After a harrowing weekend in southwest Florida for a less than stellar art festival, I am licking my wounds and exploring one of my backburner projects: atmospheric landscapes. I am primarily an animal artist these days, I consider myself a colorist first and foremost. Over my artistic life I have examined and spelunked the caves of various “isms” and subjects of art, yet color has always been the common thread.
Although this past weekend was a flop, I was truly inspired by the sunsets and natural parts of southwest Florida. After I had setup my booth early Friday morning, I ventured over to Koreshan Historic State Park. The historic site was a communal utopian colony founded by Cyrus Reed Teed just before the turn of the 20th century. Although his theories of how the earth is actually concave and the entire universe exists inside the earth were pure pseudoscience, the site is quite stunning. I trekked through the short, but beautiful bamboo forest while other outdoor lovers paddled in their kayaks and canoes down the Estero River as the sun was about to set. Side note: As I was leaving, I also happened to catch a gopher tortoise in mid-digging of a burrow.
As I travelled back to my motel the sun was perfectly setting and I couldn’t believe the range of colors. I dangerously took a quick snap with my iPhone (no other cars were around me, I promise!) I took this memory back home with me and today I started on some atmospheric landscapes. Towards the end of 2015 I made a handful of landscapes, but this trip rekindled my connection with the earth and atmosphere. So for that I am thankful for this trip.
featured image: Florida Dreams (in progress)