Wheeling Gulls

Wheeling gulls

 6x6 oil on panel

I've been paintings birds and working in a 

 sketchbook/watercolor journal of sorts which 

is a new thing for me. 

More of those paintings to come.

Funky Monday

I've been funky this weekend. Everyone is going home and I'm feeling the pull of my studio and my 'homies'. Hubby doesn't want to leave early but we've been here for three months and I have work to do. Sometimes you just have to go to the beach and sit there until the sun drops into the Gulf of Mexico. Naples is beautiful. You really can't beat that. I came home refreshed.

Naples Pier Series

Naples Pier

6x6 oil on canvas

SOLD

One thing that is crucial in painting this pier is to create a foreground. Because it is a very long, linear subject, it needs points of interest and perspective to create a good composition.

Blast Off

We're off very early this morning for our annual trek to Naples, Florida where today it will be 41 degrees. You heard me correctly. The deep South is gripped in an Arctic blast that has resulted in SNOW in Orlando. Again, you heard me correctly. SO, it will take us a couple of days with one stop in Virginia and another in Georgia. Should be pulling into Naples sometime Monday and I won't be able to paint for a bit so I am putting up a few links I've collected in my travels through the Blogosphere for your enjoyment.

http://moniquestraub.blogspot.com/  beautiful pastels that look like batiks

Kohlene Hendrickson  beautiful abstracts in ochres  

http://wishartglass.blogspot.com fused glass

http://www.centredeverre.com/ Fused Glass Supplies

I would fix all this font craziness but I have to go. 

Last Post Until Next Week

No one at the pool ;) except moi

The Studio late this afternoon

The prop department

The Studio this morning

We're among the last of the 'Snowbirds" to leave Naples. It's very quiet at the pool and the beach. Today I packed up the Studio and got some stuff in the car for our trip home. The weather continues to be very dry here with cool breezes off the Gulf making temps in the low 90's, seem quite a bit cooler than that. We leave reluctantly, but will welcome the brisk ocean air and pounding surf at our home by the beach. And we'll put our fleece back on ;) Blast off is Friday AM and touchdown is Sunday afternoon in time to watch the Sox :D In the meantime check out Edward Burton a fellow blogger and fine artist who bestowed a bloggie award on me recently. So many wonderful art blogs, so little time.

Copper Cups 2x3

This is my last post for at least a few days as we are leaving Naples for home bright and early tomorrow. It takes us about 12 or so hours to get to our first stop in South Carolina. The next day we stop in either New Jersey or Connecticut depending on when we've had it and then Sunday we arrive home mid afternoon. Don't forget to come by in the meantime and check out my links to fantastic artists all over the world. Where else can you take a trip through the art world without leaving your house? I tried a little teeny 2x3 of these copper cups I got at Goodwill last Christmas for like 99 cents. A real deal. Thanks to all of you for stopping by. I appreciate it more than you know.

Banyan Tree Watercolor 8x12

I've been studying my Banyan tree oil trying to 'see' the finish. Mostly everything is in shadow but the lights will define them and lead the eye. In order to not over do the oil painting, I embarked on a watercolor drawing to help me get a sense of all the shapes in the tree and shadows. Watercolor feels so carefree. I wonder why? I know. You all think I'm goofing off at the pool. You're right.

Beach House 6x8

In reality this is more than a 'beach house'. It's a mansion actually, as are most of the beach houses here in Naples,Florida. I resolved the awkward angles by working out the foreground. Again, I'm not able to get a really good photo of this. What do you think ? This painting is listed on eBay as item number 170199655887. I have to figure out how to create the link.

The Wet Paint Auction

SOLD I had to apply to be included in the Naples Art Assn's yearly Wet Paint Auction subsidized by a local bank. It's a fundraiser for Collier County Mental Health Services. The gist is, the artists (they capped it at 50) go out on site from 10Am to 3Pm on two days in February to paint on locations around Naples. Maps are passed out with the names and locations of the artists numbered. Everyone does what they can and the results are auctioned off at a swank (or so I imagine) party with a $100 pp price tag. I'm gonna cough it up this time and go because I'm in it and ya just gotta be at those things. Politics, you know. Two years ago I went to the City Dock sort of as an interloper just to see the action and maybe meet some of the artists. I set up my gear near an artist wearing a pink Tshirt with the WP logo. The artist's manager publicist, thinking I was someone else, chatted me up about my painting and so forth. She said his painting would fetch minimum bid of $7000. I'm thinking, a vacation, carpet and a bathroom makeover. She's formidable. Last year this same artist was painting on 5th Ave South, Naples' Rodeo Drive so to speak. Sure enough she was behind him on the sidewalk extolling his genius as a painter. I pretended to browse for shoes in the window behind them because I knew she'd recognize me and I was just checking out her spiel. When 3 o'clock came she whisked the huge 36"x40" painting off his easel and went clacking down the sidewalk in her high heels toward the Gallery who represents him in Naples. She's a black belt PR person. This is my submission for the event. It's the old boathouse at City Dock which I fear may be endangered. I love this location and this is where I'm on the map to paint. I have already done the painting but I will go out on site and paint the same painting again which I've never done before. Whichever is better goes into the auction. It's an 18"x24" which is quite a bit larger than I usually paint. I'm thinking minimum bid $1,500. PS, my paintings are as good as his and probably better, imho :D