I told you I'd share my artful birthday and here it is:
Sweetie and I were on Anna Maria Island again - for 2 weeks. And on my birthday we drove up to St. Petersburg to the Dali Museum to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit!!! It was wonderful. We spent a few hours viewing the Dali paintings and the Frida paintings and drawings and photos. They were selling teeshirts but none were as nice as my own (from Sweetie for Christmas), which I wore there.
Then visited with one of Sweetie's previous students who is now the Chair of the Biology Department at the University of Florida at St. Petersburg (a small college but nice and we had lunch together before heading home).
On our way back to AMI, we stopped in Bradenton and saw that the Manatee Art Center was hosting the American Watercolor Society Travelling Show. Had to stop in there and see that (and the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society show, too).
Well worth a visit to both shows. But the AMS show was full of cityscapes and dark stuff = a trend that is continuing, I guess. Only a few light, beautiful, pure watercolors, including this one on the cover, which was my favorite = gorgeous painting!
The next day we saw the local juried mixed media show at the Studio on Pine in Anna Maria = a very good show full of wonderful watercolors, acrylics, oils, pastels and photographs - even 3D work was included.
So much art in 2 days and I was very happy. Also, during our stay, they had an art show/craft show outside in Holmes Beach (city next to Anna Maria but still on the island) and we got to see that (Sweetie bought me a very pretty bracelet and earrings and a batik-printed teeshirt with black crows on a dark teal background).
We went to the Olive Oil Outpost and I used my gift coupon from our oldest daughter, Jenny, to get cafe con leches every day I could = YUM; and Sweetie used his gift coupon to get lots of sweets at the Flip Flop Candy Shop.
We took a trip to Sarasota to the Mote Marine Aquarium and took an Eco-Tour out around the bay and back and toured the Aquarium - all thanks to our friends Cindy and Joe who live in Anna Maria (she's a volunteer at Mote now so invited us to come with them). Also had a delicious meal out with them on our way back to Anna Maria.
Will share more photos later but for now, feast your eyes on these: We stayed in a house on a canal and had access to kayaks (they even had a pingpong table). Every so often, we'd get a visitor to the dock out back (even when we were right there, they didn't seem too concerned with us).
This big guy, a Great Blue Heron, was on the dock and I walked down to the pool, watching him carefully step around the pool (I was within touching distance of him at times), check it out, and walk back and off he went, with a wingspan of 6 feet! What a bird! So graceful on his tall legs and feet and yet so powerful.
Being on the canal, you saw many birds flying and landing all around the docks along the way.
Maybe he's thinking, "Why don't you take that cover off the pool and get in? Too cold for you humans? ha ha" He checked it all around, walking delicately all around the circular bit at the end and then walking back to the dock to fly off.
Another day, we saw this White Ibis on the dock but he/she was more timid and stayed there, not moving into the yard or pool area. This is juvenile plumage, I think, with the dark head - most of the adults are bright white with pink legs and eyes.
Another day, I was sitting on the dock watching Sweetie try his hand at Paddleboarding (thanks to Joe for lending his to us to try) and I turned and saw this one = a Snowy Egret. It had landed without a sound right beside me on a dock post! Just sat there for a while and then flew off - guess he thought Sweetie was doing a good job, too, nothing to be worried about! ha ha
The trip was full of nature and art = what could be better than that?
So another birthday come and gone and this one might have been my best in several years!
More photos to come from the trip when I get organized...
Left Anna Maria Island and it was 57F...arrived back home and it was 37F.
Sweetie and I were on Anna Maria Island again - for 2 weeks. And on my birthday we drove up to St. Petersburg to the Dali Museum to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit!!! It was wonderful. We spent a few hours viewing the Dali paintings and the Frida paintings and drawings and photos. They were selling teeshirts but none were as nice as my own (from Sweetie for Christmas), which I wore there.
