Watching the Waves Roll In
Watercolor
18" x 24"



This is a watercolor of my son and grandson watching the waves roll in while we were at the beach along the Oregon coast. The fog was beginning to roll in. My grandson was fascinated by the breakers pounding the beach and had great fun running back and forth as the waves rolled in and out. His father kept a close watch on him. That afternoon remains etched in my memory as a treasure of our time together there.

First Snook
16" x 20"
Acrylic

Giclees available
through Fine
Art America
(see link)

This is a portrait of my grandson showing off the first snook that he had ever caught. It was a beautiful day on Sanibel Island to do a little surf fishing.

Crossing Over Acrylic 16" x 20"

This is the first painting I did after my husband passed away. I had not planned on the figure in the front of the boat to resemble him, but while in the midst of painting, I realized that I had painted him. He always loved the sea and was a commercial fisherman when he was young. The boat is headed to safer waters away from the breakers and deep water beyond them. As I painted, all this became symbolic of my husband's journey from life into the peaceful waters of eternal life. I painted the figure rowing the boat golden - in my mind - Bill's guardian angel bringing him home to God. It is interesting how painting a subject - two men in a boat - can be such a catharsis in times of grief.

Original is in the private collection of the artist. Giclees are available at Fine Art America link.

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.

September Mourning
Watercolor
16" x 20"

Giclees available.

I painted this shortly after 9/11. The planes were still not flying and images of the buildings collapsing were still repeatedly filling the television. Feeling lost and frightened as to what was going to happen, I wandered down to the little local marina to try to make some sense out of it all. Already a local group of artist had taken the name, WAR (women artists something or other) and were painting violent images.
I chose, instead, to paint peace-filled images such as this painting of sailboats in a marina with a flag at half staff under a rather ominous sky. I wanted to show that the terrorist's attempts to destroy our country did not succeed. Our country and way of life prevailed despite the recent tragic events.

Poling the Flats
Watercolor
16" x 20"

Original is in Private Collection. Giclee available.

The transparency of watercolor lends itself well to the light airy atmosphere of tropical settings. This fisherman is poling the flats off the coast of a Bahamian island. A few years ago I crewed on a yacht sailing from Providenciales in the Caicos Islands up through the Bahamian chain of out islands. In this painting I tried to capture the feel of the salt air, the ever-changing hues of blue in the out island waters. The people I met along the way were mostly poor and hard-working with a deep understanding of nature and the rhythms of the sea.