Back in the Glades daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Back in the Glades, 2017, Jo-Ann Sanborn

Acrylic on canvas, 5" x7"

I've re-worked the "en plain aire"  tips page,  but have found mosquitoes to be a huge deterrent to painting outside right now.The invasion of the salt marsh variety is the worst I can remember. They are fierce all day, even when there's a breeze!  Apparently, they don't carry Zika! 

Everglades Light

Everglades Light, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 11x14, sold

 

The drop in humidity and a little coolness makes it a wonderful time of year to get out into the Everglades.  There's plenty of water from the summer rains.  The sloughs are full, and in the quiet you can hear the surface water gurgling softly on it's way to the Gulf.  With a  100 mile wide river of grass to get through, and only a slight decrease in elevation, the water is on a long, slow journey.  

 

There are more wading birds feeding in the shallow water, and more overhead.  Some will stay for the winter, but others are just passing through.  

 

Much of the land from Marco Island to Miami is preserved.  Spending time in nature calms our souls, lowers the blood pressure, and makes us realize we're only a small part of a much larger world. If you're not sure what to do or where to go on your own in the Everglades, stop into the studio and I'll give you a map of some easy and inexpensive ways to orient yourselves to the wonderful Everglades environment.

 

Today's painting is a larger version of the one I did last week.    Exploring the palms standing out against a background of brush is a subject I haven't visited for a while, but continues to intrigue. It's from a place I often pass, but don't get to stop and absorb.  Last week the late day light was perfect.  Everglades magic! 

Glades, Interior, daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Across a Field, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on archival board, 7"x5"

Art of the Endangered, Snail Kite painting by Everglades Artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Snail Kite, 2012 (c) Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 20"x30"

The Marco Island Center for the Arts, will hold a reception for the exhibition "Art of the Endangered" May 8th at 5, at the center. 

Painted for this exhibition, the endangered Snail Kite is a medium-sized raptor almost entirely dependent on a regular source of Apple Snails for food.  The Kite catches its prey at or just below the waterline with sharp talons, and pries the snail out of the shell with a uniquely adapted beak.  With habitat reduced and water levels varying, as the apple snails decline, the Snail Kite is struggling to survive.

I've seen two kites, together, at Shark Valley a couple of years ago, and from afar they look like a  nice fat pigeon.  It's only when you see the talons and beak up close do you realize they are quite fierce.  I wanted to make my male kite formidable, masculine, and very alert. 

Everglades Landscape, Palms and Sawgrass daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Palms and Sawgrass, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

Acrylic on Board, 5"x7"

Anyone following this blog knows that most of my paintings center on the Everglades landscape.  The landscape continues to inspire me, even though it has become quite familiar through the years.

Like any good muse, or a good husband, it's a landscape that continues to delight.  Never boring or lacking in excitement, it becomes more endearing with the passing of time.

Sometimes I struggle to get it right, and other times the joy of it all comes through more easily.  But there is a depth and and a strength and a constancy, combined with a dose of the unexpected to this landscape that makes me return again and again.

It is my fondest hope that you will see the landscape through new eyes as you travel across south Florida, and that my paintings in your home will bring you joy. 

Taking liberties, Spring Celebration by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Spring Celebration, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 20"x24"

When a landscape artist sets up on location, there's the whole big view to consider.   Everything within sight is fair game for adding to a painting.  To make it all fit on a canvas is no easy task. 

In addition, the sun moves through the sky.  Light changes, clouds come and go as the day progresses, and if we're not careful, we'll end up chasing shadows with our paint.

So we're forced from the start to make choices. What to install in a painting, and what to leave out can be the artist's choice alone.  

Unlike the portrait painter who must please their subject, a landscape artist is unlikely to hear from the subjects that "it's  not a good likeness." 

As long as we retain a "sense of place", we can choose to highlight certain features, push the color, or leave out a less desirable tree.  If we decide to take liberties with the colors or the placement, or leave something out completely, who's to complain?

Lorenzo the Cat visits Marco, and Stand Tall, daily painting by Everglades Artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Stand Tall, 2011, Jo-Ann Sanborn

Acrylic on board, 5"x7"

Don't miss the membership meeting at the Marco Island Center for the Arts tomorrow, January 31, at 1 p.m.  It's important to be there to cast your vote for directors and to hear what's new.

If you didn't get a notice about this meeting and have paid your dues, call the Art Center to be put on the email list.  The Art Center is a membership organization and your input is valuable and necessary to the continued success of the center.

Lorenzo the Cat stands tall.  I was fortunate enough to meet Lorenzo through a mutual friend, and have become an  ardent admirer.  He's beautiful, regal, and very well dressed. 

Lorenzo visited the Marco Island area as a guest of the Artist Colony at the Esplanade.  He and I share a love for the beautiful Everglades Landscape.  Lorenzo found the boardwalk at the Marsh Trail to be particularly commanding, with a great view of some tasty fish. 

Lorenzo though about having dinner there, but a large alligator close by made him realize dinner would be much more enjoyable in the safety of his hotel room.

Sponsored by the Artist Colony at the Esplanade, Lorenzo's owner and best friend, Joanne Biondi will be showing her work of Lorenzo at the Marco Island Center for the Arts in the Petite Gallery, February 3-5.  She will offer a print of Lorenzo as a raffle to benefit Marco's no-kill shelter, For the Love of Cats. 

You can meet her in person at the reception, February 3, 3-5 p.m.  If you're a cat lover, don't miss it! 

Also dont' miss the

Natural world, Inlet daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Inlet, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on board, 5"x7"

 

I'm fascinated by inlets in the Everglades, places were the water and sawgrass disappear around a bend.  I wonder what's just beyond what I can easily see.  Who lives there and what are their lives like?  Could an alligator be lurking there waiting for his breakfast, or a great blue heron waiting to snatch up a fish.  And if they do, how will it affect the natural world THEY live in?

There is a whole natural world going on a level usually ignored or unnoticed by us. Like being in an elevator with foreign speakers--we hear something, but usually don't have a clue what is really going on.  

We may hear a crow outside the window, loud and raucous.  It might annoy us and we might try to shoo it away.  What's really happening?  Is he out to drive us nuts or does he see a snake or a cat and is warning his family of eminent danger.

Could it be that in the natural world, living things are going about their daily lives with many aspects paralleling human life?  What are we missing?  Drama?  Distress?  Or maybe just the hint that it's time for a nice nap. 

Depth and Mystery, Morning Light painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Morning Light, 2011. Jo-Ann Sanborn

8"x10", acrylic on linen board
Sold

Our landscape is full of wonderful complicated colors full of depth and mystery, not always easy to capture.  I used layers of glazing to get the rich glow in the background. 

I painted today's painting on linen board, a new support for me.  I've tried painting on stretched linen in the past and found that it would stretch and sag beyond my comfort zone as I scrubbed in the many layers of acrylic paint. 

Using quality materials is important to me.  Canvas on board is the choice for my daily paintings, and when my custom supplier stopped making them, I had to look for another source. I did some research, ordered bits of what seemed interesting, and am in the process of try out several new types. 

One supplier had an acrylic primed linen on board, but not in the small size I like best for my landscapes.  Still, the thought of being able to use linen with my type of painting made me want to give it a try, so I ordered three of the 8x10's and fell in love. 

Linen takes up more paint than the cotton and it feels different.  Better?  Probably. 

We'll see where the relationship goes, and cost is a concern.  Still, I'm excited about Wind River Arts acrylic primed linen on gatorboard.  You might like it, too.