Then visited with one of Sweetie's previous students who is now the Chair of the Biology Department at the University of Florida at St. Petersburg (a small college but nice and we had lunch together before heading home).
On our way back to AMI, we stopped in Bradenton and saw that the Manatee Art Center was hosting the American Watercolor Society Travelling Show. Had to stop in there and see that (and the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society show, too).
Well worth a visit to both shows. But the AMS show was full of cityscapes and dark stuff = a trend that is continuing, I guess. Only a few light, beautiful, pure watercolors, including this one on the cover, which was my favorite = gorgeous painting!
The next day we saw the local juried mixed media show at the Studio on Pine in Anna Maria = a very good show full of wonderful watercolors, acrylics, oils, pastels and photographs - even 3D work was included.
So much art in 2 days and I was very happy. Also, during our stay, they had an art show/craft show outside in Holmes Beach (city next to Anna Maria but still on the island) and we got to see that (Sweetie bought me a very pretty bracelet and earrings and a batik-printed teeshirt with black crows on a dark teal background).
We went to the Olive Oil Outpost and I used my gift coupon from our oldest daughter, Jenny, to get cafe con leches every day I could = YUM; and Sweetie used his gift coupon to get lots of sweets at the Flip Flop Candy Shop.
We took a trip to Sarasota to the Mote Marine Aquarium and took an Eco-Tour out around the bay and back and toured the Aquarium - all thanks to our friends Cindy and Joe who live in Anna Maria (she's a volunteer at Mote now so invited us to come with them). Also had a delicious meal out with them on our way back to Anna Maria.
Will share more photos later but for now, feast your eyes on these: We stayed in a house on a canal and had access to kayaks (they even had a pingpong table). Every so often, we'd get a visitor to the dock out back (even when we were right there, they didn't seem too concerned with us).
This big guy, a Great Blue Heron, was on the dock and I walked down to the pool, watching him carefully step around the pool (I was within touching distance of him at times), check it out, and walk back and off he went, with a wingspan of 6 feet! What a bird! So graceful on his tall legs and feet and yet so powerful.
Being on the canal, you saw many birds flying and landing all around the docks along the way.
Maybe he's thinking, "Why don't you take that cover off the pool and get in? Too cold for you humans? ha ha" He checked it all around, walking delicately all around the circular bit at the end and then walking back to the dock to fly off.
Another day, we saw this White Ibis on the dock but he/she was more timid and stayed there, not moving into the yard or pool area. This is juvenile plumage, I think, with the dark head - most of the adults are bright white with pink legs and eyes.
Another day, I was sitting on the dock watching Sweetie try his hand at Paddleboarding (thanks to Joe for lending his to us to try) and I turned and saw this one = a Snowy Egret. It had landed without a sound right beside me on a dock post! Just sat there for a while and then flew off - guess he thought Sweetie was doing a good job, too, nothing to be worried about! ha ha
The trip was full of nature and art = what could be better than that?
So another birthday come and gone and this one might have been my best in several years!
More photos to come from the trip when I get organized...
Left Anna Maria Island and it was 57F...arrived back home and it was 37F.
4 comments:
ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞ·.•*•♫°•♫·.•ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞ !!
Oh my gosh I love all the places you visited.
I wonder how long the AWS exhibit will be there?
I have only missed one year to see it.
But we are in Leesburg and it's quite a drive up there.
Love to get to the Mote. Have not been there.
Thanks so much for sharing.
lots of great bird sightings and sounds like a wonderful day full of art :D
A wonderful birthday, Sadami, Jennifer Rose and Ginny. Ginny, the pamphlet says the AWS show is open until Feb. 24 so you still have time for a trip to see it. For me, it was a lot of cityscapes and dark paintings with a few light watercolors not on gessoed paper or yupo (although there were a couple on yupo with inks that were lovely). They charge $5 to see it but the Florida watercolor society has a show at the same time and it's well worth seeing some of the work there.
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