Apr 072024
 

For me, art is seeing with imagination.  I see the world and modify it with my imagination.  

Orchidaceae Rhyncholalia cultivar Arbin, Honduras with Painted Background

 

Orchid Painting

 

Orchids, Feathers, and Fur

 

Walking Iris

 

Backlighted Orchid with Painted Sky

Feb 092023
 

Tiller is nearly 16 weeks of age. His eyes are hidden under his hair. We notice that much of his hair is coming in the wheat color of wheaten terriers. He weighs about 18 pounds and has taught himself to jump up and down off the couch bringing toys back that we have thrown across the room. He is not easy to photograph!

Tiller is a Whoodle, a soft-coated Wheaten Terrier and French Poodle mix. Since neither breed sheds, it means lots of combing and soon a puppy cut.

 

Apr 012022
 

This is the first time my jade plant has flowered. The flowers are about a half inch across and resemble flowers from other succulent plants I have.

My jade plant has three clusters of flowers.  The plant gets morning sun from the east and shade for the remainder of the day.  The main trunk has grown to about three inches in diameter.  I have pruned and propagated it many times.  The more sun it receives the redder the leaf tips become.

Mar 162022
 

According to a Naples zoo keeper, female giraffes live together in herds. The male giraffes leave at puberty, live on their own and visit the females when they want some lovin’.  

On a warm afternoon the giraffes took their turn eating endive right from the hands of visitors.  A young girl shyly offered a giraffe a treat while her mom enthusiastically took photos, blocking a good shot, but definitely made a good memory.  

One giraffe was 16 feet tall.  The protrusions from their heads are not horns, but rather knobs to protect their heads.  I was impressed how gently and languidly they moved.  They enjoyed a shower from a hose.  One rubbed  the  back  of  her  head  against a tree  branch.

Notice how long and dextrous their tongues are!  What a treat to have a telephoto lens and have the viewing stand so close to these beautiful creatures!

Jan 092022
 

My maternal grandmother’s sister gave this cactus to her in the mid 1930s. My grandmother gave this cactus to me in 1981. It has moved with us from Michigan to Atlanta to New York back to Georgia and now to Florida. I have pruned and propagated it many times to share its beauty. I used to call it my Christmas cactus, but now I have a different species that blooms at Christmas and this one blooms later, so I have renamed it my New Year’s cactus. This is the first bloom of the season. Rather than a side view, I decided to make the photos lying on my back looking up towards the sun to see inside and through the petals. I played with the backgrounds to give it a variety of moods.

Looking up to the sun

A bluer cast

A darker background

An imaginary background

Blurring the green leaves

Into the center with a dark background

Into the center with an imagined background

Aug 232021
 

My photo,Circle of Life, won first place in the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens 41st annual photo exhibition. You can see all the photos in the link below.

Bromeliaceae, Tillandsia streptophylla

https://selbygardensvirtualphotoexhibition.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery

Jun 092021
 

A great blue heron visits the ponds behind our house. I made this series of photos during golden hour. The colors of the feathers are really beautiful. The backgrounds were not all beautiful, so I tried to make them so with painting and other photos.