Alla Prima Portrait: Arvel (Oil, 20 x 16)

This was really a quick sketch. It took only an hour and a half. Arvel was a resident at the Winkler Court Nursing Home. I believe I painted him before. He was very sedentary. I asked my friend Kirsten by E-mail yesterday if I could go there to paint someone. Kirsten said t it was better for me to go there in the afternoon instead of in the morning because she was on duty late today. So when I got there, Kirsten happened to be monitoring the Halloween party of the nursing home residents. Interestingly, those elderlies were like children and enjoyed the party time with candies and cake, music and costumes. When Kirsten saw me, she let a nurse push Arvel's wheelchair to the corner where I was standing. Therefore, right at their activity room, I set up in the corner while the whole crowd was still having the party with loud music and calling out names of the winners of the Halloween costume competition. It didn't bother me at all. I don't know it is good or bad, but when I am painting, I don't hear anything even in a rowdy environment. 

Oil Sketch: Sunday Picnic at the Local Veterans Park (Oil 11 x 14)

I felt my paint box was drying and I was thinking of switching to acrylic paint, but I also didn't want to waste the paint which was still fresh and soft. So I went to the Veterans Park this afternoon. The park was so thriving with life that the life-loving euphoria was contagious and soon made you feel high with the people's upbeat music, laughing, singing, dancing, and sports games. My sketch went really quick, about 45 minutes. Twenty minutes after I set up, they got up and started packing. There was nothing I could do but rush. It was really just a draft.

En Plein Air: A Cloudy Day (Oil 9 x 12)

I went to the Meloy Hay Company's fields this afternoon. It was cloudy and windy. Hay rolls were all over there. I simply drove into the field and picked a spot to paint.

Alla Prima: Francis (Oil 20 x 16)

It was VAC's Portrait Studio day. Today's model was Francis. It was my first time to paint her.

En Plein Air: Sweetwater Landing Boatyard (Oil, 9 c 12)

I went to the Sweetwater Landing Boatyard to paint this morning and met its owner Bradon Mayer. I requested that our Lee Plein Air Group would be allowed to paint there some Friday. Bradon was very gracious and allowed our group to paint there.

Oil Sketch: FGCU Student Darian (10 x 16)

It was a pure serendipity! I did a quick oil sketch this morning at the Harns Marsh. When I got home, it was only a little past 11 AM. I ate the lunch, took a nap, cleaned the brushes, and then I got online to browse the local open-air farmers' markets. As I mentioned before, recently I had a crave for painting figures in the sun. I remembered the Florida Gulf Coast University's farmers' market was usually scheduled on Tuesday. Maybe I missed the date of the message, but I was so surprised when I came across one which said, "Come to our farmers' market now. It runs 5 PM - 8 PM." What? It was only Monday! I didn't even double check it before I hopped into my car and drove to FGCU.

After I parked my car at the visitors' parking lot, I dragged the kit all the way to the Library lawn on which the farmers' market was usually held. To my surprise, the lawn was empty. There was no sign of any vegetable vendors. I only saw a girl nestling sidewise in a hammock tied to the trees with legs dangling from the edge of the hammock. She was working on her laptop. I asked her about the farmers' market. She said, as far she knew, they were scheduled for Tuesdays instead of Mondays. It was so disappointing. Nevertheless, I felt I had to get something done for such a trip, so I asked the girl for her permission to paint her. She was very nice and said she didn't mind at all. Her name was Darian, a criminology major.

The sun was setting quickly after I set up. The sketch took only an hour.

En Plein Air: the Harns Marsh in the Fall (Oil, 9 x 12)

There is no apparent drastic seasonal change in Florida in terms of the color of nature. However, if you pay attention, you may still notice some subtle differences. I went there this morning, around 8:13 AM when the sun shed its light at a sharp angle. I did it pretty quickly, only a little more than an hour. Out of all the paintings, I did about the Harns Marsh, this is the one to which I did the best justice  I think.