Carrot Top by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Carrot Top, 2015, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 5"x7"

I've been on a palm-painting binge in my daily paintings the last couple of weeks, and there are a few more still to be painted.  Each one seems to have their own personality, just like people!  It was really spectacular light that made this guy glow. Red heads, just like left-handed people are less common, so this guy is pretty special!  

Honored to have Daily Paintworks pick my painting "In the Pink" as one of their auction picks. There's  few hours left if you'd like to bid.  Just click on auction.  

Happy New Year! SIngle, daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Single, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

Acrylic on Board, 5"x7"

 

 

Happy New Year! 

 

May you be healthy, happy, and prosperous!

 

Many people found 2012 a really tough year.  Some lost homes to storms or the economy.  Some lost people dear to them, or pets that they cared deeply about.  Some were afraid the world would end and stopped doing anything or spent time preparing for something incomprehensible.  Some were victims of unspeakable violence. 

 

Let's move on with a new fresh spirit.  Let's see what we can offer to 2013.  What will it have for us? 

 

With work that satisfies.

With time to do the things you love.

Take time to share life with the people you care about. 

And whether it's a painting, a handmade pot or a song, take the time to enjoy the art in your world. 

 

Traveling notes, and Marsh with a Palm, daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Marsh with a Palm, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on archival board, 5" x 7"

I didn't have much to say last week, partly because I was mostly on the road.  I drove off into the sunset and spent a couple of weeks in New England visiting family and friends.  I didn't once pick up a brush, but encouraged grand kids along the way.  It was a good respite, but it's good to be home again, too. 

I visited family as I went, making seven (7) different stops along the way.  It was a bed-hopping marathon!

Talk among the family was all about wildlife this year.  New England was almost all clear-cut fields 100 years ago but with less agriculture is now filled with mature forests, and the forest animals and birds are making a comeback.  I heard about fisher cats and coyotes and deer, and saw wild turkeys more than once,

including this beauty who flew up to my sister's porch railing to groom while her babies ate seeds thrown out of the feeder.  The feeder was a constant source of amusement and amazement, hosting a chorus of songbirds, and a flying squirrel late that night! 

Much of my family still lives in Gloucester, MA. my old home town. Gloucester, chartered in 1623, now almost 400 years old, is filled with monuments.  You may be familiar with the Fisherman at the Wheel, cast for Gloucester's 300th anniversary.  A companion piece has been added further along the harbor boulevard to recognize the contribution of the wives of the fisherman, who care for their children and maintain the home while husbands face the perils of the deep. It's a lovely and moving piece.     

In addition to a secure harbor filled with boats from around the world, Gloucester is filled with wonderful art.  I just missed the North Shore Arts Association's  auction, an event I always attend when in town.  And there's an artists opportunity here. 

The reception for Mainly Marco art exhibition at Harmon's and Barton's Gallery in Portland came right in the middle of my stay.  Portland hosts a very successful First Friday Art Walk.  Hundreds of visitors, residents, and students filled the streets, some with wares to sell, some playing their music, and others enjoying the show and purchasing the artworks.  Stores and restaurants were open and the galleries flowed with people.

Harmon's and Barton's did a great job of hosting the Marco Artists in an exchange program.  Their upstairs space was perfectly suited, and with two doors offering welcome, droves of people walked through the lovely space.  People really seemed to enjoy the art and a number of pieces were sold.

Those of us who attended were delighted to greet old friends and make some new ones.
 

Good show, with hats off to the gallery, and to Sandy Wallen for her vision of an exchange program that worked.

Next, the journey continues with strange vegetables and a surprise Wolf Kahn show!

View of a Slough, painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

View of a Slough, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 20x24, Sold

A slough (pronounced "slew" or "sloo") is a deep water estuary in the Everglades. The wet season renews the dry Everglades prairies and fills the deep sloughs with rainwater.  

The sloughs stay wet for most of the year providing a water for plants and animals as the prairies dry in the wet season. Because of the gently slope of the land south of Lake Okeechobee, the water will work it's way slowly to the south and into the gulf.

The slow movement of large amounts of shallow water, based on a ridge and slough design, is important to a multitude of Everglade ecosystems.  Yet Everglades systems have often been altered detrimentally by humans, changing historic patterns and affecting life in the glades with little public study or outcry. 

You can learn more about the importance of the ridge and flow system of Everglades water movement here. 

Head in the Clouds daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Head in the Clouds, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on board, 7"x5"

Lofty thoughts about painting today.  Original art paintings give you something.  Sometimes that something is more valuable than what you've paid for. 

You may find joy in the way the subject uplifts your soul or in the way the colors fill your heart.  You may find excitement in the way your eye follows the lines and shapes.  You may find the pleasure of recognition deep within the canvas, or you may find peace as the canvas to transports you to another world. 

A painting may tie together the colors in your room, brighten a dull corner,  make a statement about you and your family, or just fill a space on your wall.  But it will give you something.

If  you've let your heart choose, it's something that will bring you much pleasure for many years.  And if you've chosen wisely, another generation will thank you!