Sky Vine, 5x7 Oil Painting Pool Series No. 3

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This is the third painting I've done while standing in the pool. In our record-setting heat, it's the only way to go. It's a good thing I got this done, because Hurricane Dorian is on the way and will devastate this Sky Vine and most everything else in the yard. My painting from the pool is coming to a screeching halt.

As you can see, I added a few more flowers to my painting. Just couldn't resist.

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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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Yellow Plumeria, 10x10 Print on Canvas, from Original Oil painting

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This giclee print is available in my Etsy shop in varying sizes, starting with a 10x10-inch on canvas with deep sides (no frame needed). 

I have been invited to join a blog called Ask Me Anything (AMAfeed), and my questions and answers went live yesterday. My AMA feed is all about art, and people have asked some really good questions. Check it out here.

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Oil Painting, "Sky Vine," 5x7 Floral Watercolor Painting, Matted

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This little watercolor is of a vine that grows in my garden and is making a comeback after being attacked by a hurricane. It is a 5x7-inch painting, matted to an 8x10 size, signed and ready to frame.

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Succulent, 4x5 Daily Painting, Oil Painting on Canvas

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This is a very old painting, circa 2009, just a quick little miniature. I was reminded of it when my niece, who has a wonderful nursery, brought me a lot of very beautiful and unusual succulents at Christmas. A lot of them have fantastical blooms, so I'll be glad to see those when Spring arrives. Below is a picture of one of her Huernias, a genus from Eastern and Southern Africa. This one is called Elvis. See more at Paradise Found Nursery online.

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Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, "Orange Blossom Special," 8x10

I grew up in Central Florida, where the orange was King. There was nothing like walking through a grove in bloom, with the lovely sweet smell of blossoms filling the air. Most adults in my town worked in the citrus industry, including my grandmother, who would walk the half-block to the packing house every day during the citrus season. She had the world's shortest commute. She also had a small orange grove, and in our yard grew avocados, limes, tangerines, loquats, and cherries. I wish I had those things now, especially our huge avocados. We didn't even know what guacamole was back then.

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Small Still Life, "The Last Azalea," 3x4 Oil on Wood, Framed, Floral Painting

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 We were at Bok Tower in Lake Wales, Florida as Spring was waning, and this flower was stubbornly hanging on. I painted it as a tiny painting in a dramatic frame. 

Bok Tower is on Iron Mountain in Central Florida. Florida is very flat everywhere but that area, and folks from Tennessee would laugh at Iron Mountain being called a mountain; however, it is an anomaly in such a flat state, so deserves a dramatic name. Bok Tower used to be one of the Big Three tourist attractions; the other two were Silver Springs and Cypress Gardens. Every drugstore had postcards with those three displayed. That was before Disney came and changed everything. Cypress Gardens is now Legoland, Silver Springs is a state park, and Bok Tower is still as beautiful as it ever was. A side attraction near Bok Tower is Spook Hill, where you can put your car in neutral and it rolls uphill.

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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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Night Bloomers, Flower Art, 8x10 Original Oil Painting

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It is so hard to get photos of these flowers, because I have to keep an eye out to catch them blooming. The leaves that they spring from look very unsubstantial. They are white so that they can attract the sphinx moth, their pollinator. 

Cereus supposedly blooms in the summer, but mine just recently bloomed because Florida's winter is freakishly hot this year. We make lots of jokes about it, but it is not natural and I don't appreciate having to pull weeds in the off-season. 

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Yellow Roses, 11x14 Oil on Canvas Still Life Painting

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Roses are challenging, and so is that yellow teapot. This is a very warm painting, and I think that's why I like it. The red pear adds a dash of hot color.

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Peonies, 11x14 Still Life on Canvas

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Although I haven't been painting still lifes for a long time, I'm pretty happy with this one. Today Donna, Carol and I are going to do a lot of loosey-goosey quick still life paintings using the vast amount of information Elio Camacho tried to cram into our heads in five days.

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The Last Azalea, 3x4 Oil on Panel, Small Floral Painting

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The reason for the name of this painting: we toured Bok Tower Gardens and the camellias and azaleas had finished blooming; however, in my wanderings I found this late bloomer. I have always thought of myself as a late bloomer. I started my government career a bit late, and upon retirement I threw myself into my art career full-time, but very late. I can relate to this flower, the last azalea.

