Good-Bye Florida

I do not know where the time goes when we stay in Florida. Next week at this time we will probably be home. I just hope I can keep some of the last 8 weeks of painting practice and mental peacefulness continuing. The past weeks have been full of bliss.

Each day in Florida there is visually something new to observe. There is a yin and yang tug from the change from evergreen trees to palm trees, from big box stores to beach shops, from egrets to sparrows  Everyday brings such a contrast between Minnesota and Florida. The visual change is such a delight. I can see why famous artists from the 19th to 21st centuries moved around so much. With travel comes new sounds, smells, tastes, sensations and sights and all these spark different synapses in the brain, helping in building new connections and rewiring. Everyday is a new opportunity to be inspired in different ways. (Note that I said different not better ways. I have strong Minnesota DNA)

This drawing of an iguana was one of the typical Floridan things to observe in nature. I am not going to see him in Minnesota. I watched him and photographed him at the J.N. Ding Darling Natural Wildlife Reserve.  I was fascinated with the textures and patterns in his skin. What possible ways could they be depicted in a drawing? I thought about all the possible drawing strategies and mentally saw a vocabulary of lines that would effectively convey that scaly and folded skin. I had to get it done ASAP. The drawing just flowed, one pattern of marks leading to the next. 

I can not do anything about Minnesota road construction, the political climate, telemarketers or backed up traffic on summer weekends as we travel back and forth to our lake place, but I can keep up the practice of finding new ways to convey my observations and continue many of the routines I have established.

Thanks for reading today!

Kathy