Pieces of 8 Piece and Paint

Summer is always hit or miss whether we all get together in Mary Warnick's lovely studio or just some of us make it. The time together is always so much fun and so productive. Yesterday there were just five of us and my lovely and talented niece Isabel joined us for the morning. Some painted, some collaged. (We all enjoyed a delicious giant mango procured in the Everglades over the weekend.) It's so inspiring to see what everyone is working on. And I have to admit that painting with the Pieces is the only time I really paint so I'm so grateful to be a member of this wonderful group.

I've put together a collection of images from the day so the traveling Pieces can see what they're missing. And we're missing them! Hello to Donna, Cindy, Denette, and Phillis! (If you're counting, that does make nine. The Pieces of 8 now officially number nine with the addition of Fay this year!)

Clockwise from lower left: Carol oil paints a sheep inspired by one of Donna's photos from her trip to England with an inset of the almost finished image. Isabel water coloring what looks very much like the dragon fruit we encountered in the Everglades with inset. My acrylic doodling of a butterfly. Mary sketching a family portrait before attempting it in watercolor. Fay collaging a nautilus. And in the center, Carmen working on a new collage of a spoonbill. Inset shows the clever text she manages to fit into her images.