............and the thermometer on my lanai is reading 40 degrees this morning. Why is it that I'm colder when it's in the forties in Florida than I was when it was often below freezing all those years when I lived in New England and worked in Boston ?
It was an exceptionally beautiful sky this morning though, as the sun was about to come up. Looking east, there was a gorgeous blush of yellow gold on the horizon behind the silhouette of trees, gradually working its way up to light blue, then the deeper blue of daytime. A few dark gray clouds drifted across the gold and graduated up to white puffy ones as they met the blue. And as a bonus, a crescent moon hung up there in the darker blue. I like a daytime moon when you can see the full roundness, the darker part as well as the brilliant white reflection of light.
Ah, but the color didn't last very long.
Of all the thousands of highwaymen paintings I've seen in the last fifteen or so years, only George Buckner seemed to be able to capture that particular "look" in some of his later works. I'm not sure even Backus could capture it the way George did. (Sorry, Kathleen). When I see one of those Buckners, it makes me think of Martin Johnson Heade, one of the great ones.
I think the skies down here are, in general, spectacular. When people comment on the highwaymen paintings I display at shows, most of the time they'll say how nice they are, how the artists have captured the moment. But sometimes, a self-proclaimed expert will still say to their friend, who they are trying to impress, " That's awful, I don't like any of these highwaymen paintings, never did. The sunset doesn't look like that." They couldn't be more wrong. They are just not aware. These are undoubtedly the same people who drive in the left lane 10 mph under the limit. They are just not aware. From the stupid tribe.
As I drive east on the way to a show in the early morning hours, or returning towards the west as the sun goes down, I have seen every color in the spectrum paint the sky, including green. When Brian was with me, he'd often say, "There's a McLendon sunset over there" and there it was, by God, orange and yellow with a touch of sky blue pink behind the dark silhouette of a pine tree. All that was missing was the crown molding frame.
1 comment:
Quite possibly you feel colder here in sunny florida than new england because up there you most likely did not have a lanai. Great writing job I felt like I was there. I have photographs of the skies you describe. As do other collectors who could not believe such skies exist.The article in art and antiques around florida was proof that another career may be blossoming here.Oh, by the I sometimes drive 10 miles per hour under in the left lane to get a better view of those skies. Maybe we could all slow down alittle ,save gas and enjoy the florida we hang on our walls.
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