Afternoon at Brooker Creek

 

I'm honored this painting won the Brooker Creek Preserve Award in Tarpon Springs!  I loved spending the whole day here painting, watching the alligators in that water as I worked.  Still and silent, they glide gracefully through the water, barely breaking the surface.  The walkers along this trail assure me they do not walk the boardwalk, and so far as I've been here - they are right!  It's a beautiful place to visit, and paint!  I just couldn't resist painting another!  Painting 3697 in 3697 days. 

Brooker Creek Preserve Morning

 

I am so honored to have won this morning's Quick Paint at the Brooker Creek Preserve with my painting of the creek.  On the back side of the trail that winds through the preserve, the bridge over the creek is a favorite spot to paint.  With a gorgeous, clear day, the blue of the sky reflected deep into the water.  I moved my easel 3 times on this bridge, landing on this spot right at go time.  I had to have this framed and turned in by noon, making this less than a two hour paint.  My painting companions today were a mama and baby young alligator, who kept popping their heads up and gliding through that water.  It's not every day I paint with alligators! I loved this place so much that I stayed to paint another! Painting number 3688 in 3688 days. 

Brooker Creek

Some paintings are a hard won battle - and this is such a painting.  After a walk along the boardwalk, I selected this location on the bridge for my preferred composition. It was in dappled shade with very little breeze, but I was in for the hot and humid conditions here in Tarpon Springs.  The giant resident alligator slapped the water hard while grabbing a fish - which we heard from the trail.  He then went on to glide through the water with grasses on his back, to lay like a log on the opposite bank.  Fish were jumping, a large white bird snagged food from a hole in a tree top, and it was a lovely afternoon of painting, until the sun came out and the biting flies found me!  I've never seen such large bee flies - looked like bees but have a hard bite! The only way to keep them off me was to keep moving, they did not mind my sprays in the least!  So I tried to work faster, dance around to avoid them, and yelped as they drew blood - but I did not leave that spot until I finished.  Plein air is not for sissies - I gave up a little blood for this one!  Painting number 3188 in 3188 days. 

Morning at Brooker Creek

Each new painting adventure leads me to parts unknown, each with it's own beauty to translate into paint.  This beautiful spot is the Brooker Creek Preserve, and I am standing on the boardwalk bridge over the known alligator habitat.  I saw many birds, fish jumping, and heard large animal noises from under the bridge - but I never actually saw the gator.  A very peaceful place, it was so relaxing to stand here and paint, soaking up my surroundings.  This painting was my favorite of the three day event - so I entered it for judging, and we could only enter one.  What an honor to win an award on it at the Tarpon Springs Paint and Photo reception last night!  I definitely want to return next year to paint again!  Painting number 2611 in 2611 days.