Canaveral Paint Out Day 3

 Canaveral Sky

11x14 inches

Landscape Paintings

Canaveral Sunrise

Notes From My Residency Journal

For some odd reason, my day started at 5:30 AM today. I am not a morning person. I usually get up about 8 AM and drag myself to the coffee maker. The above scene greeted me from my condo balcony and it was beautiful. I headed on down to the Beacon for breakfast and then out to the park. I decided to head out to the point at the end and paint the lovely cloud formations. I found a shady spot on the turn around and got right to work What a great way to spend the early morning!!

Did you know that the Canaveral National Seashore benefits directly from the sales of our paintings? You can also purchase the paintings by email to me or calling Pat at 386.235.4810. The Friends of Canaveral will be happy to take your credit card purchase over the phone or you can send a check. I can ship paintings to you.

This afternoon, I will be painting in one of the parking lots inside the park, where there is nice shade. I love the old trees there and the jungly feel to them. I am saving back a canvas to paint on Friday here at the beach in front of my condo. I can look out and see the guys who are sailing across the water with the sails attached to the surf boards. The beach is incredibly beautiful with white puffy clouds sailing across the turquoise sky. I can certainly understand why so many people love Florida. We live in such a beautiful state.

Tonight we have Porkie's BBQ for dinner at the Clay Gallery. You know how I love BBQ!! I can't wait!!

More to come.....

Canaveral Paint Out Day 2

Canaveral Seashore Dunes

Landscape Paintings

Sea Grapes at Canaveral Seashore

Notes From My Residency Journal

This morning I headed out to the Beacon Restaurant on Flagler Avenue for breakfast. It is the best breakfast I have found in New Smyrna Beach. I had corned beef hash with eggs and home fries. Yummy!

 Fueled up and with cool weather for a change, I headed out to the park to paint the early morning dunes. I have found that lot number 4 has the best dune view. It has a nice platform for painting and viewing. I so enjoyed doing this little 8x10 painting there before it began to get hot. Most of my time at residencies is spent in research and exploration. I do paint, but usually on the patio of the condo or home where I stay.

 Studio work is my best work and the plein air work I do is for study most of the time. At paint outs, I do a lot of paintings in a short time. They are fresh and loose, done in less than 2 hours. Because of this, I don't compose as thoughtfully as I would in the studio. Some of my collectors like the loose spontaneous work so it is all good fun.

I'm taking a lunch break now and will go out around 2 PM to do a Red Cedar tree I found yesterday. I like the way it looked and it is in the quiet place I found yesterday, with shade and no wind. After that, I will head to Eldora House to meet up with the painters and organizers for a dinner from Stavros Restaurant. That is a favorite restaurant for me. I always love to eat there when I'm in town. They have a splendid Greek salad and excellent pizza. Their pasta is good too. 

The condo I'm staying in is wonderful. it is on the 5th floor with a beautiful ocean view. It has a nice balcony for relaxing. The kitchen is fully equipped, so I made my own dinner last night. They have all the little convenient products out like lotions, sunscreen, bug spray and so forth, a nice and thoughtful gift. It also has lovely original paintings which is always special to me. Nicely furnished and decorated with a very comfy bed and good sized bathroom too. Outstanding and my sincere thanks to Donna and Mike for their sponsorship.

Canaveral Seashore Paint Out Day 1

The beautiful view from my residence for the paint out.

Mosquito Lagoon

Landscape Paintings

Notes From My Paint Out Journal

It's about a four hour journey from my house to the Canaveral Seashore. I arrived and moved into the condo around 2 PM, then headed for the National Seashore. This is the third time I've done this event. This year I am hunting out little places in the park where others don't go to paint. I found this little view of Mosquito Lagoon off one of the parking lots. Nice shade and no other painters around. I am not inclined to group painting at these events, so I find little known areas. This lagoon is often painted at the Eldora House, which is the main place for the paint out. Lots of people there hanging around, so I was happy to find the north end of the lagoon instead. 

I brought one finished 18x24 framed painting to put up right away, and 12 small canvases to do during the event. If I do two or three a day, i will be able to goof off at the beach on the last day. I don't ever paint on the day of the gala opening, as I want to be fresh and ready to meet new people. 

Tomorrow morning I want to go to the park and paint the dunes, since the sun will be behind me and I'll have a good view of the Inter- Coastal dunes. The rest of the painters will be going south to some place, can't remember so I'll have the park to myself for a day. Yippee!!

More to come...

Canaveral Seashore Paint Out

Artist in Residence Project Paintings

Bird Island Light

Notes From My Residency Journal

On Saturday I'm off to the Canaveral Seashore Paint Out and will be comfortable in a cozy condo, provided by sponsors Mike Hull and Donna Gentile-Orlando, FL. Unlike my other residencies, my time will not be my own so I won't be doing any research on the area, but I'll be going back in January for a real residency, so I'll have a lot more information for you about that part of natural Florida.

Paint Outs are all about promotion and sales, so it is a very different atmosphere than the thoughtful, careful paintings I would do for a residency. I am with a large group of painters and promoters for this event and the purpose is to make money for Canaveral National Seashore with our sales. We do a number of paintings during the week and sell them at the Gala event for visitors.

I'll have a report when I return.

Wrap Up of my Bird Island Mini-Residency

Palms at Bird Island

Notes From my Residency Journal

I'm back in the studio again for a few days between adventures.

