Paintings from Florida

Here are some of the paintings I worked on while in Siesta Key.
The first is a group of bottles and glasses that I set up in the kitchen. While my other paintings with wine bottles are in very neutral colors, this one reminds me of the friends that came to visit and brought paintings to critique from our plein air painting trips. The center painting is en plein air from a house outside the Selby Gardens gate. Barbara and I were in search of "color" that morning. The fog was heavy and she showed me how to paint the sky very gray and then punch in the color when the fog lifts. Guess what? It worked! I think it needs a little more work here and there, but I like it.
The last painting was started at the Artists in the Gardens paintout in Epcot last April. I carried it with me to Florida because I kept thinking that it needed something. By adding some variations in color to the blossoms and hitting the highlights again with whites, I think that did it. I may do a larger painting from this study. What do you think? That is what is nice about doing smaller paintings, you can work out the problems and then paint a larger version from them.
I have a few more to post from that month away including some en plein air watercolors and some watercolor studies of ballerinas who posed at the Sarasota Art Center.
Just a few more weeks until spring!
Durinda

Parting Shots

I am home to the mountains of northwest Georgia after a wonderful month at Siesta Key. There is never enough time to paint everything, see everything, visit with everyone, and go everywhere while there so that is why I keep going back! This year I so enjoyed painting with the Sun Coast group of Plein Air Florida and with friends who joined me, including Mr Buttons, the neighborhood cat who checked on me every day.

Photos: Lunch in Venice with Fran White and Susie Covert; Susie painting outside the restaurant; Barbara Perotti in the Ringling Rose Garden; Sandra Babb at the Myakka River; Ali Light with her work at the Canvas Cafe; and grandgirls Camryn and Caylea at the beach house.

I brought back lots of plein air paintings and large wet canvases in the car! I am now looking forward to the Wednesday oil and watercolor classes this week and the new watercolor class that begins next Tuesday.

Have a great week and stay warm!

Durinda