Coya Costa Pathway

     Coya Costa Pathway is another of the one a day paintings done with my class at the Eastern Shore Art Center. My students usually paint 16 x 20's and I will demonstrate on a larger canvas so they can see the techniques to paint more efficiently. My canvas was 24 x 30 ~ 1/3 larger than the students.

Coya Costa Pathway~ 24 x 30 Acrylic on canvas ~Day 93 of the 100 days

Ruddy! and Piper!

 

 

Ruddy! Is the little bird that came to our beach at Cayo Costa last year. This is a much smaller version of the larger painting completed several days ago. It also has less sand and background. I try to have a variety of pieces and prices to offer at the shows, so my work is more affordable. I have collectors that range from waitresses and car mechanics to doctors and lawyers. I love to keep my work at a price point that allows me to create and still make a living doing this really fun thing called ART!

 

Ruddy! Acrylic on canvas 5 x 7~available at Southern Art & Framing in Mobile, Alabama

 

 

Piper! Is another of my smaller affordable pieces available for sale at Southern Art & Framing in Mobile, Alabama. I am so incredibly happy to be able to do something I love to do for a living! God has been very kind to me and I try to give back to the church whenever I can. This past week found me making no less than 4 almost life sized Football players and Cheerleaders for our kickoff for small groups on Sunday. I have become a rapid enough painter now that I can do large scale projects for others and still have time for my works for sale. I will also be teaching paintings based on scriptures starting next week on Monday. I am really looking forward to the class and seeing who shows up!

 

Piper! Acrylic on canvas 5 x 7~Day 67 of the 100 days

The Returning Beggar

     This is the third in the bird series from Coya Costa. I want to go there again because the island was absolutely filled with animals so happy in their pristine environment. Coya Costa island is so beautiful and the animal species numerous to say the least. The Sand Dollar we found was huge and a brilliant reddish purple. I had never seen a live one that large or that deep in color. The whelks we found that were live were beautiful as well. We put the live shells back into the water so they could live for another day. Much to my dismay, the sand dollar we had found was located by a family that excitedly added it to their growing shell collection on the beach. Chris and I knew not to keep live specimens, but apparently this family was either ignorant or uninformed. At least I hope it was one of those and not that they did not care about the environment.

          Note to visitors~ please read the instructions offered by the State and National Parks. No live species are to be removed from the parks! This not to make your life miserable, but to keep native species alive for the next generation. No shell, creature, plant or rock is worth going to jail over or paying a fine because you wanted that memory from your vacation. Take only pictures~leave only footprints. Then the Coya Costas of our beautiful country will be there for our future generations.

       This little guy is not so little. I loved painting these birds larger than life size. It also makes them easier to paint! 'The Returning Beggar' 12 x 24 acrylic on canvas.

The Beggar

     Last year, we took a trip for photos and references to the coast of Florida and the Keys. If you are not new to this blog, you may have seen this fellow before in one of my sepia paintings. Not in this pose of course but another. My husband is not real sure about this one, I guess because of the arresting stare down this bird possessed.

     This little fellow was quite the beggar and called Coya Costa home. Coya Costa is off the coast of Florida and you get to it from the Sandia Island area. It is a State park and is quite spectacular in it's beauty and pristine habitats for animals. You must go by boat to the island and stay the day. There are facilities there, but you must bring your own stuff to the beach area as it is far from the dock. I hope to stay there some day, there are primitive cabins and animals are allowed. I think it would be delightful to be cut off from the world for a few days, just to bask in the sun and admire the handiworks of our creator. Back to this little fellow.................

     We had been at the beach for some time with our fellow shell collectors and had settled down for a lunch that consisted of sandwiches and chips. There were several of these little birds wandering about, but this guy seemed to have overcome his fear of humans in order to get tasty morsels thrown from our sandwiches. Closer and closer he came, shooing off his flock mates, biting and running them in all directions. This little intimidator had done this before obviously! He came just close enough to get the tasty bits and run and fast as his little legs could carry him. The other birds would frantically run after him, hoping to get him to drop whatever he had managed to get. They would then squabble over what was dropped and somebody was always the victor. Eventually this guy realized that I wanted him closer and the others would have none of that game so they went off to better pickings. I slowly moved, and got the camera out, throwing bits of bread in his direction. At first, either the sound of the camera clicking or the movement of my finger on the shutter startled him. We finally found a mutual area to photograph and thus you see the shot here.  This was after he had eaten the bit of bread I had tossed and I guess was demanding more. The look was arresting to say the least!

       I really enjoyed the color on this painting and have plans to complete more poses of this bird.  I hope you like the painting as much as I loved creating it!

The Beggar~ Acrylic~12 x 12 Deep edge canvas

Winged Flight I

Followers of the blog now know that I have a special passion for the silent ones, the animals that can't speak for themselves. I am constantly painting, photographing, or researching about the animals I know and love.

When I was younger, I wanted to become a veterinarian to the point of doing research on the college of choice, Auburn. Little did I know that in 1976 when we moved home to Alabama I would be so close to my dream of attending college and taking care of my beloved creatures. But, life takes a few twists and turns and I abandoned the notion of becoming a Veterinarian and instead switched gears to nursing. That notion left my head when I figured out college was not for me! I had met the love of my life and married him 6 months later and have never looked back! God has a plan for me and us and we are still happily following that plan!

This painting is part of the series of Ibis I photographed in Florida on the island of Coya Costa. I hope to go back there, to walk the beaches, paint and photograph the animals that call the island home. I highly recommend it, it is indeed a beautiful place. This painting marks number 93 and is for yesterdays entry.

"Winged flight I" Acrylic on canvas 6 x 12

I'll go my way.....

"I'll go my way....." is the companion pice to "You go your way". These birds are incredibly beautiful and I really can't wait to paint them in color! With their red legs and faces ending in a black beak, they are a study in crisp, pure color. When I them to the clean, clear, Florida waters off the coast of Coya Costa, I am certain that there will be a lovely painting produced. I was amazed at the amount of these birds just hanging out together and hunting for mussels in the crashing waves. The flock was no less than 15 birds although they moved so much I will have to count them using my photos. I was able to get several great shots of them on the beach and in the water. I look forward to putting brush to canvas and seeing what comes out! This painting catches me up for the weekend! Number 83 in the series of 100 days~100 paintings.

"I'll go my way....." 6 x 12 Acrylic on Canvas

You go your way.......

Named "You go your way...." because when one of the birds would turn, they would all eventually follow. These Ibis were so beautiful to watch! I had never seen them with more than one or two at a time and here was an entire flock of them. I also had never seen them surf fishing. Well, surf musseling at least. These guys were virtually unaffected by the people on the beach. They would simply walk away because they did not want to be seperated from their quest for fresh mussels. It was such a delight to see them dipping, diving and going back and forth in their hurried hunt for seafood! This flock feels right at home on Coya Costa Island off the coast of Florida. Only accessible by boat, it is well worth the trip to see the vast assortment of birds, shells, turtle nests, and fish that call the island home.

You go your way....6 x 12 acrylic on canvas