Lily Pond, Le Vieux Couvent, daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Garden Pond, 2013, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on board, 8"x10"

 

At Le Vieux Couvent, in Frayssinet, France, this little lily pond is just off the studio patio.  There are several large bull frogs in the pond, and if you were very quiet they would begin to sing.  Well, croak.  Loudly and with character. 

 

As soon as you moved closer they would dive for the bottom.  It took me several days to actually see one, but once I knew what I was looking for--mostly two bulbous eyes and a pulsating throat--and learned to move quietly enough, I could pick them out of the green that camouflaged them. 

 

You can see this little painting and the others from my trip if you get your "oui, oui" on and come to tea, Friday, June 12th, 4 p.m in the studio.  Joanne Lawand will join me in showing you our best French paintings, show photos of the trip, have a small little contest, and draw a name for winning one of the French scene post cards.  Hope you can come!  

Bull Frogs and Fire Ants, Sun's Up daily painting by Everglades artist JoAnn Sanborn

Sun's Up
acrylic on canvas, 6"x6"

Artist Mary Sheehan Winn and I visited the Everglades last week to do a little painting and to take a little tour. In addition to her paint supplies, Mary never goes anywhere without a good supply of food and drink, so she's a great companion on an Everglades adventure.

Mother Nature was very cooperative. We had just started out when we were treated to the spectacular view of a bald eagle hunting. We pulled over and watched as the impressive bird swooped from the sky and scooped up a nice large fish, carried it off to some nearby shallow water and proceed to have his breakfast.

The Marsh Trail was our next stop, where we climbed the observation tower to catch a breeze. We could see several wading birds were fishing, and also heard a little bellowing and were not sure if it was a bull frog or an alligator since this is the time of year they're both quite noisy. Most likely the frog!

Jane's Scenic Drive also provided some wonderful sights and sounds, the most spectacular

being the gorgeous, abstract, complimentary-colored reflections in the gently moving water along the path. The sight was so beautiful and so absorbing that I forgot to look where I was stepping, and in the Everglades you do have to be careful!

Sure enough, a moment's inattention the fire ants were on me! It was ugly, but it's happened so many times that I knew instantly what it was and had them off me in seconds. Still, I'll carry the scars of a couple of bites for months. Ouch!

Maybe we didn't get too much painting done, but still, it was a perfect day in the Glades. Thanks for coming along, Mary.