Palms at Tampa Bay

There is a beautiful walkway along Tampa Bay that has untrimmed Palm trees which I like.  This grouping caught my eye so I found a spot to set up my art supplies and spent the next two mornings painting this.

Title:  Palms at Tampa Bay
Medium:  Pastel on Uart 320 grade sandpaper
Size:  11" X 17"

Sea Grapes By The Water

This is the side view from the "Giant Sea Grapes Artists Cave" where four of us artist are painting shoulder to shoulder and back to back to stay out of the sun and capture those very special views of white sand and beautiful foliage found on Honeymoon Island.

Title:  Sea Grapes By The Water
Medium:  Pastel on Uart sandpaper
Size:  5" X 8"

5 1/2" X 5 1/2" Study of Florida Landscape 6

This was at Land's End at Bay Port.  It is a beautiful place to paint as there are many views of salt marshes to pick from. 

Title:  Land's End at Bay Port
Medium:  Pastel on Uart sandpaper
Size:  5 1/2" X 5 1/2" in an 8" X 8" frame

5 1/2" X 5 1/2" Pastel Study of Florida Landscape 5

This painting was done on a cool winter's day in Anderson Park.  Groups of Palm trees provide a very nice canopy which is a comfort from the bright sun and wind.

Title:  Nature's Canopy
Medium:  Pastel on Uart sandpaper
Size:  5 1/2" X 5 1/2" in an 8" X 8" frame

5 1/2" X 5 1/2" Pastel Study of Florida Landscape 4

This painting was done on a cool windy day in Anderson Park.  It seemed like a very simple motif but the more I looked at it the more I observed interesting details. 

Title:  Marshland in Anderson Park
Medium:  Pastel on Uart sandpaper
Size:  5 1/2" X 5 1/2" in an 8" X 8" frame

5 1/2" X 5 1/2" Study of Florida Landscape 3

This painting was done at the Wallsingham Botanical Gardens.  It is a beautiful location with a canal and bridge similar to Monet's gardens in France.  I was on the bridge and noticed this bush under the bridge that was sparkling with the reflections of the sun and seemed to be very content with its location.  I thought I would "go out of the box" with my colors and get out of my comfort zone.  It was gutsy and fun.  It took a while to decide when the painting was complete but when I came to that point I was pleased.  It will be hard to let go of this painting as I grew as an artist when I painted this.

Title:  Bush Under The Bridge
Medium:  Pastel on Uart sandpaper
Size:  5 1/2" X 5 1/2" in an 8" X *" frame

5 1/2" X 5 1/2" Study Florida Landscapes 2

This is a painting of the Florida Pines on the other side of the path where the Palms were.  It is a necessity to find shade to set up and do a painting.  It is the same shady spot were I painted the "Oasis from the Sun" only on the opposite side of the path.  The Florida Pine Trees are so different from the pines in the north.  They branch out similar to an oak tree rather than have all the branches extend from the trunk evenly each year like the northern pine.  Also the pine needles are open and airy rather than thick clusters like a Christmas tree.

Title:  Florida Pines
Medium:  Pastel on Uart sandpaper
Size:  5 1/2" X 5 1/2" in an 8" X 8" frame

Most Recent 5 1/2 X 5 1/2 Studies of Florida Landscapes 1

Here are six 5 1/2" X 5 1/2" pastel paintings of studies I have done in the last few months at various parks in Florida.  The parks are Honeymoon Island, Anderson Park and Bay Port.  This group of Palm trees caught my eye as it had a beautiful arrangement to it and was a shady spot that provided relief from the hot sun.  There was enough breeze to make it tolerable to forget about the heat and stay long enough to get a good start on the painting.  Often I will finish it up in my studio at home.  It is easy to bring back the experience of being out there in the field and studying the view for 2 or more hours.  I have time to look at the painting with fresh eyes and the memory of being there.  Then I can make decisions of what would make this painting come together.  It often comes together in less than a half hour for this size of painting. 

Title:  Oasis in the Sun
Medium:  Passtel on Uart sandpaper
Size:  5 1/2" X 5 1/2" in an 8" X 8" frame