Florida Garden

This bromeliad grows in Valkaria Gardens in East Central Florida. We took the tour by the owner, Dr. Frank Brown, who is in his 90s and going strong. It was fascinating hearing about all the exotic plants, and I felt like I did when I followed my grandmother around her garden as a kid. I can't dig a hole to plant a plant without thinking of her, so this was a very pleasant day for me and I've painted two paintings from the tour already.

More Plant Life

This little tiny plant sits by my computer. I like the way the afternoon light looks on the leaves. I also enjoy looking out the window at the Salad Table, an ingenious contraption that sits at window height and has a wide variety of lettuce greens growing. No bending, no weeds; what could be better?

Consider the Lilies, How They Grow

Some of my plants look a little worn from the winter, but these lilies have just come up in all their glory in my yard. They grow anywhere and take little care, which is a big plus for me, because when I am gardening, it means I'm not painting. I love to commune with nature and all, but where I live, keeping ahead of the weeds is comparable to keeping ahead of rain forest growth. By the time I finish, there are more where I started.

Lavender Field

I spent a little while doing watercolor, to broaden my knowledge, although oil is my real love. This was one of my efforts. Some things in nature are so amazing that they don't look real when painted, and this subject is one of them. I also gaze at my photos of the colorful pools at Yellowstone and wonder if there is any point in attempting that subject. They look like something from another World. God's colors are much more brilliant than anything Winsor & Newton can come up with.

Passion for Painting

I have been honored to receive this award from Carol Schiff. Carol is a fabulous artist and just gets better and better. She not only has a passion for art, but a generosity of spirit, and it's a pleasure to know her. This beautiful award was created by Kim Ratigan. I'm supposed to pass this along to 7 passionate painters.

To those in my list, you can in turn link to the person who gave you the award, pass it on to 7 other bloggers whose work inspires you, and list 7 things you love; or, if you choose, just ignore the whole thing! It's fun to see this go forward, though.

Carol Schiff
Qiang-Huang
William Hawkins
Tom Brown
Cathleen Rehfeld
Jini James
Derek Gores

Then I'm supposed to list seven things I love. My family comes first, but that goes without saying.

1. The book of Matthew. "Consider the lilies, how they grow..."
2. The beautiful quiet of a forest.
3. The excitement of live theater.
4. A new brush.
5. The feeling of a painting well done.
6. Reading in a hammock. Ahhh....
7. My Mac. Oh, how I love my Mac.

Tangerines

My daughter was here from Virginia and we had a great time. We rashly bought two bags of Honey Tangerines, and I kept to my Paint It/Eat It rule, and this is the result. Back in the day in Central Florida, we never bought citrus--never needed to. Most people's work was connected to citrus and fruit was free. It was very hard for me the first time I had to pay for an orange.

Melbourne Harbor

Plein air painting with my 'peeps' produced this one. There is no learning experience quite like painting outdoors, and no photograph is really the same thing. Many beautiful paintings are produced from photos, but the light and color are not like the real light and color. It's a big challenge, but gets more enjoyable every time.

Storm Over Hopetown

I loved visiting Elbow Cay in the Abacos Islands. The water color is impossible to believe, the people are so friendly, and the food is unbelievable, especially the coconut pie. The beaches are incredible. We spotted a giant red starfish in the shallow clear water at Tahiti Beach and it was an incredible-looking thing. This is a painting of the view I had when I was leaving on the ferry just before the storm. I hated to leave.

Venice Parking Lot

Here's a departure from still life and landscapes. I was so amazed to see how elaborate the interiors of gondolas are, with brocade upholstery on the seats. I never heard one single gondolier singing, though. Not a note. I expected at least a few bars of "O Sole Mio," but no. The best scene was the commuters going from one side of the Grand Canal to the other, in their suits, with their briefcases, standing in a gondola. A whole crowd of them, all standing! Those people have some sea legs.

Apples and Glass

Do you get the feeling I like food? Isn't it nice that it's attractive and tasty? I'm sitting here looking out at a huge papaya on my tree. Time to harvest that. I planted seeds a few years ago from a gigantic, sweet papaya I had bought, and I have a little papaya farm going on now. We can't grow apples here in Florida, so they are part of my buy it/paint it/eat it cycle. And they are more attractive than papayas. I told my husband I may paint one someday, and I already have the title. He said, "Oh, My Papaya?" He knows me too well.