Monday, May 19, 2014

Water Water Everywhere

We've had a lot of rain in our little corner of the map lately. Seventeen inches a couple of weeks ago. In Pensacola on the other side of the bridge, there was even more. Between the hurricane 10 years ago, the ice storm last winter and the unexpected overnight deluge on April 30th, we've had three "storms of the century" in the past ten years.




As is always the case, there is beauty still amid the destruction. I'm reminded of living in a FEMA trailer after the hurricane. I looked around at the endless piles of debris that had sunflowers sprouting around them, and thought how remarkable it was to see the hurricane-stripped trees setting out new blossoms a half a year off their normal schedule. 

Though impressionist paintings of water usually bring Monet to mind, Alfred Sisley  painted water that shimmered with life and movement. This is his painting of Port Marly after a flood. He painted several views of the town in flood water in the days it took for the water to recede.




And a painting of his with water in calm conditions.




Flood water or not, Pensacola is the ideal place for a painter to study water,surrounded as we are with bays, the Gulf, rivers and bayous that all look different from day to day under different light and weather conditions. I didn't realize how influenced by my surrounding I am, until an art patron pointed out that almost all of my paintings have water in them. 


True Blue - sold

Hills Over the Bayou - 16x20 oil on linen
click here to purchase
Silver Dawn -  18x24 oil on canvas
click here to purchase



















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