Early Morning in July

One sunny morning, painting in the park and examining how I can make color perspective work. You can imagine painting outdoors in a shaded, wooded area in July in South Florida = Mosquitos!!! I survived and this is what came out of it - hope it speaks to you.

Dragonfruits

Most likely you have never heard of a dragonfruit that grows on a cactus. When I saw these at the farmer's market the other day they were calling to be painted... The flurescent reds with the bright greens made for a beautiful contrast.

Making Apple Sauce

It was absolutely fun to play with the reflections seen on the silver pot and then being reflected again on the kitchen  counter.

Mango for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner!

It's that time of year again. Mangoes everywhere in South Florida. After posing for this painting they were cut up to be frozen for those "mangoless" months to come :). I am talking here in the name of the mango lovers group, enjoying many types, some as tender, fiberless and aromatic as ripe peaches and just incredible - they will never last in the commercial trade and can therefore only be enjoyed on location from private back yards. Some unlucky people are allergic to anything mango. Touching one and getting the resin-like substance from the stem on their hands makes them blow/swell up like a ballon - poor souls. I heard that mangoes are a distant relative to poison ivy - now that figures....

Angie's Existentialism Moment

- I PAINT, THEREFORE I AM!!! - Just a take from an artist point of view on Rene Descartes famous quote: "Cogito, ergo sum". As you see I am still pondering this meditation, recreating reality and philosophy thing.... self expression, thoughts and feelings... communication, attention getting from others, and representational, recording a point in time.. is it all just in our heads???

Meditation Under Red Umbrella

Here is my friend in quiet concentration, taking it all in, filtering it, putting her personal interpretation on canvas - recreating reality... being in the moment with deep focus... I call it a form of meditation, an incredible experience. This is why we are coming back to paint outdoors. All you plein-air painters out there agree?

Painting by the Lake

I am having more fun to paint the painter - this view seems so quiet and intimate... during a break I found out that my friend was painting a small tree that was fighting to grow through the jungle of reed. Who knew?? I still like the peacefulness of the scene I focused on -

Painting Horses

Another beautiful morning at the park painting. Can you tell we are having fun?

Morning Light 1

A morning scene from our nearby park with the shadows in cool colors. I tried to focus on the light going down the slope of the ridge creating a nice circular movement. I plan to paint this view soon again as I am striving for a looser, less detailed impression. Any comments on this one?

Orange on Blue

This is an example of a bad photo that does not give the real impression of the original painting - too much contrast that causes the slices to look as if they have a white frame around them, all subtle greys and light blues are lost. Unfortunately this has to fill in for today as other things are calling me away from what I like to do most which is JUST PAINT!! .... hoping to sneak in a painting very soon...

Morning Walk

Being in the park and painting the beautiful sun light coming through the big oak trees is one of my favorite things. Hope I captured it here - dabbled light and shadows - bright leaves against the sky. 

Ready to Scramble!

...and today for breakfast ... a gift from our own chickens!

Bagel Stack

One American tradition is bagels with cream cheese for breakfast. As I am more a cereal for breakfast person, I took the opportunity to paint this rather rare site when a friend came over with a bag full of different flavored ones... look at the delicious brown tones... and they tasted great!

Water Hyacinth

Considered an invasive plant on lakes here in Florida, the hyacinth made a nice subject for this flower painting. It was fun to paint those thick, waxy leaves.

Firebush

One of my butterfly attracting plants is this firebush, even humming birds seem to like it. I discovered that I really like painting plants and flowers. Besides being quite forgiving in terms of being a recognizable portrait, I think it frees me up to be more playful and creative with it. More flower paintings are coming .....

Thirsty Willow

Something different that I have not done much is painting animals outdoors. This horse is from a group of horses that comes in every week-end for horseback riding on trails throughout the park. My attention was drawn to the morning sun lighting up these yellow water buckets creating delicious reflections....

Lake Shore

..."spring-green" for St. Patrick's Day :o)...  I am struggling with my landscapes recently deciding how much detail is needed to give the feel of the scene in front of me. Here I wanted to emphasize on the different directions the trees are growing (movement) next to the peaceful field and lake (horizontal and relaxation) resulting in some kind of balance...  wow!... I feel quite philosophical today....

Cut Apple

A couple of days ago I felt quite taken over by the flu virus... a difficult decision came up... go to bed and rest or paint... guess what I did?? Hope you like it. ....feeling better now....

Award Ribbon

You have seen this painting in a previous post. I just accepted an award for it during an open show at Plantation Art Guild, Florida. I am all smiles to show that I felt pretty proud of being recognized among all the other paintings...

Tea Hour

Here is another take on the tea pot. I am much happier with this one as it is more what I am striving for... looser and more playful... hope you like it!