Outer Bands, 14x11 Original Oil Painting on Canvas

View on Etsy

 We were on the Pineda Causeway, crossing the Indian River, when we saw this. It looked the same in every direction. Hurricane Idalia was raging on the western side of the state, and we got this. We were very lucky once again. Other parts of Florida were not so fortunate.

Carmen

Lagoon Sunset, Original Oil Painting 10x8 Sunset on Indian River, Florida

Buy on Etsy

This was the Fourth of July on the Indian River Lagoon, and moments later Army paratroopers came floating down with American flags. Sunsets are beautiful even when you are facing East and getting reflections on the clouds.

Carmen

All About the Clouds, 9x6 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, Daily Painting Skyscape

Click to Purchase

This painting started out to be a cardinal (the bird, not the church office).  I went to my painting group, Pieces of Eight, with my palette all loaded with colors for painting a cardinal, and found I didn't have my photo of that cute little bird. I shifted gears and painted a cloud scene instead, using my palette of colors meant for painting a cardinal. 

Where is the red, you ask? It's there, helping make the brown. It's also in the purple of the clouds. 

Don't miss our group challenge on our blog on June 1st. It's very different from anything else we've done.

Carmen

Original Oil Painting on Canvas, Ocean Clouds, 8x10 Seascape

Click to Purchase

There was a heavy cloud in the foreground as I stood on the beach, and bright stripes of sunlight farther out to sea. Colors in the ocean are all about what the sky is doing, and I love when it takes a dramatic turn.

Carmen

Hot Air Balloons, 8x10 Original Oil Painting, Skyscape on Canvas

Purchase

I decided I wanted to just paint clouds. When I was done it looked like it needed something more, so I added hot air balloons to punch it up. I'm happy with the result, but I think the balloonists had better head home, because the weather doesn't look so good.

Carmen

Morning Has Come, 8x10 Oil on Panel Seascape Sunrise

Purchase

We have spectacular sunrises here on the Space Coast of Florida. Our skies seem to get every possible color, and I even enjoy it when there is a big storm off the coast and the colors are very gray. The excitement of what the clouds are doing makes up for the lack of color in that situation. This particular morning no color was lacking, and I have tried to capture them all.

I'm trying to be more colorful after studying with Elio Camacho last week. Here is my journal page after his workshop. Those little things are shrimp; if I put in every shrimp we ate there would be no room for Elio's big dog. Seafood on Amelia Island...yum!

Carmen

Light of Dawn, 6x6 Oil on Canvas, Skyscape Over Ocean, Daily Painting

 Click to Purchase

When clouds are on the horizon at dawn, the sunrise is always beautiful. It's one of the nice things about living so close to the beach. When I'm photographing a sunrise it always amazes me how fast the light and the colors change. 

Carmen

Am I Blue?, 8x6 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel

$99, Click to Buy

I've been painting lots of clouds lately, partly as a response to my painting group, who asked for cloud lessons. Since clouds are so varied and so wonderful, there is a lot to talk about in painting them. Florida's spectacular sunrises and sunsets present a lot of opportunities for skyscapes, but it is hard to make them look believable. That's because when looking at the real thing it sometimes doesn't look believable. At least there are a few things in nature that we haven't managed to ruin. 

Carmen

White and Fluffy, 11x14, Original Oil Painting Skyscape

Click to Bid

I've been studying clouds lately, and I have come to realize that it is just like painting the ocean; every day the shapes, values and colors are different. The good thing about living in Florida (besides the absence of black ice) is that all I have to do for an interesting subject is look up.

Carmen

Sun on the Beach, 7x5 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, Seascape

$99, Purchase on Etsy

This painting was easy to name. This beach is behind a local restaurant called Sun on the Beach. Erosion is a problem here, so those sea oats you see are protected because they help anchor the dunes. We also are a Sea Turtle Preservation area, where sea turtles come out of the ocean at night and lay their eggs and bury them. When they hatch, the little hatchlings hurry to the sea. It's a hazardous beginning; if they don't escape the notice of birds they are goners.  

Mama Turtles continue to reproduce until they are 80. If they had to rear all those children, they would soon curtail this behavior!

Carmen

Almost a Rainbow, 10x8 Oil Painting on Canvas

$125, Click to Purchase

This was a busy sky over San Miguel de Allende. It had light, darkness, rain, and almost a rainbow. There was a lot going on.

Speaking of a lot going on, yesterday morning I saw the real Rosie the Riveters on TV at the White House. In their 80s and 90s, I got the feeling they could still pop-rivet today if needed. They are vivacious and smart, just what I want to be when I grow up.

By the Sea, 8x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

$89, Click to Purchase

Walking on the beach is such a calming experience, and very good exercise if you can refrain from stopping frequently to take pictures. I just can't pass up a shot of beautiful light, or lots of wave action, or nice colors. There is always a lot going on.

I see that there is a painting on eBay by George Zimmerman, and the bidding is up to $99,966.00. Apparently notoriety equals artistic success. Carravagio killed someone too, but he could paint.