As an artist’s perception, I thought you might be interested in the thought process that goes into creating a painting, so this article will include a little something about each painting shown here. “Before Sunset”, the pink sand happens when the light is low, and its glow affects everything so beautifully!
There are places in the world where the sand is naturally pink, so it can be strikingly pink in conditions like this! I know to be careful and balance my values to be effective and feel natural. I didn’t do my usual rust red underpainting and got right on it. No people and no birds, the focus is on the soft sky. The catamaran is a stopping point and then the eye should go back to the sky! Sometimes a painting itself is the whole center of interest! In this case, the viewer has the whole beach to themselves, which is often what we want when we go to the beach!”
I hadn’t done an Everglades painting for some time and decided to pull up some old references and add my own takes here and there. I kept it loose and painterly using the foreground to pull the viewer up and over into the picture! There is no overly dominant center of interest except perhaps the looming cumulus cloud, but I think the vastness of the Everglades is the story and strength here.
The cumulus cloud rising is symbolic of the returning lifeblood to the “Everglades River of Grass”, which is the title of the historical book by Marjory Stoneman Douglas who was a huge part in establishing the Everglades National Park! This is a must read for anyone living in Florida!
“The Clay Place” was done during the annual event of Five Painters and a Potter while the crowds came and went. My little friend was a special surprise! I looked over and saw her staring at my traveling watercolor kit, and a small painting I had started, so I put a brush in her eager hand and encouraged her to paint, and so she did to the delight of her mom and others nearby. Our children are the future, and we must always be encouraging and uplifting and loving to them! Thanks for a great event!…