brilliant summer

 
Reflections on the boat hull.

 
(2x3)
 What I do to pass the time while Peter's getting the boat ready.

 
Over the weekend I also, finally, spent some time figuring out how to use the tripod for my Guerrilla Painter pochade box. Like many painters, I like "equipment," and I've had this 9x12 box for years but haven't used it much because I always had difficulty setting it up. Now that Peter showed me how it's supposed to work, it's a snap.
The last place I used it was in the Florida Keys, where Peter attached this sticker to it. It's perfect because I do love Pigeon Key.  

 

(9x12)

Now I have to get used to painting using this setup, which is awkward for me--you have to reach across, over the palette, to get to the paper (too bad the top doesn't swivel around, like the screen on a portable DVD player, for those of us who like to be closer to the paper).

Of course, it may be a good thing to have to extend my arm more fully ... less control, more energy?

I can--now that I know how to work the tripod--tilt the box so the bottom is angled and I'm closer to the paper.

After this little test painting, my arm was tired!

A poem I received via email from Poets.org: one of my favorite poets on one of my favorite subjects.

Summer Song
by William Carlos Williams


Wanderer moon
smiling a
faintly ironical smile
at this
brilliant, dew-moistened
summer morning,—
a detached
sleepily indifferent
smile, a
wanderer's smile,—
if I should
buy a shirt
your color and
put on a necktie
sky-blue
where would they carry me?



 BTW: Someone asked how I "manipulated" the piling reflection photo. Simple: using the Picasa photo storing and editing software, in the "effects" box, I chose "tint" and selected a color. Done and done.