Hibiscus Hottie

7" x 10" Watercolor

We're getting ready for the Spring Art Shows! Homosassa Springs show will be on Feb. 20-21, and then Art in the Park at Rainbow Springs will be March 6-7. I'm anxious to see if I'll do any better this year. I have made up some 5" x 7" art prints, as well as some that are 8" x 10". Along with my cards, I will have some very affordable art for sale - so we'll see!

This Friday, I start another watercolor class with Sue Connor. She does a lot with abstracts, so that will be something new to experience!

Who's There?

9" x 12" Watercolor

Here's another painting done with the help of a Wet Canvas photo! It's so helpful to be able to find some inspiration there.

I was reading Bill Guffey's blog, and he was telling about the Fine Art Studio site, where artists can win real money each month in painting competitions. You have to pay $14 per painting to enter, but you can win as much as $250 to $1000 cash each month! I loved looking at all the entries, and it's a great way to find other artists that inspire you.

It is a perfect day here in Florida - almost 70 degrees with sunshine! Can't beat that!

Poppy Field

9" x 12" Watercolor

It seems like I'm painting more flowers lately. This is from a photo from Wet Canvas - what a wonderful site for getting inspirational photos!

I still haven't found another scene to paint for The Virtual Paintout in Corsica, but I'm going to keep on looking!

If anyone is having trouble with their weight, I've found a terrific site to help out: SparkPeople!

Lots of motivation, tools out the wazoo, a great community for support and lots of information. Unfortunately, it's another internet "Black Hole" -- I've been spending way too much time messing with it. But, it has gotten me motivated to get back to some healthy living.

PS: Why is it that sometimes when I post, I actually get paragraph breaks, and then others, I don't?! ARRRRGH

Corsica Countryside

7" x 10" Watercolor

This is my first offering for The Virtual Paintout this month. I'm forcing myself to do landscapes with buildings - I'm determined to get better at this! If you'd like to see what the actual photo looks like, click ">here. You will see that I took great artistic license with this scene!

I'm going to look around Corsica some more, and see if there's anything else that catches my eye. We're allowed to post up to 3 paintings on the Virtual Paintout Blog, so I'd like to do at least one more.

In other news, we had a heat wave today! It was up to over 56 degrees today! Folks in convertibles were driving around with the top down! Personally, I still think it's a little cool for that! But, I did get to go out this afternoon with just a sweater on. Fabulous!

Azalea Bloom

9" x 12" Watercolor

OMG! You would not believe how cold it was in painting class today! We have these classes at the art supply store nearby - they're located in a strip mall - and, they don't have heat in that building! Of course, ususally it's not this cold, so no problem. But, this extreme cold spell has turned that building into a meat locker! We all had our coats on for a very long time - and finally with all our hot air, it became somewhat livable.

Yikes! I'm so ready for it to get warmer! Weatherman says on Friday, it should be back into the 70's! YAY!

Florida's Version of Snow

Ok, so everyone in Florida is posting pictures of our "snow" - here is mine! Taken in my front yard at about 9am this morning. I know, it's not much -- but we are FREEZING here! Right now (8 pm) it's 30 degrees. And, it's been this way for a week or so. Folks, we don't like the cold! That's why we moved here! (But I hear that it might get up to 70 a couple of days from now) :)

Virtual Paintout

It's a new month, so we're headed to Corsica! I've never been overseas in my lifetime, so this has been exciting to travel "virtually" to another place. I've been playing with links, so I can post the photo on the map with the painting that I do, and I think I've just about got it!

So, here is a ">photo of what I think I will paint! Or, maybe this ">one! The one thing that I noticed while looking around Corsica, is the outstanding skies! There seems to be more landscapes - oceans and mountains than towns and villages. Lucky for me, since I really don't like to paint buildings!

I hope to show you these paintings soon!