Prolific?
The past few months have been very busy in production. Not only have I produced four new pieces for the gallery shows, but I completed four miniature portraits for a client as well as a retouch job on a painting she bought elsewhere. Two of the paintings are from Venice--a special city that has provided inspiration for several of my works. Another is from New Zealand--a vacation photo loaned to me by the regional manager of Omni Resorts who is based here. And the fourth is local. It is a scene in Mayport just a short distance south of us.

When's Lunch is based on a photo that one of my daughters shot through the glass door of a restaurant in Venice. Gulls are bold, inquisitive and sometimes demanding. As this one was staring back, it was pretty obvious that he wanted to be served. I tried to capture not only his personality, but also all the light reflections playing on the glass.






Speaking of reflections, the other Venice painting, Reflections on a Canal, I did because they intrigued me with the different light values and colors. Street scenes with old buildings are always interesting and, especially when the "street" offers so much variety and movement.

Mountain Vista is an attempt to capture the wild beauty of the New Zealand countryside. I was attracted to the rushing water and the sky reflections on the mountains. While this type of landscape is not my usual fare, When I saw the photograph taken by a friend on vacation, I wanted to give it a try.

Shrimper at Rest is a scene I have painted before--a number of years ago. I returned to it one day when thinking about old Florida and the way life used to be here before all the growth and influx of the modern world. This is old Mayport, a quiet fishing village that is also home to a large Naval base.

The four miniatures previously mentioned were a challenge from a client. She wanted small paintings of her kids and their significant others. These were each painted on 8X10 canvases. All I had to work from were some little snapshots. I never got the opportunity to meet the subjects. Everything considered, I think they turned out OK.