TREES

Spruce trees in the woods North of our house. I painted with gouache, but wetter than usual.

ORCHID

Today I drew and painted the orchid that I intended to paint yesterday. This is one of 2 orchids that I bought in Costco while in Juneau..... at only $10 each, I couldn't pass them up

SENORITA

I set my orchid on the table with intentions to paint it, but the senorita that my potter friend Olga Locher gave me years ago was on the table and it got priority. Maybe tomorrow for the blossoms.

A SHELL AND A BOAT

Yesterday's postcard.... a quick painting of a shell with sample paints from Daniel Smith.
And today, our boat, the F/V Apex. Van left to go fishing today and I did this just before he left. Lots of snow still on the mountains. Some people still have lots in their yards.

WHITE CHRISTMAS CACTUS

I bought this little cactus right before Christmas, all full of buds that fell off within days after bringing it home. When I got home from Florida and went to get it at the school where Annie was taking care of it, it was blooming. I wasn't sure it was mine, but Annie was sure it was the same one.

BACK IN ALASKA AND SOME FLORIDA POSTCARDS

I'm so glad to be home! And now that I've kind of caught up with things, I'd better get back to my painting and blogging. I must admit to not painting everyday during the last month, but now that I am back home and the internet connection seems to be working better these days, I'm vowing to get back with daily posting of daily paintings. I did do more than a few paintings, I may have even averaged one little painting a day before leaving Florida, and here are a few of them.

The wisteria at Martha and John's house. It was a stick plant at the beginning of March. Soon after painting this, the flowers were all gone after a winding night.

This is one of several attempts to paint mangroves from photos I took while kayaking near Palmetto. This is the best one.

One of the houses seen from our porch
I did this page while sitting in the rowboat while Van fished. He didn't even get a bite.


One of a couple of paintings from this vantage point of our residence in Cedar Key.


Several hibiscus were blooming in our yard.


This and several other of the paintings were done in my new sketch book, one that I started using after taking the Journey Daybook class taught by Peggy Herrick. I can't remember the kind of paper, but I like it.... sort of like Arches hot press. This page was done on the back porch of Peggy's home.... you can read about Journey Daybooks by clicking here.



Another view of the bayou from the porch, and a couple of doves out there too. The marshes became green in April.
Our last week in Florida was spent at my brother's home in Lake Wales. I did a few things while there and this is my favorite.

A few days in Juneau on the way home. I did these while on our boat there
The first few days in Alaska and back home were beautiful, warm and sunny. On Saturday, May 2, I kayaked to P. Island on the annual rowing/paddling trip. About a dozen boats went across and enjoyed a picnic in the sun. So good to paint outside in Alaska again. This is one of the rowboat.

TAKING A BREAK

I have been painting a bit, but just haven't gotten any photos taken. I'll scan some when I get home at the end of the month and get back on schedule. We left Cedar Key on Sunday, are now in Lake Wales with my brother and will be home about the 30th of April.... and I'm looking forward to it.

SIX MORE POSTCARDS

The papayas are across the fence from my cousin's in Palmetto. This is the 3rd year I've done a little painting of them.


Atsena Otie Key as seen from the dock in Cedar Key.

This old piece of a dock sits off the beach in Cedar key. It is locally called the Honeymoon Cabin.

A couple of guys fishing off the dock in Cedar Key.

The bayou from the boardwalk next to the cemetery in Cedar Key.
This beautiful house is in Melrose, near Gainesville. Peggy and I went there to look around and paint. Managed to get a good start before it started raining so had to finish this one from a photo.

JOURNEY DAYBOOK, DSFDF, AND CAUGHT UP

THE JOURNEY DAYBOOK ADVENTURE AT FANNING SPRINGS

Last Saturday, I attended a class on journaling at Fanning Springs, a gorgeous spot about a 45 minute drive from here. I learned all about Journey Daybook and worked on a couple of pages in my journal. Journey Daybook Inc. is a foundation founded by Cedar Key artist Peggy Hendrick. You can read about it by clicking here. And go see beautiful pages here.


This is one of the pages I did there.

And this on the second page..... I'm still working on this page.

It was so good to go and paint and journal with others doing the same. I look forward to spending more time with the group here that goes out every Friday to work in their books.

CAUGHT UP

It is sure hard for me to set up a routine around here. I'm just too much relaxed. I have been doing at least a little painting every day and took photos of most of what I've done and loaded last night, and here they are.


One evening I did several sunsets..... this is done in gouache,

and this one in watercolor. Both are views of from our porch.

This one was done from a photo taken on my morning walk on Saturday..... I just can't seem to last sitting out in the sun painting, and there isn't all that much shade around where I want to paint. I need to get an umbrella. This little gouache painting as well as the sunset one is only the size of a business card, whatever that is..... I don't have a ruler. Guess I ought to borrow Van's tape measure.

And in my moleskine, a pine cone..... I was going to paint the whole thing but kind of liked it like this, so might leave it.


Van and I drove to and did some hiking at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday. I found these along the roadside coming back. .... haven't identified them yet.

