's what I should do. 

The wonderful artist Karin Jurick painted 200 mug shots, an impressive body of work. The colors, the brushwork, the expressions--every time I saw a face I wondered what the person's story was. Karin captured defiance, sadness, hopelessness and other raw emotions on her small canvases in a very dramatic way.