Iris, 6x8 Original Oil on Canvas Daily Painting

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I am mining pictures I took of the gorgeous blooms at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina for floral daily paintings. Sometimes I think I'd like to be locked away to just paint for days with a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. It worked for Rembrandt, at least artistically, but he forgot to pay the bills. That was unfortunate, because he was quite the consumer.

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Florida Vista, 6x8 Original Oil Landscape with Clouds, Free Shipping

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I enjoy the contrast in light that Florida weather creates. In this instance the clouds were putting the foreground in shade and the sun was shining brightly on the pasture in the background. This is an original 6x8 inch oil, signed and ready to frame. 

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Bermuda Scene, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Seascape

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The past three weeks have reminded me of when I lived in Bermuda, because we have a leak under the slab of our house and have not had the water turned on, except to quickly get essentials done. In Bermuda we caught our water on the roof and it went into a tank under the house.

When we first lived there we thought we had a leak in the tank, because we ran out of water. The local Bermudians advised us that the leak was at the top; namely, us. We learned to conserve water very carefully, with bricks in the toilet tank, turning off the water while brushing, etc. An interesting note: the tank had blind goldfish in it for the purpose of eating mosquito larvae. Yes, we drank from that tank, and the water was cleaner than it is in most of the United States.

We lived in Diamond Cottage on Suffering Lane; that was our actual address, no house numbers. In spite of the rainy winters, it was a wonderful place to live. There was beauty in every direction.

The scheduled date for our house to be replumbed is Election Day. Yes, we already voted!

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Tahiti Beach, Elbow Cay, Abacos Islands, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

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This is one of the most beautiful places I've been. When you're there it feels like a dream. The water is so clear and the sand is so white. This is an original oil painting, 8x6 inches, signed and ready to frame.

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Lotus Buds, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Floral Painting

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I was far from home while doing this painting, and I managed to leave my white paint home! I dealt with it by subtracting color with my turps. This produced a very dark painting, as my canvas was not white, but a toned neutral color. When I got home I mixed more color with white and finished my lotus buds. I like the way they stand out now. These lilies were at Palma Sola Botanical Garden in Bradenton, Florida.

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Sunrise on the Beach, 8x6 Original Oil on Canvas Seascape

 

Watching the sunrise on our beach is such an awesome experience. In a turbulent world, there is so much peace on the other side of the beach crossover. It's nice to change the noise of traffic to the soothing sounds of the waves.

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SALE: 20% Off, Oil Painting Still Life, Radish Bouquet, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

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I'm offering this little still life for 20 percent off and free shipping. I love free shipping, don't you? Most of my original oil paintings are on sale until December 20. 

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Sunrise on the Dunes, 6x8 Original Oil Painting, Seascape with Sunrise

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Florida sunrises are amazing, and seem even more so during thunderstorm season. We get all sorts of weather phenomena this time of year, and the rain is a welcome relief from the awful heat. Our pool was 90 degrees the other day, but after the rains it is 80 degrees. A big difference!

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Storm Watch, 6x8 Original Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, Seascape

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One of my favorite dramatic lighting conditions is what we have been having the past few weeks: a dark and threatening sky as a backdrop, with a bright, sunny foreground. In this case, the sailboat might want to get to port as quickly as possible. After our big Florida drought, we should be thankful for all the rainstorms.

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Yellow Roses, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

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Wouldn't this be a romantic Valentine's Day gift? Flowers and candy are nice, but they don't last. Diamonds and oil paintings are forever.

I painted this twice. I was not satisfied with it the first time, but I learned a few things from my mistakes. The second time I was able to get what I wanted, and did it much faster.

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Alligators May Be Present, 6x8 Oil on Canvas, Ballard Park, Melbourne, Florida, Tropical Scene

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My friend Mary and I braved the heat to paint in plein aire at a favorite park, where signs proclaimed, "Alligators May Be Present." I thought that would be a perfect title. I do think it would be more efficient to just have signs say, "Do Not Feed the Alligators Under Peril of Attack." I say this because so many people who move here seem to leave their brains at the Florida-Georgia Line (and I'm not talking about the country singers), and they think it's cute to feed the gators (and I'm not talking about the football team). 

