I just completed painting in the Crescent Beach Plein Air Paintout. Over a week of painting on location along the beach and near the city of St. Augustine. Forces of Nature was an old cedar tree I found growing along the banks of a canal that led to the Intracoastal Waterway . I spent the afternoon with that tree for three days in a row. Trying to capture the light and strength that nature cast upon that old tree. The first two days I left unsatisfied, hoping I would be able to return again and finish the composition. On the third day I left joyfully, knowing I had created a nice painting. I didn't acutally know how good it was until I put it in the competition and it was voted Best of Show.
It was a great week of painting at the Wekiva Paint Out. I stayed in a cabin on the property so I could get up early each morning and begin the day with a quiet walk and a warm cup of coffee. Some days I would wake to see that the wild turkeys had already gotten a head start on me, running right through the campground and laughing at me in my long johns. I did a lot of painting on Lake Prevatt, just down the hill behind the campground. I knew this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. This area is not normally open to the public so I took advantage of it, creating quite a few paintings of the area right around the lake. On my first morning walk I came across a quite area of the lake and immediately went back for my easel and paints. I had a frame already set up for a wide horizontal vista and this view provided the perfect opportunity. I wanted to express the tranquility of the morning with the reflections of the distant trees reflected in the still water. The waterfowl was abundant so I put a pair of Hooded Merganser ducks into the painting. I think this painting got the most comments because many patrons were familiar with this scene.
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