Wednesday, May 16, 2012

        APALACHICOLA
Last year on a trip to the panhandle of Florida we decided to stop overnight in the town of Apalachicola.  Apalachicola is a lovely little city trying very hard to make a comeback and doing a pretty good job of it.  While in Apalachicola one can visit charming antique shops which carry everything from buoys to fishing nets, to vintage clothing and furniture.  There are several wonderful old hotels  in which one can spend a cozy night.  Apalachicola boast lovely Victorian homes many of which are bed and breakfasts.  There is an old building with beautiful brick interior walls which has been converted into a candy shop where one can buy the most delicious home made candies and ice cream. But our favorite thing to do while in Apalachicola was to sit in the riverside restaurants and eat oysters.  Apalachicola is know for its oysters and one can get every kind of oyster imaginable.  There are fried oysters, oysters on the half shell, oyster poor boys.  You name it and you can get it there. This  painting was done from a photograph that I took, you guessed it, while sitting in a riverside restaurant eating oysters.  If you are visiting Florida, consider spending a quiet fun day in Apalachicola.  OYSTERS ANYONE?
Phillis Holland

Saturday, May 12, 2012

UK Bound

I will be leaving for England next week for two weeks with my two sisters. This will be our first "real" vacation together and we are all very excited. We will be going to Haworth, in northern England first, to stay with a friend for a week. They call that area Bronte county.  It is known for its moors, castles, Hadrian's Wall and the famous WWII week-end!! Hopefully we will get to Edinburgh while we are there.

When we are in London we plan on seeing all of the sights. We even have tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. If anyone has any suggestions about sights to see, places to go or places to eat, I would love to hear them.
This is a painting I started in group yesterday and hope to finish tomorrow. It will be drying while I am gone.















Tuesday, May 8, 2012

South Carolina Retreat

Denette, Carmen, Mary Jo, Kathy, Cindy
Last week half of the Pieces of 8 went to visit Mary Jo (above, center) in South Carolina. She appreciates artists and she is a collector. It took about five minutes to feel we had known her all our life, and we were off to have a good time!
Kathy in a typical pose, closing in on some poppies at Brookgreen Gardens
Denette on Surfside Beach

Kathy and Cindy hard at work on the front porch
We went to the beach, listened to Beach Music, went to Fat Harold's, home of the famous Carolina shagging (that's a dance), visited gardens and plantations, and ate Mary Jo's shrimp and grits for breakfast. I am still dreaming of those shrimp and grits...she bought the shrimp right off the shrimp boats. Would you believe some restaurants in the area get shrimp from Asia? "Buy local!" is the resulting outcry.

posted by Carmen

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

There is something about...

There is something about roosters. I don't know what it is that captivates us so. Is it their colorful feathers, their strut or their attitude? Whatever it is, there is not an artist I know that can resist painting a rooster at least once.  This fine specimen was strutting around the parking lot at a small shopping area in The Keys. He was oblivious to all traffic, motorized or pedestrian. He really was the cock of the walk.







Ballard Park, Original Oil on Canvas

  I had not painted outside in two years, so this was quite a challenge. It was one of those paintings I had to improve upon in the studio. ...