NY Cityscape, Watching the Clouds go by, daily painting by Everglades Artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Watching the Clouds Go By
7" x 5"

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Our nice weather has returned, and I took a nice long beach walk, first in a while, and our guests even went for a dip. Perfect for watching the clouds go by. Beach walks positively restore me! It'll be quiet now for a few days until my niece and her husband arrive with their two small children. I've got lots to catch up on in the studio, so will be working this weekend.

The Marco Players will be presenting the play "The Odd Couple" starting next weekend, and I'm supplying them with New York cityscape of the West Side. Since it's been several years since I've been in the City, it's a stretch. I looked at a few photos and went boldly ahead. We'll see today if I'm on the right track. All of the little windows will be cut out to provide night lighting. It's amazing how much the players do with their limited resources. They're a wonderful asset to the cultural arts on Marco. If you'd like to see the show get tickets early, for they're often sold out.

Going my Way? Daily Everglades Painting by JoAnn Sanborn

The morning skies here on Marco Island and over the Everglades can be so beautiful. The light comes up slowly and the colors changes are so subtle that you have to look carefully to see them. Sometimes there are little puffs of clouds taking on the colors of blue, grey, and sometimes pink in a golden sky. Sometimes layers of yellow, pink, green and blue change places slowly as the sun rises. Sometimes, there's a thin layer of bright light right on the horizon, and the rest of the sky filled with dark clouds. But you can be sure that every single morning is unique and different.

JM Turner, a British painter who's rich, voluminous skies have inspired generations of landscape artists is someone that every painter of light wants to emulate. Haldane Macfall, an art critic, wrote of him in 1920 as..."All that is vital in modern art was born out of the revelation of Turner". If you're not familiar with his work take a look and learn more about him. Then sit outside early some morning and watch the morning show in the sky.

Today's painting just wouldn't photograph quite right. My simple camera has trouble discerning between the thin, glaze layers of colors and blurs them rather than defines them!

Going My Way
7" x 5"

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Natural Light, Daily Painting by Jo-Ann Sanborn

The light was fantastic as we drove back from Tampa at dusk Tuesday night. The billowy clouds piled up low in the sky and the late day sun raked the landscape making strong contrast between bright and shadow areas. Without a bit of rain we saw a beautiful rainbow and got a picture of it from the car window. In some areas there was a wide variety of cloud types and the light coming through would highlight aspects of the landscape. We're used to unusual light down here on the southernmost peninsula, but this was spectacular and a fitting end to day filled with both goodbyes and renewal. The changing light made the trip go quickly and the drive easy, and we were home by dark.

Certainly the memory of that light had a part in the inspiration for today's painting. I'll work on it a little more before this painting is ready to be adopted. (Oh, horrors, daily painters!) Do you have a favorite natural light show stored in your memory? If not, just step outside at sunset some evening and see what nature offers.

Natural Light

5x7

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