September 2nd, 2013

Below are three paintings generated from the Plein Air painting event on June 1, 2013, Gainesville, FL. All three of these houses are from the historic neighborhood of Duck Pond.

June 29, 2013...Saturday

It's a rainy morning in Gainesville, Florida...and a busy day ahead

This morning, I drove to the Doris to retreive three paintings that had been a part of an exhibition that ran through most of the month of June. 

On June first, another Saturday morning, I had participated in a plein air outing sponsored by GFAA.  We had the opportunity to paint either the Historic Duck Pond neighborhood, Pleasant Street district, or the Matheson Museum.  As I am very familiar with Duck Pond neighborhood, or as I call it "the hood", I wanted to paint in that neighborhood.  I love the old, broken down houses, the restored beauties, and area in general.  I park my vehicle in the hood...Monday thru Friday as I work close by.  I am drawn to the not so pretty, but to the older, decaying houses.  So, I did two paintings of houses that had seen better days, and one painting of a restored bungelow.

Two of the paintings, I did in the comfort of my home.  I didn't whip them out in a day...try a few weeks.  The angles were the challenge because I didn't want to paint a portrait...I wanted the angles...the curves...the challenge!  And they did not disappoint!

I painted a little 8 x 10" on site.  Painting in acrylic outdoors was a test of painting quickly and trying not to let the paint dry too fast on my palette.  I covered those globs of paint with medium and sprayed the palette frequently with mists of water.  I already had my image drawn in and underground colors placed on the gessoboard.  So...I was ready to paint.  It turned out well, and I enjoyed painting outdoors.  I think that I'll do more of this!

I do not have images at this time as my paintings were basically straight off the easel and into the show.  Hope to shoot some good pictures of them either this weekend or next, and be able to post them in the near future.

at the Doris

Through out the month of April, nine of my paintings are being exhibited at the Doris, located in downtown Gainesville.  I selected a specific theme so that all the paintings would be related and cohesive.  They are paintings of the springs here in North Central Florida. 

If you are unable to visit ... below are the images of the paintings

This painting is untitled.  The waters of the springs are so clear that you
can see through to the bottom.  The view is as one standing on the edge of Rum Island looking towards the Santa Fe River.  I enjoyed the concept of looking through the water to looking at the reflection of the sky seen in the water surface, earth and sky. 

This painting is conceived from the images of the headspring of the Itchneetucknee River.  A beautiful pool of gorgeous colors, cool waters surrounder by lush vegetation.  A very popular place during the summer months.

View of the Itchneetucknee River looking Southward.  A painter's discretion of eliminating tubers and other swimmers and anything else that breaks the serenity of the atmosphere of this place.

The Bouleware waterbuilding located at the headspring that feeds into Payne's Prairie, Gainesville, FL

Two very young girls enjoying a summer vacation at the headspring of the Itchneetucknee River

There were lots of children and adults enjoying the cool waters and ample areas to swim and jump into the Blue Hole Spring in Gilchrist Co.
A feast for an artist who likes to paint people, that would be me!  I have a wealth of material to work from...plus how enjoyable to wade in the chilly water with that hot, Florida sun baking the top of you.

Kayaking down the Itchneetucknee River.  My husband and I are planning on doing just that ourselves in the next couple of weeks.  A very enjoyable and delightful way to spend a day!

A group of friends cooling off and enjoying each other. 

The treasure seeker, I don't know if she was looking for minnows or other small creatures, but she was quite intent in her search.