Fish Traps
Watercolor.
16" x 20"

I painted this by first blocking out the area of the boat - just using tape and tinfoil to cover the area. I find it is a lot cheaper than using the mask that is found in art stores. Then I used a wet on wet technique to rough in areas of different shades of blue, green and lavender letting the paint blend and move around on the paper. Then I placed wrinkled up saran wrap down over the wet paint. I left it to dry and then removed the saran wrap and the masked area of the boat. You can get some great accidental effects that way. I then painted in the boat and "bumped" up some of the areas of color around the boat and the spit of land.
If you do any traveling down in the Bahamian chain of islands off the coast of Florida or even further south in the Caribbean, it is not unusual to see fishermen going out in all sorts of boats - some like this fellow with his crab traps piled up in the bow of his boat. The sea and the way of life of the people that work their boats to eke out a living - fishing and catching crabs - call to me.

Honeymoon Island
Watercolor
10" x 20"

Giclees available through Pedlar's Child
Art Gallery.

Honeymoon Island is my favorite beach. It is a protected wildlife area and therefore left undeveloped for the most part. There are only four buildings on this beautiful stretch of beach.

Honeymoon Island, a barrier island, is now a State Park made up of 385 acres of pristine nature off the coast of Dunedin, Florida. The gulf side of the beach is about four miles long and has virgin slash pine and mangroves along St. Joseph Sound. The island is protected from development and only has four bathhouses along the beach – one of which is depicted in my painting of Honeymoon Island.

It was first inhabited by the Tocobagan Indians and was later populated by Spanish explorers, pirates, traders, and fishermen in the sixteenth century. Artifacts such as skeletal remains, pottery and chains have been found on the island.

In the 19th century, some attempts were made to homestead the island with little success until a hog farm was started on the island and it became known as Hog Island. In October 1921 a hurricane hit the island and split it in two with Hurricane Pass cutting between the north and south parts of the original island.

However, by the 1940's, the unattractive name was changed to Honeymoon Island, since it had become a popular destination for newlyweds. A businessman from New York by the name of Clinton Mosely Washburn had purchased the island in 1939.

He, together with Life Magazine, Newsreel, and the Clearwater Lions Club, began a contest for newlywed couples where the winners would spend their Honeymoon on the island. One hundred sixty-seven couples won a stay and came down to Honeymoon Isle. They stayed in one of the fifty thatched huts built on what was then the main beach area. World War II ended the honeymoons and the island was then used for a rest and recuperative retreat for factory workers.

Simon Greets the Day
Watercolor
16" x 20"

Original in collection of the artist.
Giclees available.

This painting is part of my series of watercolor portraits of old people. This portrait was done from a photo taken while traveling in the Caribbean. I tried to capture the sunlight warming his skin as he pushed the curtain back to look outside early in the morning.
I named this old fellow 'Simon' after the Simon that was pressed into service to help Jesus carry the cross. Simon was reluctant initially, but obediently helped carry Our Lord's burden for a while. I believe we are all like Simon - called to carry burdens - whatever they might be - in service of others. Even though the weight of those burdens are heavy and age us, we can choose to greet the day with a smile and a twinkle in our eye.