Vacation & Art

This past week Daniel has been on break from teaching, which means it's been both a relaxing and a busy week for us. It has also made it difficult for me to visit many of your blogs, which I intend to remedy this weekend!

We decided to go away for a few days and visit Apalachicola, a small town in the panhandle area of Florida. We loved it!

There really wasn't much to do around there, except walk around town, eat in several very good restaurants, visit the local coffee shop, the excellent bakery and a few of the galleries.

We were pleased to see that Apalachicola also has their very own brewery, where we sat for a while, tasted their excellent beer and talked with some interesting people.

On one of the days, we drove to a river that originates in one of Florida's warm springs. Our hope was to maybe see some manatees. They come to the warm springs in the colder weather as they need warm water temperatures to survive.

Alas, there were none to be seen, but we still had a gorgeous paddle! It took us two hours to paddle upstream, but just one hour to get back. The way back was definitely more relaxing.

We did see a few alligators and we both noticed how used to them we have gotten over the years. We didn't even take photos.

The scenery was gorgeous!

We rented a tandem paddle, which was fun! I was in the front because Daniel is so much better at steering than I am.

The water looked dark, but it was crystal clear.

We saw lots of lots of turtles. I loved how the one above was stretching out its hind legs. Very graceful... In the photo below an Anhinga was drying its wings.

Back home, I have been busy working on our taxes (oh, joy!) and also doing some painting. I am working on all kinds of things at the moment. Below is a detail of a large painting, which I am sure will change drastically, but I sort of liked this somewhat raw stage.

Then I've been taking the online class "Expressions" by Renata Loree, which is really good. I'm somewhat behind since we were on vacation when it started, but luckily it's self-paced.

I will be drawing different face and head angels and also expressions (like the worried one on the drawing below). Another part of the class will be dealing with hands. That will be a challenge! Drawing in general is a challenge for me since it requires a good deal of patience, which I often lack... Good practice!

And then, of course, there are my little paintings. I have three in the works right now, but none finished to show you.

I am linking again to Paint Party Friday, a great hub for artistic inspiration! Head on over to have a look!

In the meantime, I wish all of you who celebrate a Happy Easter! And definitely a beautiful week for all of us!

❧ Silke