Walking in the rain

I don’t know about you, but I love the rain. Little misty rain, big fat rain, cold hard rain, I like any type of rain. When I was a kid the neighborhood moms had a rule –if we hear thunder it’s time to come in. But other than that if it was raining we were usually playing in it. In Florida that is a lot, especially in the late summer when the rain storms are almost a daily occurrence. As I got older all the rain soaked canoeing trips and misty winter hikes seemed to take their toll. It wasn’t so much that it bothered me as it bothered my wife and baby son. Wet and tiered aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. But in the past 10 years or so it seems that the summer rains are less regular, rain year round seems to be dropping. This is mainly because we are getting more inches per hour on average and rain less often, according to NOAA’s  US Weather data (http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/climatedata.html#search ). This can cause heavy erosion and sometimes flooding. And the likely hood of weeks between rainfall in the summer is on the increase. SO I really love rain. My kids are much older and we play in the rain any chance we get. The best places to play in the rain are, in my opinion, in the woods. The beach and grassy fields are also a lot of fun, but lightning is much more of a concern in areas where there are few trees. You don’t want to be the tallest thing around when Lightning hits.

We have often been caught in the rain on canoe trips and hikes, best thing to do in these situations is just enjoy the change in temperature and cover up anything that doesn’t handle getting wet. Like crackers, sandwiches, cell phones and wallets (I always take mine in a zip-lock bag). My little girl used to love to catch raindrops in her mouth. She would sing “If all the raindrops, were lemon drops and gumdrops. Oh, what a rain that would be! Standing outside, with my mouth open wide Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,  If all the raindrops ,were lemon drops and gumdrops. Oh, what a rain that would be!

Isn’t that great! She quit singing this when my 12 year old son told her that a flock of birds went over and she was catching bird pee.  Well –in its own way that was really fun too.

So today I present my tribute to awesome rain. And here are a few paintings to get you in the mood for a walk in the rain.

This first one was done on location at Cedar Key,  a great place to go rain gazing. It was September and hot and the bugs were out so I snapped a few pictures after I started this one. I was really caught up in looking at the birds and didn’t get very far on the painting before I had  lost the light. Those cow birds just glow in the fading sun.                                                                         

The next one was kind a surprise. I had apparently had my camera in the back seat and my daughter took some photo’s on our way up to NC. I didn’t find these photo’s until later and I remembered how pretty the light rain was and how soft the light made all the colors. I think that memory really helped me get the feeling in this painting just right; soft and cool.

So the next time it rains, head out for some rain gazing. If you get out in it, don’t run for cover, enjoy the feeling and think of how wonderful it is that we can enjoy the rain so much here in Florida.

Love the pines hate the heat

A pine hammock is one of Florida’s most common ecosystems and I have a love hate relationship with them. I love to walk through them on a winter morning when the mist is rising and the animals are rushing about. The birds and wildflowers in these areas are simply uncountable. Hundreds of species call this area home. But I do hate these areas when the hot and dry weather settles on central Florida. I usually avoid these areas between the months of May and October the temperature and lack of shade is just too oppressive for me. Many folks avoid these areas because of the snakes, which are plentiful and love the sunny trails and waterholes. I happen to really enjoy the snakes I’ve see, given a wide birth neither of us bothers the other. I haven’t been able to meet the challenge of painting many Pine forests. They are in my opinion too “vertical”, these places are wondrous and spectacular in their feeling and overall appeal to me as a woodsman and survivalist, but as an artist I didn’t find much draw to paint them until I looked at a few old photo’s and  saw a wonderful chance to use negative space.

I find that a nice place to see this ecosystem is from O’Leno’s river raise trail ( photo). San Felasco’s yellow trail offers a great hike and plenty of shade if you’re out in the heat. But for the more adventurous Ocala’s Buck Lake  is a wonderful access point to the Florida National Scenic Trail. This camping area is a nice place to set up camp and an easel and has some great wetland and pine areas along the trail into Farles prairie. This area also provides a nice base camp for exploring the rest of the forest.

I have painted this area often and have two recent paintings.

The first panting is from the shores of Buck lake at dawn. The water is dark and shallow and filled with wetland flowers and fish. Wading birds are plentiful as well as an occasional alligator. I had just began to put my canoe in the lake when the sun lit up the opposite bank like a golden flare. So I sat back down and painted his from the bed of my truck. 

 I was looking through my photos this past March and I found this wonderful place. When I had hiked there the weather was damp and chill and the air was so crisp that every noise carried through the woods. Our crunching feet were a constant annoyance as we like to see deer and foxes if possible. The contrast of colors in this area of Sweetwater prairie was really nice.

When I began this painting I was fairly inspired by the colors and the lines. But as it progressed I found that I hit a snag. Here is an excerpt from my journal.

“I am stuck, and I can't get motivated to finish it. I am stuck at a point on this one where I usually begin to deeply enjoy painting. At this point, usually time begins to be meaningless, my surroundings fall away from my awareness and I am “in the Zone”. I know that everyone has something they do that allows them to feel invigorated and wide awake. For my father that’s running, he runs marathons and gets in his “Zone” within a few miles. A friend and colleague is a programmer, he gets in the zone when the program begins to show promise, when his confidence in what he is working on goes from maybe to certainly. He says time stands still and clarity hits him and his coding fingers fly. Another friend is a writer, he has the same experience as I am sure you do when you are into something you enjoy or that challenges you.
After working on this painting several evenings in a row I just couldn’t continue my motivation to do more. I know why. It’s simple. I don’t like pine trees. I never have. They provide little shade unless they are densely packed and then they are almost uninviting because very little underbrush will grow beneath the canopy of a pine forest. I realize that this seems silly, but it’s the only excuse I could come up with.
The zone is the point at which we are singularly focused on the task at hand. We are “in the moment” and mindful. But I find that I can’t just turn it on, it has to happen, I believe that the Zone is a mix of emotions. It’s a cocktail of feelings that your served when you are just enjoying life. You get it when you are doing something that feeds your soul. I know many artists who go through the motions every day sculpting, painting, turning bowls. Each piece they complete is good but when you ask them to show you their best, those pieces are usually associated with how they felt at the time. My point here is that sometimes when we do something we really enjoy it begins to become stale. That thing you loved for whatever reason doesn’t do it for you today. Running, diving, canoeing, basketball, painting, and playing the (shakuhachi) flute can all get stale and tasteless. But that’s ok, keep at it! This is something that you love to do afterall. Change your activity a little. Do something you haven’t done before while doing whatever it is you get pleasure from. For me I am painting a few oaks with my pine trees, I hate pine trees but the challenge of painting them may turn in to that elusive joy I can only get when I’m “in the zone”. Maybe it will happen soon, if I only just keep going.”

The finished piece is wonderful and beckons me to get out there and hike the pine forests again soon –well when it cools off, maybe this October.