The French Beekeeper
Gouache on Watercolor paper
11" x 14"

Original in private collection.
Giclees available.

This is a portrait of my great grandfather, Camille Pierre (C.P.) Dadant. He migrated with his mother and sisters at the age of 11 to the United States during the Civil War. His father, Charles, had come over a few months prior to C.P.'s arrival to build a little log cabin for his family to live in. Originally, they grew grapes, but found soon that beekeeping was more profitable in the area where they had settled along the banks of the Mississippi river.
C.P. and his father built a business specializing in beekeeping and beekeeping supplies that still exists today - five or six generations later.
This painting derives from a photo taken around 1910 as C.P. walked to work at the factory at the bottom of the hill. In the background is the Keokuk Lock and Dam. C.P. was one of the business men that was instrumental in moving to get the dam built across the Mississippi at this point.

One Thirty-Five
Watercolor
16" x 20"
Original is in a private collection. Giclees available.

There are many wee cracker houses in the little town in Florida where I live. Many have been torn down to make room for McMansions, but there are still a number of these wonderful little houses. I am trying to do paintings of them from time to time to preserve the history of what life was like. Recently, there has been an increased interest in tiny homes however. It is my hope that these little cracker houses will be recognized for the treasures that they are.
The term, 'cracker' is used locally to denote a person that is a native-born Floridian. It is not considered to be a derogatory term, but rather a term of great respect. Most of the population of Florida consists of people who moved here from other states. Crackers were born here and are proud of that fact. It is said the term originated from the sound of the cattle ranchers' whips crackin' as they moved their herds. I didn't realize that Florida actually has a lot of cattle. It isn't just all orange trees and beaches.