Crabs, Old Bay and Butter

Here's a watercolor I did about 2 months ago. It's large, and I did it because I love eating crabs. It's a social thing. My grandparents lived in Norfolk, and as a kid, my dad and I would go crabbing with chicken necks and string. We would throw the chicken necks out, wait a few minutes and then slowing pull the line back, keeping the chicken neck on the bottom of the bay. Then when it was close enough, I would slowly pull the crabs up. When we could see the crabs on the chicken neck, my dad would take the crab net and quickly scoop up the crab and chicken neck. He had a wooden basket that he would float inside an inner tube, and we would dump are catch in there. When we were done for the day, we would bring home our load. My grandmother would steam them and then the whole family (aunt, uncle, cousin) would sit around the table, picking crabs and talking. It takes quite a while to get your fill so there was a lot of talking going on. To this day, I love a crab feast. Not just for the delicious taste of crab meat, but also for the talk that goes on for hours.

Seagulls by the Rough Water

Here is a painting I did recently. I had assigned my students to do rough ocean waves and turbulent skies. After I finished my painting, I thought it needed more so I added some seagulls in the distance. Then after looking at it more, I decided to make some bigger seagulls. I'm please how it turned out. I started with one idea and kept adding to it until I was satisfied.

Daisies in a Coke Bottle

I haven't posted in quite a while. I had surgery almost a month ago and recovery has been slow. I decided to show some things I did before I went under the knife. This is a still life I set up with some old coke bottles and some daisies. It was fun to paint. I started off as a still life painter so whenever I do one, it takes me to my happy place. I'm still too sore to paint yet, but I'm looking forward to the day that I can get back to picking up a brush.