OLE BETTS SEA

I had quite a shock this week when I stopped by TRICO, (to the left of the Bridge) at Fort Myers Beach.
  I inquired about a man who worked on the shrimp boat "Ole Betts Sea".  He had seen me painting the boat while he was working on it (he is the one in the front left) with two other men.  I was almost finished with the painting when he had to go and said he was very interested in purchasing my painting.  I didn't get all excited because I had this happen another time near the boats and it did not pan out.  So, I gave him my card and in a couple of days he called me and said he wanted it and we set a price. He said his crew was going to shrimp at Texas and he would not be back until November.  This was now the first week of Dec. and he had not called me so I stopped by the Seafood location.  Much to my surprise... He had gotten back from the Fall fishing outing and died last week from an overdose!  I was quite saddened by this news.  As you can see by my painting, he was a younger person and appeared quite healthy. So many of our young people have fallen prey to this type of lifestyle and eventually like this man end a life far too soon.  We cannot not help him now but we can pray for help and guidance for other strangers we see in our daily walk.  This morning I saw a familiar woman pushing a cart in the street, which is a normal routine for many of the homeless and destitute in our cities. We may be afraid to approach them or may not have the funds to give them anything, but we can pray for them.  Scriptures tell us that even Jesus said to his disciples that we will always have the poor among us.  I am sure you have heard and maybe even said, " but for the Grace of God, there go I".  During this Holiday season I encourage you to give freely of your prayers for our neighbors on the streets and in the dark recesses of their habits.
 Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a BLESSED NEW YEAR.

...Love and prayers for you.....Penny

MY JOURNEY

Lately I have been working again with shapes and value studies.  I was encouraged with the work of Pat Weaver.  Her work is vibrant and it is really amazing to watch her paint.  Pat stresses that drawing good shapes with good values is a major key to good paintings, many of which she completes in less than an hour.  I did my studies this week with and without drawing in a time frame of 30 min. to two hours. Obviously I have a long way to go.  I try to push myself each day to paint or read or attend workshops and classes.  I do not have a fine arts degree nor have I been painting all my life .However with my lifelong love of crafts, sewing, rug hooking, window and mural painting, and now painting in watercolor & acrylic, and oil since 1999, I am starting to see some growth in my work.  I have been teaching Beginning painting at a retirement community in Fort Myers, Florida, for 5 years and I am blessed to be a part of the Forth Myers Beach Art Association and also to take further studies with Terry Shattuck at Lehigh Art League.  I have painted en' Plein Air a lot this summer and Fall with a great group of painters and friends.  And now I am teaching Beginners and intermediate painters in various workshops at FMBAA. I just love it all!
My advice to beginning painters is to look around you, open your eyes, read art magazines and books, take classes and workshops...and most of all HAVE SOME FUN!  We are not all famous artists nor do our paintings command high prices, but our friends and family love what we do and that is all that matters.  A special thanks to my husband, Jon Fox, who puts up with a dining room counter full of framing supplies and a constant changing panorama of easels with paintings in progress beside his TV. Who knows, I may finally get a good one after painting a couple hundred a year!  I continue to work at doing a blog but do not seem to keep it as current as my entries on facebook.  So, you may see me in both places. I hope you can come along with me occasionally as I continue to progress in my journey as a Passionate Painter.

Value study of 1948 photo:  "BLUE NASH, MOTHER, & COUSINS"
A study of me, cousin Fred Williamson, and Mother Doris King.

THE MAKING OF "EDISON HOUSE"

Here are a few pictures of the development of this painting.  These first shots will show you the photos of the actual place.  I paint out at The Edison-Ford Estates about every other year. It is a beautiful place to visit if you are in Fort Myers, Florida. I  took pictures, set up, drew my value study and got out my paints in the first hour. The second hour was spent painting.  As you can see I did not complete the painting. I finished it last night at home and I will be sharing more of the making of "EDISON HOUSE"- A PATH TO THE PAST
I have always been a slow painter.  I am still learning and consider the time outdoors to be a gift from God.

There is so much to look at that I draw a little value study that acts like my road map and keeps me on track as I mix and apply the paints.

 I often draw with my paints directly onto the canvas.  There was so much going on in this scene that I drew first in pencil.  The sky was lightly applied and some cadmium yellow was mixed with cobalt blue.  I was very limited with my 6 colors and that is usually a good thing when painting out.  Less is more is the favorite saying of the artists and it is so true!

 In order to stay in the shade and out of the way of tour groups my view was at an angle to the house.  It was a warm day with lots of buzzing bugs and I chose to simplify the view of the house.  Some of my photos seem to be a little crooked but I think you can get the drift!  HA!

There are several kinds of water miscible oils on the market today.  

 I do not like to carry a lot of supplies to this location so I used my chair as a table and held my palette in my left arm.  The easel is aluminum and lightweight to pack.  I could carry everything on my left shoulder and a bag in my right hand.

This was the first time I used the water based oils and I noticed that the colors were quite different from my regular oil paints. These were by Martin F. Weber Co. and were on sale, so I got a small set. They are very creamy, however the hue is not as reliable for mixing as those you can make from Winsor or Holbein.

"EDISON HOUSE" - A PATH TO THE PAST"

I finished this painting last night.  It was started at a FMBAA Plein Air Wednesday last Spring. I will give a detailed report of the making of this painting in another blog.  For now just know that it is painted with water mixable oil paints.  The painting is 11 x 14 and is on Gallery Canvas with the border painted to match the scene.

Watercolor Doodles

I spent some time Saturday night with "Watercolor Made Easy' by Janet Walsh.  I got it from FMBAA Library.  I am always trying to increase my skills in watercolor so I played around with simple brush strokes with flowers, leaves, and fruits.  These are some of the Fruits of my labors!

JUST BEGINNING TO BLOG

Today was an office day with loads of emails to answer and phone calls to make.  I did not get to paint.         I have checked out two books from our Fort Myers Beach Art Association and I plan to curl up and read tonight for a couple of hours.  At Noon today I led a group of our Woodcrest Village ladies, 9 of us plus my Mother, to Gulf Coast Center.  We ate lunch at Connor's and had a wonderful time.  I gave out one of my note-cards as door prizes to each lady.  I enjoy making the cards.  They are always of my paintings.  I also sell them at bazaars or privately. I hope to learn about blogging and put my paintings on this spot for you to enjoy. This one was taken on Fort Myers Beach Feb. 2013 at "Art on the Boulevard"  I like to Plein Air Paint and I was painting while a group of us from FMBAA were selling our paintings.  This year we will do this event again in November.