Boca Grande, April

Diane Mannion, BOCA GRANDE, APRIL, 6x8" oil

Painted at the edge of the Gulf this morning.   Plein air landscapes capture more than an image...  memories are etched with each brushstroke:

Cool breeze.  A man was fishing.  Another tossed a toy while his black lab swam out to fetch it over and over.  Sailboats on the horizon,  small fishing boats zipped along gleaming in the sun.  Just a few walkers on the beach, season is almost over.  Little dog sniffed my ankle while a woman complimented my work.

A father and his children pulled up in a golf cart.  While the children scampered on the beach, the father was having a loud conversation with another on his cell phone.  Couldn't help overhearing and had to smile.  "No... it's not child abuse.  You go to that yoga class with your mother like I told you!"  I was smiling because my husband was teaching that yoga class on the other side of town.  Later I asked my husband... "Did anyone show up with a child?"  He said, "Yes, a mother and a five year old boy.  He mostly stayed in the back of the room playing with something, couldn't tell what."

Nice feeling driving home with a fresh painting in my wet panel carrier.  And whenever I look at it in the future, the memories of that morning will be on instant replay.   This is why painting on location, direct painting is much more vital than working from photo reference!