Alla Prima Portrait: Alisha (Acrylic 20 x 16)

Alisha is a 14-year-old middle-school student. She posed for our portrait studio today at Punta Gorda VAC.

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

In fact, I knew yesterday that it would be another scorcher today. With high humidity, the temperature would feel like more than 100 degrees. When I was painting Donna at the church yesterday, a pretty girl from Indiana named Sierra expressed interest in sitting for me to paint. Since I knew I would not be going outdoors to paint. I agreed to paint her today. We decided to meet at the church again at 9 AM in the side hall. I really like the room because it has tall windows on one side, almost as perfect as an ideal studio. The sketch took about 2 hours including breaks.

Alla Prima Portrait: Donna (Acrylic, 18 x 10)

It is hot and humid today. After I looked at the temperature, I hesitated to go out to paint en plein air. Therefore, at 9 PM, I called the pastor of the First Community Congregational Church to see whether I could find someone to paint indoors. The pastor's response was Yes and there were quite a few volunteers working there. Therefore, I loaded the kit in the car and hit the road. 

When I got there it seemed everyone was busy. I saw Donna, one of the volunteers, sitting aside in the hall. I noticed she had a bandage wrapped around the ankle of her right foot I didn't paint it). Obviously, she was injured. There were three grandchildren with her. I went over and offered to paint her. Sher hesitated a bit and agreed.

En Plein Air: Cooling off in the Shade (Acylic 12 x 16)

This view is at a farm across from the Community Center of the Olga Park, a rustic area off Highway 80 (Palm Beach Blvd.).

Alla Prima Figure: Keith Water-coloring at the Wild Turkey Stran Preserve (Acrylic 16 x 12)

I went out to paint this morning at the Wild Turkey Strand Preserve with the Lee Plein Air Group. I knew the place pretty well, so before I left home, I had already decided to do some figure painting in the sun. Keith was a water-color artist. Shortly after I started, Keith left the spot, saying he needed to go to the shaded area. Fortunately, by then I had got his image outline on my canvas. Toward noon when he saw my painting, Keith said with a smile, "You should have taken off at least 40 pounds." 

Alla Prima Portrait: Trish (Acrylic 16 x 12)

It is Punta Gorda Portrait Studio Day. Today's model was Trish. Someone said she posed for us before, but I didn't remember. I was pretty impressed by her hairdo. It very asymmetrical with one side hair as short as a boy and the other side cascading down over the ear like a waterfall. Maybe it was trendy these days. I don't know. Anyway, people in this country love changes. From time to time, we all want something new.

En Plein Air: Tom's RV (Acrylic 12 x 16)

Tom is my friend who owns a vegetable farm. He let his RV sit on the farm near its gate all year round. Power and water were hooked up to it. Moreover, a window air conditioner was fixed to the back window and a hot-water furnace was standing by its side, so relatively speaking, it was a kind of permanent residence. Judging by these facilities, it should be pretty comfortable living inside the RV. Maybe because of the limited space in the vehicle, Tom had annexed a tent to it. I had seen some Latino seasonal farm workers living in the RV before but didn't see them for quite some time. Guess they had moved on and tried to find work somewhere else.