Still Hyped

1983 - Palmetto 3 - Watercolor - 22x30

So good to step outside your usual space... so good to visit artsy friends, soak in new scenes, new atmospheres, maybe even new influences.

I'm a Florida native and have lived in, or know well, most of the state with all it's variations. My special delight was in finding the 'old' Florida, the unchanged, the native unkempt beauty that says so much more than the touristy glitz. It was like going home in many ways. Memories of the flora going way back in time, not just palmettos of my youth but the palmettos I painted so intently years later. Gotta tell ya, they stirred the juices again! The trick would be to tell a different story, not so detailed, much more intuitive. We'll see...

I stood in the Atlantic again! Just waded in and let the gentle waves ebb and flow around my ankles... dipped my hand in the water so I could taste it again. Remembered, again...

Drove by the old homestead (c. 1970) and happy to see it hasn't changed so much (neither have I in 38 yrs, of course!) but sad to see the toll road that cuts through the middle of our favorite water skiing lake nearby... but so it goes...

We toured art centers in Orlando, Gainesville, Ocala, Tampa, St. Pete, New Smyrna Beach and the little town of Sanford. Can't tell you what I enjoyed most... but expect one thing and another to pop up in conversation for a while to come!

Many thanks to Linda and Doug for entertaining so superbly, introducing us to so much and sharing your beautiful home! Annette, we chalk up another great trip! Can we pick em or what? Kaye, so glad you could make it over from Jacksonville to be part of our meanderings! Martha, many thanks for helping us to get to know your part of Florida better... what a fun day! Martha has links to our visited highlights... and that was just ONE day!

Now to re-orient myself back to the norm... where was I???