Stormy Sky

We're being buzzed by heavy storms with mini tornadoes in them in the Counties North of us. I went out to take pictures of the amazing sky. I also shot this great picture of the front of our house with the little triple palm tree and Wendell silhouetted against the window watching his mama.

Wendell and The Catnip

Wendell and his bunny with the flourescent pink ears. Obviously very relaxed.

Everglades Adventure II

We have a week left here in SW Florida. Yesterday we had a late afternoon meal at Noodles Restaurant and headed to the Turner River boardwalk in the Everglades where I was going to do a painting. It was not to be since it turned out to be too buggy. There were plenty of alligators, fish, crickets and turkey vultures though, and the ride is always beautiful!

Visit Parrsboro, Nova Scotia

Don and I walked all the way across the exposed sandbars to get here from our cottage at Second Beach. Visit Bay of Fundy Blog for more information about the Canadian Maritime Provinces. You can drive there ;)

Check out at Destination Gallery on Main Street in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. This wonderful 2 level space has been painstakingly restored by Artist/Owner Taylor Redmond who has an absolute gift for display. See paintings, jewelry, glass, fabric, antiques, vintage clothing and more, plus have a little something at the sweet coffee bar she hosts in the summer months. Visit my Just Painting Blog to see my work.

The Tomato Garden

My Beefsteaks, which I sprouted from seeds are almost ready to pick. Next year I'll transplant them more quickly than I did and I'll have a better crop. Such fun growing flowers and tomatoes in the winter here in Naples. I've given up on sprouting seeds at home because of the cold rainy spring weather we generally have up there. Two weeks from today we'll have begun the long drive home to Marshfield. Time flies.

Block-in Five Little Peppers 5x5

I started this yesterday. I CAN'T do anything simple and it's my nemesis. So after a few hours I got the plate proportions right and took a break. Watch for the finished painting on Just Painting. Wasn't there a story about 5 little peppers somewhere in my childhood?

Everglades Adventure

No Painting today. Took the grandsons for an airboat ride and afterward we drove a few miles farther to check out the Turner River, where we saw several alligators, a huge turtle sunning himself, a fabulous bird and a number of these magnificent Southeastern Lubber Grasshoppers. The longer we stayed at the site, the more we could pick out creatures who were camouflaged in the landscape. The highlight of the airboat ride was the tame pelicans ,which apart from the ride through the mangroves, accompanied us both at the beginning and the end of the ride. The guide has a little bucket of fish, of course.

Block-in Matlacha Gallery 5x7

Despite having my 8 and 12 (more like 14 and 16 if you ask me) year old grandsons here, I managed to get this little sketch done of a wonderfully colorful Gallery in Matlacha, Florida. The colors don't show up well here. The umbrella is much more red-orange and the green is intense. I'll post it on Just Painting when I finish it.

Wild Kingdom

Living here in Southwest Florida, we've got alot of company that we try not to think about, living very closely with us whether or not we like it. I saw this guy hanging out in the planter that runs the width of the front of the house under the louvered crank out windows that we , and the cats, love so much. I'm sure he and his kind were here long before we were.

Low Tide Solarized

There's a setting on the camera called solarize which separates the values in a dramatic way. This shot from 2nd beach in Parrsboro, NS. Canada is an example. It makes a dramatic scene even more so.

Visit marysheehanwinn.blogspot.com to view my latest paintings.

Parrsboro Lighthouse

Sometimes just enough fog covers this lighthouse and the fog horn blows a high low tone, yet there is clear weather around it. Typical moody weather along the Fundy Shore.

Parrsboro, Nova Scotia

For those who came over here to see some photos of the Bay of Fundy I have some great stuff to show. I am a fanatic photo taker and digital photography has pulled out all the stops for all of us. No more wasted $$$$ on experimental or poor shots. I have been visiting Parrsboro annually for 10 years this summer. Here are some of the many moods of this special place. Depicted here: Morning, low tide, misty conditions, by mid afternoon the high tide has brought winds and clear skies. You can actually feel the wind shift at the tide change.

Check out the red in the water. That is not a photographic enhancement. Is that great or what?

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My other blog: Just Painting

http://marysheehanwinn.blogspot.com

Nizzy

This is a fluff post. I 've been painting all day and stopped to take a photo of Nizzy who was jumping on the screen in pursuit of a lizard. She couldn't catch him.

I love her eyes. They morph from green to aqua green and smokey blue green.

Procrastination

Why do artists procrastinate? It's not because they don't love what they do. I've got the studio up and am dabbling in finishing a painting of cows that I started in Tiverton in September, I think. The cows are in dappled shade and it is about 90% done. It's that other 10% that's so worrisome. Maybe it will be posted on my Just Painting blog.

There are also distractions here, like the pool and shopping for house stuff.

Going South

No one can fit more stuff in a car than I can. We're leaving at 3 AM which gets us to New Jersey by about 8AM. Then it's my turn to drive.

Until then I sleep.