The Farrier, 16x20 Watercolor Equine Art

I am primarily an oil painter, but I enjoyed doing this watercolor. I suppose it's unusual to have a horse's rear end be prominent in a painting, but I loved the farrier's pose.

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Dragonfly, 6x8.75 Original Watercolor Painting

You can't say I don't do a variety of artworks. This is watercolor on a paper that is very textured and fun to paint on. I got it at Derek Gores Rocky Water Mercantile on Highland Avenue in Eau Gallie, where you can find art supplies and a wide assortment of unusual items.

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What the World Needs Now

  With these perilous and chaotic times, I decided to do a "message" painting.

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At Gleason Park

Things are loosening up in Florida and people are going to parks and beaches. There were many people in Gleason Park, and they were socially distancing. I had a picnic table to myself and was able to paint in my journal, sitting comfortably in the shade, and enjoying the breeze.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

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A Couple More Pages from my Journal

 I'm almost done with my sketch journal for the Brooklyn Art Library project. It's certainly given me something to occupy my time during the pandemic, not that I'll ever run out of things to do.

In Florida we are under what I'd call Wimpy Lockdown. They haven't enforced much so far, so my expectations are low.

It's funny the things you are forced to notice during isolation. I can't go to the nail salon for a pedicure and I'm wondering when my toes got to be so far away.

The virus has certainly improved the looks of our yard. We have spent our time in isolation whipping it into shape, and it is much improved. I wish I enjoyed cleaning out closets as much as I enjoy gardening. Maybe this summer I'll be able to do some more paintings while standing in the pool. It's the only way, what with global warming and all. It's going to be a scorcher of a summer.

My Sketchbook Project for the Brooklyn Art Library

I am painting a mural in our church and working there every day but Fridays, but in my spare time I am part of the Sketchbook Project. I will complete a sketchbook called My Life in Limericks and send it to the Brooklyn Art Library, where it will be digitized, go on a tour, then remain in the library for visitors to view. There's no money in it, just a lot of joy.

Here are some excerpts. Click on the pictures to view larger.

Bird Painting, "Terns," 5x7 Watercolor in 8x10 Mat

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The amazing thing about this painting is that I stopped. I didn't overwork it, no one had to hit me over the head to make me stop, and I have left it alone. It's different for me because it's a watercolor, and except for my journal, I rarely do watercolors. One thing I really like about watercolors is that I can easily take them with me anywhere, unlike oil paints. Oil paints are heavy, require odorless mineral spirits for cleanup, and are very messy. I still love them, though. 

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Pumpkin Hill, Sketch Journal in Watercolor

We recently visited our family in Pennsylvania and it was just beautiful there with all the Fall colors. They live right on top of a hill which slopes down to cow pastures. See the little fat cow? That is not even exaggerated. 

A lot of cooking went on and we enjoyed it immensely. We hiked through the woods and found the mushrooms depicted above right. The big one was huge and very hard. Fungi can be quite peculiar.

I once had a high school biology teacher who had this question on a test: _______have no ________.

He offered not a clue. Worms have no feet? Fish have no pockets?

The actual answer: Fungi have no Chlorophyll.

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Sketch Journal: Savannah, Georgia

My sister and I just had the most fun a book lover can have; we attended the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Discovery Show. That's a long way of saying booksellers, authors, publishers and associated others getting together and networking about books. I did more writing in my journal than usual, because I wanted to remember the authors I heard; the occasional little caricature helped.

The first thing we did was visit the Bonaventure Cemetery, where the Bird Girl on the cover of the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" used to reside. Because of tourists making a nuisance of themselves, some even defacing objects in the cemetery, the statue was moved to a museum in the historic district.

The Lady Chablis, also notable in the book and movie, died September 8th.

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Wanderer, 5x7 Abstract Collage on Paper, Matted to 8x10

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This abstract is made of watercolor paint and torn textured paper, affixed to watercolor paper. It is matted in an 8x10 mat, below.

My abstracts are few and far between, but, like Zentangles, they are very relaxing and fun to do. Right now I am working on a seascape that has some problems to be worked out. Sometimes the emotional side of art gets in the way of the technical side and I have to step away, analyze, and think for a while. In nature, the sky may be beautiful, the waves impressive, and the water a brilliant color, but if I can't make it all hang together in harmony, I haven't got a painting. So...back to my thinking.

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