En Plein Air: Dog-Walking in the Morning (Oil, 9 x 12)

Yesterday when I was painting at the Forest Park, there were not many mosquitoes, even in the woods. Therefore, I thought I could get away without preparing for them. It was 70 Degree Fahrenheit in the morning, so I left my jacket home. Besides, I didn't take bug spray with me. Right after I set up, the mosquitoes began to attack me. Over the process, I was fighting on two front lines. The good thing was I was pushed to paint fast. By the time I finished it, I got about a dozen of bites in my arms. 

En Plein Air: A Clearing in the Woods (Oil, 9 x 12)

It is a warm up. I went to the Forest Park and made this sketch.

Saturday at the Park

Images in the Park

Sketches: People in the Park

Readers and Others at the Park

Sketch: A Mother at the Playground

Come Down, Honey.

Sketches at the Airport

The flight was delayed time and again yesterday. I decided since I was stuck in the airport, I might as well make full use of the "free models".

Summer Break

I'll take a summer break and stop painting for a while. However, I may still post my sketches from time to time.

Sketch: How Can I Help You ? (Acrylic, 16 x 12)

Mike

I went to the Congregational Church this morning. Usually, they had a big food pantry on Fridays. On Saturday, some people might still come for bread. There were always a few volunteers who took care of the remaining work. Mike was one of them.

En Plein Air: The Reserved Parking Lot at FSW State College (Acrylic 9 x 12)

I went this morning with the Lee Plein Air Artists Group to Florida Southwestern State College (Edison College) to paint. I was there only once and didn't remember what the campus looked like. One thing I knew before going there was the fact that I would see quite a few modern office buildings there. It is my belief that no matter where you are, you can always find something that is worth painting. To me, beauty in representational art is simply a magic combination of art elements like shapes, lines, and dots, and/or harmonious unity of colors. That is why usually I don't go very far from home to paint en plein air. However, today I painted a few cars at the campus reserved parking lot. It was not that I could not find interesting views to paint. The problem was that I could not find a right spot where I could set up to paint.

At the parking lot, I was first attracted by the yellow jeep. Then I realized that there was a variety of different shapes in the view and I also see a rhythm in the combination. That is why I decided to paint the scene at the parking lot. 

Alla Prima Portrait: Selah (Acrylic, 20 x 16)

It was VAC's Portrait Studio day. Today's model was Selah. 

En Plein Air: A Tree Standing by the Caloosahatchee (Acrylic 10 x 17)

I've found a beautiful place to paint. It is the Riverside Camp and Retreat Center. The address is 7305 County Rd 78, Ft. Denaud, FL 33935.  I was just exploring the north-bound N. River Rd. (CR 78) this morning and discovered the place. I simply sneaked in and drove all the way to the riverside. When I was done with the painting, I stopped by at their office. I tried to make arrangement for the Lee Plein Air Group.

En Plein Air: An Abandoned Farm House in Alva (Acrylic 16 x 12)

The house was in a quiet area with fenced-in farms on both sides of the road. I happened to see this abandoned house with a rusty roof and boarded windows under what I believe was a huge mango tree. Whenever I saw an abandoned house, I could not but be mesmerized by a crazy urge to imagine what the house owner's life was like before the house was abandoned. Sometimes, I even made a story about it to satisfy myself.

En Plein Air: The Boat and the Storage Shack (Acrylic 12 x 16)

I drove almost an hour this morning looking for a scene to paint. Before I knew it, I found myself on Peace Road, Buckingham and was face to face with this homey view.

Alla Prima Portrait: Frank (Acrylic, 20 s 16)

En Plein Air: The Interior of the Congregational Church (Acrylic 20 x 16)

The weather forecast said there was high humidity today, so I hesitated to paint outdoors. Finally, I decided to paint portraits indoors. I took it for granted that I was able to find models at the Congregational Church. However, to my surprise, when I got there, the parking lot was packed full. People got out from their vehicles large shopping carts. I was wondering why there were so many people.

When I got inside, I realized that I would not be able to find a model for my portrait painting because all the volunteers were busy passing out food. Half of the meeting room was piled with boxes of all kinds of food. Now I understood why there was such a crowd this morning. Unlike the food pantries previous weekend, today there was such a variety of food categories that I saw a small mountain of watermelons. No wonder people brought with them large shopping carts. Pastor Deb was very thoughtful. Since the line was too long for people to stand in the sun, she asked them to come inside and sat in the hall of the church waiting for their turns. Based on the situation, I decided to paint the interior of the church instead of portraits.

Alla Prima Portrait: Nicole (Acrylic 20 x 16)

It was VAC's Portrait Studio Day today. The model we had for the session was Nicole. I don't remember I painted her before, but the rest of the group said they did. Maybe I was not there when she sat for us before. Anyway, Nicole was a very professional model. She was all dressed in red with a beautiful headdress and a colorful boa, that made it more fun to paint. I am really tired of painting those who simply come and sit on the high chair as if they were coming to a photographer's studio to have an ID picture taken.

Interestingly, not to my acknowledgment,  Cathy took a picture of me painting her and sent it to me after the session. So I added the picture as follows:

En Plein Air: A Draw Bridge over the Caloosahatchee River (Acrylic, 10 x 17)

Tropical Storm Emily had passed over this area. The air was kind of cooler. I went this morning to the Sweetwater Landing Boatyard. Highway 31 happened to run across the Bridge. I was painting from the parking lot a the boatyard.