Curve of the Garden Path

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel (Raymar)

"Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings."

"The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot."
- Salvador Dali

Yes, I'm still (on the road) down here in Florida visiting with my mom. Just here for a few more days, then I fly home (and yes, I am getting very homesick to be back in my own studio, and not having to grab bits of internet time at the local Panera). I do have one more little painting to share from another (slightly chilly) afternoon over at Leu Gardens in Orlando, "Curve of the Garden Path" is a little 6"x8" oil sketch from this botanical center.

Mom & I traveled down to Captiva Island this week (way down by the Fort Myers area). It was nice to be able to gather some sea-shells & remember when we did this roughly 40 years ago, when I was a kid! On our way back to her house on Wednesday, we stopped in St. Petersburg to visit the Salvador Dali Museum. I'm not even a Dali fan, but this was incredibly fascinating. Definitely take the docent tour - it's included in the price of admission - and you'll truly want some insights behind the artist's life & works....otherwise you'll be thinking, "freaky!, the man was truly freaky!". hehe, you'll probably end up thinking this anyway, but in an 'enlightened' way! The other fascinating part of the whole story is how this museum came to be (only 1980/82 - not that long ago)....the couple who started this collection, and how the state of Florida became involved to have this collection located here in St. Petersburg. They are currently working on a new building structure to house the collection, it will be hurricane-proof. In the current structure, there is a vault to move the works to for protection. But if you've seen the 5 or 6 huge masterworks this collection contains (at least 5-7 feet in any direction) you'll have an understanding of the risks they undertake during every hurricane season. Aside from the fascinating paintings (and I do mean mind-blowing!) - my favorite things on exhibit were the jewelry pieces. More than just ornamental pieces, they had the same levels of meaning & genius behind them as any of his other work. Now, as for ego, whew, Dali had more than enough of that to go around. Perhaps that is some of the fascination as well. I'm definitely looking forward to the opening of the new structure in 2011!

Planning to visit the annual Winter Park Art Festival tomorrow! Hoping for some warm sunshine for the artists & visitors, it's been a chilly time here in central Florida so far this year.