Beach Walk

beach chairs, St. Pete Beach, FL

The modern miracle of travel means that I started the day in New Mexico, drove to Texas in pre-dawn dark under a blanket of stars to doze on a plane, and was walking on a beach in Florida by the time the breeze began to kick up in the late afternoon.

Toes in the sand, I watched the pelicans swoop over the water as they hunted for dinner and reveled in the wind currents.  Returning to the ocean, any ocean, with our bodies made of so much saltwater, is always a homecoming.

Pelican in flight

Them Apples

Green Apples
acrylic on canvas
10 x 8

As part of another attempt to de-clutter my apartment, I spent yesterday sorting through stacks of art supplies. Like coming across old snapshots, paintings take me back to the time and place where I painted them.

"Green Apples," an attempt at a classic still life with somewhat atraditional color choices, was painted on the balcony of a beach house rented for the Sisters Beach Trip 3.0 the week after Hurricane Irene.  My sister was working on a painting too, hers of shells. 

At the time, I wasn't much thrilled with my effort. Now I find I like it much better, perhaps because it returns me to a warm balcony with ocean air full of familial love, acceptance, and creative exploration. 

Those are some darn good apples in that context.