Been trying to grow azaleas in the yard for 6 years. FINALLY! – There are flowers!

Had originally planted 6 bushes. But due to a neighbor from up north who mowed the yard and believes a yard should only be grass, as the bushes came up, he would mow them down. I got the opportunity to ask him to stop mowing the yard. 3 were left standing. One is struggling. Two are flowering!

Here are a few pages from the new Swampy’s Florida Storybooks” Trilby’s Flower that I’m introducing at the 2012 Pine Castle Pioneer Days. Come out and say Hello! I’ll be drawing and painting live Saturday after 3pm and all day Sunday.

Drew lots of caricatures tonight!

Drew at two events today. One for Hospice of Marion County and the other for a private event in Maitland.

The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book of Hammett’s I’ve read and wish I’d read him in the past. This is a very good story. Well written. The skips in time by chapters does keep one wondering who might be involved with the central murder. There is no detective here. Just a fellow trying to help a pal. That fellow and just about everybody featured in the book are caught in an upcoming political election that is well described and helps move the story move beyond the average who-done-it. I look forward to reading more Hammett in the future.



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Did the caricature thing in Daytona Beach and Tampa Friday and Saturday!

I joined the Thursday morning hiking group of the Florida Cracker Chapter of the Florida Trail Association for, what turned out to be, a strenuous 6 mile hike through San Felasco State Park. There are many more photos at the Swampy’s Florida site. You can see those by clicking here.

Along the way I got some sketchin’ done, too. Not as much as usual. Below are a couple of the slight scribblings I made along the way.

While hiking it’s always good to be prepared for emergencies by carrying a well stocked Pez container!

We found ourselves in an empty bed of a cypress swamp.

This should be under at least some water. Below is a lonely cypress knee.

Here’s the birthday illustration I made for my father this year. Reading a Mike Shayne mystery novel inspired me to combine the detective with the frog. This is a watercolor painting, 11″ x 14″.

Below is a photo of my father on his birthday caught in the act of retrieving a glasses case from his shirt pocket with his requested steakburger ready for consumption.

Above is the mysterious Marie who asked me to create the caricature she’s holding. I did the whole thing at Bubbalou’s Bar-B-Que in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Look for a post about it on Swampy’s Florida next week. The restaurant was a great meeting place to get the artwork done and for good food.

  Here I am in the midst of getting the caricature done.

My last Christmas visits had me a bit closer to home and a chance to see lots of Christmas lights. Above are lights in Leesburg at Venetian Gardens and in Downtown Ocala. I just wish I would think more of taking photos when passing along Christmas cards. Something to work on next year!

After nearly 30 years got the opportunity to meet with a classmate in high school, Steve Brewster. He was also a fellow artist at the time. Now he lives in Gainesville. One of his hobbies is showing old horror movies on Blog.TV. You can tune in here on Saturday nights to see Steve in action.

Steve also has a mutual interest in cartoon toys and has his own collection. I did a drawing of him during the meeting.

Below is another classmate, James Holding and his wife, Susan. Though, James was a few years younger than me as we went to through school. I tutored cartooning  with James when he was attending Robert E. Lee Jr. High School.

James still cartoons to compliment a business he is in as a biblical apologist. You can see much, much more on his site by clicking here. Click here to see some of his animated spots on YouTube.

The annual Christmas Eve visit to, my dear friend, Lucile Fair, is always fun. A month before her 104th birthday and she is as full of energy as ever.

Did this illustration of a fishing alligator catching a bass between Friday, December 2nd, and Saturday, December 3rd. Began the illustration at the First Friday event in Downtown Lakeland in front of The General Store. Finished it while at the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village in Dade City the next day. I wasn’t sure what I was going to illustrate at first and then my author friend, Bob Bass, stopped by with his new book about fishing bass and I knew what to draw.

I first sketched out the drawing in pencil on watercolor paper. Then i went over that with ballpoint pen.

Next I added the watercolor. As I painted i was thinking I wish I had slid the gator a bit farther back. The two do look a bit too close.

Finally, I went over the illustration with a dark grey Pitt brush marker. Now it goes off to the printer to make prints of.