Bird Island is a truly magical place and I love it so much. It has a good diversity of trees, and plants as well as wonderful sea and marsh views. Yesterday afternoon I took a walk around the perimeter of the island, across the boardwalk on the marsh side. There is wild Rosemary growing along the marsh and the Oleander and Sea Island Sunflowers are in bloom. I gathered a bag full of sunflower heads. I will dry them and then give them out to visitors to my studio. Everywhere I look I see great beauty. There are massive palms and lovely old Cedar trees on the island. I've not seen a snake there so it is pleasant to walk through the tall grasses. On the marsh side of the island there is a long boardwalk presenting a wonderful view. I also stumbled on a platform with a wood ladder. The rungs were broken and I thought about climbing up, but decided not to take the risk. 

Our hosts Patsy and Warren make life very easy. They are charming and relaxed hosts, always ready to help and are a wealth of information about the island and the town of Horseshoe Beach. Sitting out on that front porch, watching the sea and listening to the mellow wind chimes, invites visitors to rest and let the stress of the modern world fall away. When I can get the chance to download more photos I will have lots of beautiful images to use for more paintings of this lovely island.

I found the group to be full of fun and enthusiasm, all very easy to get along with and eager to please. It was a wonderful weekend. Next Saturday I'll start a week in Canaveral National Seashore.

 I am blessed by all of the people and businesses who support this project. Thank you to my newest corporate sponsor, French Canvas.

Bird Island Mini Residency Day 2 and 3

Notes From My Artist Residency

Day 2

I did three small paintings today and I'll have lots of photos as soon as I get back to the studio.

Today was perfect in every way. The biting flies that plagued us on Friday were gone and it was a warm breezy day.  For lunch,Warren took two boatloads of our group to the Horseshoe Beach Cafe'. I succumbed to the temptation of fried Mullet with hush puppies and fresh cole slaw for lunch. The restaurant was clean and very nice. The staff was very friendly. Our server, Amanda was charming and extremely efficient. I rolled myself out of the cafe and on to the boat.

After returning to Bird Island I painted almost until sunset. I like to walk down the sea boardwalk just before the sun goes down, taking reference photos at the perfect time of day. The palms turn pink and red just at that moment, so beautiful.  I go back to the dock and watch the big red ball quickly slip into the sea. It happens in an instant and I don't imagine I could ever tire of that view.

We enjoyed marvelous baked beans and hamburgers with salad for dinner. Patsy treated us to homemade key lime pie for dessert. After dinner we strolled down to the dock for our nightly sky watching on the bean bags. We were thrilled to see a fabulous shooting star go right over us. It looked close enough to reach out and touch.

 Just before it was time to go in, we began to hear some splashing under the dock. We thought it was fish but when the dock lights tree turned on, we discovered a young Night Heron caught in fishing line.  Warren lowered Margaret and I down on a gizmo that hauls boats up and down. We were armed with scissors and a scoop net. It was a little scary being lowered down  to that dark place but also pretty exciting rescuing a wild creature.  We cut the line and got the fish up on the dock. Fred put a towel over the birds head and he and Margaret got busy trying to unwind him from the fishing line. It took some time to free him from the line, which gave me a bit of time to observe him closely. What a beautiful bird.  It was a bit of excitement for us and I hope he went on with his life after the trauma, unscathed.

Day 3

Early morning was all about gabbing with my roommate while we played with our smart phones. It's nice to make a new friend. Now we are sitting around the dining room yacking and eating this morning. I had fresh steamed shrimp and fresh pineapple for breakfast and now I'm drinking coffee. I don't know if I'll paint today but I've had a marvelous time. This group is so kind, fun and entertaining. It has been a real privilege and pleasure. We will probably head back to land when the tides are right and I will be posting some photos from this wonderful trip.

Bird Island Mini Residency Day 1

I am on Bird Island for the weekend. I have no way to show you images yet, but I'll do that when I return to my studio.

I am here as a guest with 9 other painters, from the Oak Hammock Plein Air Group. We arrived by boat yesterday with lots of painting equipment. Warren and Patsy Nelms, our hosts, have a big rolling cart that goes down the dock to haul supplies to the house. It is a big rambling cozy home with lots of space.

We had a great lunch of cold cuts and fruit.  With peppermint ice cream. I headed out to paint right away, doing a painting of an old Cedar with lots of tiny limbs. Great fun and practice.  My second painting for the day was a bunch of sea grapes. I love them and don't get the opportunity to paint them very often.

Dinner was spectacular, with smoked mullet dip, blue crabs, steamed shrimp, Greek salad and grits. I was in heaven. We hauled bean bag chairs down to the dock after dinner and lay in them staring straight up at the stars. I could have stayed all night if I had a blanket.

This morning we started the day with fried grits,bacon,sausage,pancakes and fresh fruit. Lord I love the South!!!

I headed over to the west side of the boardwalk to do a little painting of a large Oleander bush and the sea behind it. Soon we will leave for Horseshoe Beach to have lunch in a cafe, meeting other artists. All of the painters here are terrific.

The island itself is wonderful. I got very good news. Patsy and Warren are going to give me a week residency at the island in April 2013. I will be dropped off here and enjoy the luxury of spending a week on a private Island. I expect Captain Jack Sparrow will drop by for cocktail hour each night. ;>)