Florida Spring

Planning on spending the day painting at Merritt Island, we were waylaid by strong winds off the ocean. Sharon Muldoon & I had previously driven through the park, looking for good sites to come back to. Obviously, I was not interested in anything involving the proximity of alligators. Disappointed that the gusts would have sent our supplies flying, we drove around & explored some more, seeing a total of 20 new birds for me, and one new Wood Duck for Sharon, a serious birder. She can identify various birds by sound, beaks, feeding habits and knows where to look for different species.  I appreciated the knowledge she shared, besides birds she pointed out armadillos & gators.  Now I have seen that a flock of roseate spoonbills can fill the sky with pink.

On the way back, she drove into a town park with a small lake for me to paint. Just past the central building, we pulled over & I captured the late day sun as it sparkled on a tiny pond with a few water lilies. While I painted, Sharon happily futzed with her fresh new ACER netbook, a portable computer that has potential to become a constant reference companion. It was still breezy inland, but the side of the car provided some protection & I sat in the sun to stay warm. A true plein air painting, I think this captures the brilliance of the light in Florida during the week that winter turned to Spring.

Interlude WS oil, 8x10 2009