Here's another painting, called Summer Shade, that's being featured in Kennedy Publishing's new Best of America - Oil Artists book. The paintings in the book, as well as all of my best works, are places that I've been and people that I've seen. They combine my memory of 'being there' with all of the senses of actually having been there - the woodsy smell of the air, the heat of the day, and the background sounds of birds singing and kids laughing. In Summer Shade, I found a group of kids in the area trying to keep cool on a hot August day. St. Augustine has lots of big live oak trees that meander forever through the woods. While most kids would rather sit at home and play video games, this group seemed to love to get together and spend time outside. Climb trees, jump in the watering hole, explore the woods. This was a quiet, hot day, but satisfying for this boy as he watched others settle in and explore the branches.
