Naples

I am itching to make up the Drive By paintings which have been on my mind for this entire drive by. I did snap 424 photos along the way, like I'd never seen any of it before, but, it's about the light and the light is always different.
We had a great trip, except for 12 hours a day in the car with each other ;) and two cats who were intermittently vocal, and the ultimate 'Pet friendly" DIVE (think cooties) of a room last night. Just kidding. You have to have a sense of humor to be doing this, and we do. 
We toasted our 10th season here in Naples as though we had never been here before and it was a new adventure, which, it kind of is.
I am setting up the studio tomorrow and will be ON these paintings, which as I've painted them have spoken to me in that way that makes me want to paint many more views of life on the road......so stay tuned...
Thank you all for following my 30 Paintings in 30 Days  journey, it keeps me going ;) ;)

Pincher's Crab Shack

If I seem obsessed with crabs it's only a coincidence. Watch for paintings of pelicans next! Speaking of which, the beach was glorious today. Still in the low eighties with a cool breeze 

that some would call a gale ;)   Incredible weather for here.

Don and some visitors leaving because we have no more food ;)

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.

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