Ghost Ship, 20x20 Oil Painting on Canvas

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After Florida was hit with Hurricane Irma, this sailboat was found washed up on Melbourne Beach. Authorities eventually discovered that the boat came all the way from Key West, hundreds of miles away. Aboard, oddly enough, were two mannequins, a large velvet rose, and a sign that declared, "beatings will continue until morale improves." 

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Mermaids, 36x22 Pen and Ink Drawing on Nautical Map

This map is different from the nautical charts to which I've added sea creatures (see my posts on July 25th and August 27th), but I think it works. I especially like the colors. Click on it to see more detail.

Three of us Pieces of Eight painters will be taking the Elio Camacho workshop again on Amelia Island. That is always an adventure in colorful painting and also an adventure in shrimp. The area is known for the very best shrimp, and it is hard to resist eating it every day. It's just like the scene in Forest Gump where Bubba is describing all the different ways of cooking shrimp. So many shrimp...so little time.

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Mermaid, 11x17 Black and White Drawing on Navigational Chart

I was inspired by artist Jean Thomas for this one, after seeing her drawing of a face in a navigational chart. She gave me a chart and I put it far from me and looked at it until I saw a mermaid. Most of the drawing followed the lines of the map, but I added some flourishes for the tail. Very therapeutic and fun. I think maps of all kinds are just naturally beautiful.

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Winter Morn, 8x10 Original Oil Painting on Canvas

$125, Click to Purchase

This light was filtered thru mist and just fell on the ocean in a white light. So peaceful at the beach in the morning. Flocks of seagulls flew by, and when I paint them it will be on a big canvas. I love the way they fly in formation, looking for breakfast.

Are You Lookin' At Me? 6x8 Oil on Canvas

$89, Click to Purchase

Pelicans are pretty cute when they are floating in the water, and quite beautiful when flying, but waddling around strips them of their dignity. This guy was at Port Canaveral having a relaxing day, just as my painting group was. 

I just renewed my passport and I must say, the new one is beautiful, with illustrations of America from sea to shining sea. It has wonderful quotations too, like this one:

The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class--it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity. - Anna Julia Cooper

Someone call Congress. They are apparently unaware of this. 

I admit I was not familiar with Anna Julia Cooper, so I Googled her (of course) and learned she was born into slavery, but became a prominent African-American author, educator and speaker.

And that's my lesson for today.

Solace, 6x8 Oil on Canvas

$115.00 Click to Purchase

This is a lonely, moody scene. What is the woman thinking? Whatever it is, she is finding solace in the movement of the surf and the magnificence of the sea. This is a peaceful painting, in spite of the wave action; the sound of the ocean can be very soothing.  

Shoreline, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

The Olympic Peninsula has everything to offer: seashores, mountains and rain forests. Take a jacket, though, because one minute you are in a cold mist and the next the sun is shining brightly and everything changes from gray to color. In the distance in my painting you can see Vancouver Island in Canada--until the mists roll in.

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