I did these on Monday.... the paintings are all business card size


DIFFERENT STROKES FROM DIFFERENT FOLKS


If you've followed my other blog, you know that I've been painting the twice monthly offerings on Karin Jurik's DSFDF blog. Karin invites anyone who wants to to paint from a photo she puts up.... the latest is here. I would have had fun with this if I were home, using some of my Japanese wares and design book along with it, but pretty much stuck with the composition such as it was. I never could figure where the light source was coming from in the photo, maybe from a flash bulb.

Well, there I've done it..... no painting yet for the day..... this takes lots of time... but hope to get back to daily postings, though we will have company tomorrow and will be going down the coast on Saturday for a few days, so probably will get behind again.

SOME FLORIDA FLORA

I found another place to get on line.... don't know how long this is going to last. The following are all in my little accordion Moleskine, which I'm hoping to fill up with Florida plants while I'm here.
A delightful smelling jasmine, which is twining around my cousin's citrus tree in her back yard which is in bloom. I dare not pick those citrus blossoms, as it is a small tree.

The paper in the moleskine leaves a lot to be desired for painting in watercolor.... it kind of pools up on the paper in washes. but I'm mostly using gouache which works pretty good..... I'm starting to talk southern again. Ive wiped out some mistake and the beige color of the paper seems to go to a white core. I don't know what that is about..... you can kind of see what I mean in the stem below the top 2 leaves.


This is lantana.... One of the few conversations with my grandpa growing up in Central Florida was sitting on the steps of his house with a sprig of the flower and him telling me that it would take over everything if you let it. It is quite common and has different colors..... I will find some of other colors, I'm sure, and paint them too.


Another flower from my childhood..... phlox. They grew in the spare lots around my home in Bartow. I have fond memories of picking hugh bouquets of them for my mother. She always put them in vases and they lasted for days. These are the first ones I've put in my book that weren't found in Cedar Key.... they were along the road between here and Chiefland.

I have found seeds for these and grown them in Alaska. They are Phlox drummondii, a native of Texas and named after Thomas Drummond who collected in the Mackenzie River.... I just learned that in the wildflower book I just bought. One of my favorite, beloved Alaska wildflowers is Dryas drummondii. Isn't that cool. I'll have to read more about Mister Drummond.

I remember these red seeds from my childhood too..... who could forget them. They are crab's-eye or rosary pea..... I think.... Abrus precatorius. The pod on the top of the page is a morning glory of some sort.... I had found in in my book but can't now and will have to edit this later.

STILL TRYING TO CATCH UP

Not much time to write much before the library closes... I could and might go out on the bench in front afterwards. And now I see that some of these photos of the paintings are out of focus. Well, darn.
This was from the side curb by the Baptist Church... I go there to make phone calls sometimes. Its on a hill near downtown and in the shade in the afternoon. That's a cedar tree.

This is an oak tree.... I posted the sketch I did on site on my last post, and finished it with gouache from a photo.
This is my cousin Martha's house across from where we are staying here in Cedar Key.... I love the crossed palm trees in front.

And this of a renovated historical house, relocated to the grounds of the very interesting museum grounds here.

Well, that's going to be it for now. I have kept up with my goal of a painting everyday, or I should say a painting for everyday, because there have been a few days that I haven't picked up a brush. Other days I've done 2 or 3. I'll get them posted sooner or later.

CATCH-UP TIME

Oh my! We left home 2 weeks ago today.... I probably have 14 postcards finished, but I haven't taken pictures of all of them yet. I am at the Cedar Key library using the wi-fi here, and will upload what I have. My AT&T wireless won't get even a slight signal where we are staying. I can sometimes use my cell phone if I go out in the middle of the road in front of the house. And I thought things were bad in Alaska. Nothing else to complain about here though. Though its been cold a few days (Florida standards) we've really enjoyed the weather.

On the way here, we spent a couple of days in Juneau, staying at the Extended Stay Motel. This was the view from our window over towards the glacier.

This was from Alaska Airlines flight 10 on Saturday, February 21... somewhere over Oklahoma or Texas.

Sunday, February 22, from the bench next to the lagoon looking towards my brother Ken's house near Lake Wales.

On Sunday, we drove to Lake Kissimmee State Park where we walked around.... visited a "cow camp", saw some wildlife and enjoyed the hugh live oaks..... I had time to do this little sketch with watercolor pencils. Yesterday, I painted over it in gouache and will put on the next post.

We came to Cedar Key on Monday, Feb. 23, and are loving it. This is the view in the west from our porch.... the bayou, painted with gouache in the morning.

and this with watercolor.
Afternoon and high tide, the colors are quite different.

I've started painting little botanicals in an accordian Moleskine.... so far using gouache. I'm hoping I can fill it up with Cedar Key plants while I'm here.
This is a sprig of cedar from which the town was named. There was a big industry here years ago using the cedar for pencils.

We are in an upstairs apartment on a canal. This is looking across the canal South. First painted in watercolor then a lot of gouache on top.
Another house across the canal done in watercolor


The same blue house in gouache.