Just because a reptile moves slowly and has a toothy smile does not mean it won't enjoy a big chomp of human, and it can run very fast when motivated.

And don't even get me started on the woman who fed dog food to bears in an Orlando suburb!

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Still Life, Radish Bouquet, 8x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

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This would be such a nice picture in a kitchen. Radishes are such colorful vegetables, they beg to be painted. 

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Landscape Oil Painting, Carolina Barn, 8x6 Original Art

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Three of our painting group went on a quest near Waynesville, North Carolina to find picturesque barns to paint. We encountered cows and a gunshot, which added to the country flavor. 

The area around Waynesville is so beautiful, and I loved visiting the waterfalls and Sliding Rock, a huge rock that people slide down into shockingly cold river water. Very entertaining to watch. That water is too cold for my thin Florida blood!

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Oconee Sunset, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

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This was pure luck. I saw a good sunset coming on and rushed to the shore of Lake Oconee, Georgia. This heron posed for me so nicely amid the pink and purple water. This particular sunset went through many stages of unrealistic brilliant colors and reflections.

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Sunset Palms, Seascape, 8x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

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I have gone from soft in my previous post to intense in this one. Florida's sunsets can be so unbelievable, and I never tire of painting them. I got more loosey-goosey in this one.

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Palma Sola, Original Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, Landscape

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This is a scene from Palm Sola Botanical Garden in Bradenton, Florida, and was the first of three hikes with my nephew that hot sizzling day. The only moments we were cool were in the car between parks. 

I painted this after reading a challenge from Becky Joy to paint with three colors: yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, and white. It was a good lesson and the painting was very interesting, but dull. It couldn't be brightened with those colors only, so I used cadmium yellow to finish it. I like it better now.

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River of Grass II, 8x6 Original Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, Everglades Landscape

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I have painted this scene before, but this one is a bit more loosey-goosey, which I am happy about. This is the Royal Palm Visitor Center in the Everglades, and two of the best trails are here: the Anhinga Trail and the Gumbo-Limbo Trail. There are also more alligators than I've ever seen in one place, which are, thankfully, viewed from the safety of the boardwalk. 

The Everglades are in a battle to the death with big-money interests, so I hope Florida voters will figure that out in the next election. But don't get me started...

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Bermuda Scene, 8x6 Original Oil on Canvas Panel, Seascape

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I used to live in this beautiful place, and I appreciated every moment there, even the rainy winters. I lived in Diamond Cottage on Suffering Lane; that was my actual address, no house numbers. Bermuda has the legendary pink sand beaches, and if you have seen the Photoshopped version on Facebook with the Pepto-Bismol pink beach, you have not seen Bermuda. It looks exactly as I have painted it. Yes, it does have pink sand, tiny bits of coral among the whiter grains, and you can see that when you are closer up. I have a bottle of it, pictured below:

Just because it's on Facebook doesn't make it so. I could make myself look 27 with my handy dandy Photoshop program. 

 

A friend of mine was a taxi driver in Bermuda, and he once had a woman ask him to stop so she could get a bottle of turquoise water to take home. Wow.

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Pale Sunrise, 8x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

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I was in a softer mood when painting this one. I need something calming during this election season as an alternative to banging my head on the wall. Serenity now...

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Florida Vista, 8x6 Original Oil Painting Landscape

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I always enjoy seeing a bright strip of sunlight streaking dramatically across a scene. This was on the lonely Highway 60 across Florida. Most of Florida is flat as a flitter, whatever a flitter is. The exception is where I grew up, in Polk County. I used to get out of the lake after swimming all day and pedal my bike up a very long hill. Just my luck to have a hill there! 

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