I did this one backwards; I had a beautiful gold frame and wanted something dramatic to go in it. That's not how it usually works, but I like the result.

The little squiggly things at the bottom of the painting are Spanish moss. That's how it looks up close.  My teacher Elio Camacho would call that "licking the painting." I like it though--it looks a bit fancy, as befits such a fancy flower.

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Tiny Zinnias, 3x5 Oil Painting on Wood Panel, Floral Daily Painting

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I think that's enough flowers for now. I am getting the urge to paint the beach, but who knows what will strike my eye next? These tiny paintings have been fun and I do love my garden, but the Devilweed is about to get me. It creeps under the ground and pops up everywhere. As if it's not hard enough to weed in the hot weather, this stuff has to give me a tug of war to get it out. If anyone has a solution for  this heinous weed, please tell me!

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Bronze Daylily, 3x5 Oil on Wood Panel Small Daily Painting

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 I enjoy painting these little paintings of flowers from my garden. This one goes nicely with two of my other paintings, "Blanketflower" and "Golden Daylily." This is a 3x5 original oil painting on wood panel, and it comes with its own little easel.

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Golden Daylily, 3x5 Oil on Wood Panel Daily Painting

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I've been painting tiny daily paintings lately, inspired by the flowers in my garden. This double daylily is one of my favorites. A little easel comes with it. 

Bees are very endangered now, but I have finally seen one buzzing around my flowers. Just one. It is a honeybee, and it's busy doing its work. I don't recall seeing any last year, so I'm happy to see one. Is it the same one every day? Or different ones? I wonder.

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Lily of the Nile, 3x5 Oil on Wood Panel, Daily painting with easel

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This is another painting in my series of flowers from my garden. It comes with a little easel, and goes nicely with the zinnia painting below, which is also in my Etsy shop at this link.

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Blanketflower, 3x5 Oil Painting on Wood Panel, Daily Painting

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I've been painting flowers from my garden lately, and this one is in my "Xeriscape" section. People mistakenly pronounce it "Zeroscape." I had a section of my yard that didn't get enough water, so I went to the native plant nursery (which I call the Weed Farm) and bought plants that are native to Florida. This one has done quite well. There is a house around the corner with a yard planted in nothing but native plants, and I must say, it looks like a deserted property. It is in a neighborhood with landscaped yards and the contrast is startling. It is a lesson to me not to plant things haphazardly and make it look like a weedy mess. We have our very own snake in the yard, and one is enough. It doesn't bother us, we don't bother it; however, I feel that excessive, unplanned Xeriscaping could harbor many snakes and rodents. No thank you!

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Field Flowers, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Floral Daily Painting

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I painted a big happy sunflower on this canvas, then decided I hated it, so I scraped it off. The result was a lovely background that looked like a green field, so I painted these flowers in the field and now I like it. "Scrapers" frequently produce interesting results. I think I'll do more of it. 

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Shadow Irises, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel, Floral Daily Painting

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I really like the play of the shadows on the wall. I love visiting Virginia in the Spring and seeing a lot of flowers we don't see much in Florida. My daughter always has a spectacular yard, and in my family we call it "The Chulie Gene." Chulie was my grandmother and she had a plant nursery. Most of my family inherited the Chulie Gene and at this time of year texts fly back and forth among them with images of their beautiful flowers. My grandmother would be so pleased. 

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Purple Posies, 5x7 Oil on Panel Floral Painting

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After my last painting, which was quite complicated, I felt the need for a painting that freed me up, so I selected this from my bouquet. This is a very "floral" week, with Mother's Day flowers and visiting Bok Tower Thursday with the Pieces of Eight painting group. I grew up a few miles from Bok Tower, and when I was young the Big Three tourist attractions were Silver Springs, Cypress Gardens and Bok Tower. Of course, Disney changed all that. Bok Tower has no thrill rides, just beautiful gardens and a gorgeous building. Below are a few pictures from our very pleasant day.

The postcard view 

The Golden Door

The last Spring blooms of the azaleas

Window on the Pond