Cherries, 5x7

Cherries have a perky personality, don't they? They just beg to be painted.

I'm sitting here looking out the window wondering how we can be having such a drought while other counties in Florida are getting thunderstorms. And why is it that the weeds grow so well in a drought? It's supposed to feel like 105 degrees today, and those weeds won't care. It's a jungle out there.

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Umbrellas, 5x7 Oil

These umbrellas are at a restaurant called Squid Lips on the river in Melbourne, Florida, and I enjoy seeing them when I drive over the bridge. I like the pastel chairs too. I just finished a big project and I really enjoyed getting back to the daily painting. Before I committed to being a daily painter, I saw it as daunting and wasn't sure I could keep up. Now it's just part of the rhythm of a day, although it is still daunting. A sensible daily painter would not paint a complicated scene like this one. I'll learn eventually.

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Egret in Grass, 8x10

This is another Everglades picture. I hate to be trite--how many bird paintings have you seen with this pose? But he gave me his profile, so what was I to do?

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Mary's Cheesecake, 5x7

Our painting group, Pieces of 8, celebrates birthdays a little differently. The Birthday Person brings the dessert. This ensures that no one's birthday is forgotten, and also provides a nice subject for our painting project of the day. Mary's Blueberry Cheesecake was delicious.

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Spoonbill, 5x7

This is my favorite bird. It is beautiful, yet has a funny face that is a big spoon. There are a lot of contradictions like that in the bird world--like the albatross, so lovely, so graceful in the air, then it crash-lands and waddles away. 

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On Da Beach, 8x10 Original Oil

 

This is the view from a restaurant on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. The eatery is called On Da Beach, appropriately, and the coconut pie is incredible. There I go talking about food again.

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Cassadaga House, 5x7, Original Oil

Cassadaga is a quirky little Florida town that was settled as a Spiritualist Camp. People flock here for psychic readings, and the whole place is very quaint, but I especially liked this little house. It is so typical of the depression-era houses in small towns all over this state.

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Airshow, 5x7

This looked so much like the gull was showing off for the little audience perched on the wires, and I didn't change a thing from my actual photo. Sometimes it pays to turn around and look away from the ocean.

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Red Cupcake, 5x7

Enough of the cupcakes already. I want to paint a pie! Today, along with the Pieces of 8, I painted healthy vegetables, then tonight I cooked them and ate them. Still want to paint a pie, though...

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Siesta Key, 8x10

I'm starting to look like a tourism site for Florida. This is gorgeous Siesta Key, near Sarasota on the Gulf Coast. The sunset was a disappointment the night before, too cloudy; however, the next morning the overcast sky created this effect at sunrise. The white beach turned pink and lavender with golden puddles.

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