Well, it’s October, and I must say it certainly feels like it here! To be honest, I’m not ready for fall, I’m never ready for fall, but go forward with heels dug deep into the sand, being dragged by the changing of the seasons. Chilly weather is not an exciting change for a sun-loving water baby. I suited up in my wetsuit over the past couple of weeks, to extend my swimming as long as I possibly could, but alas I had to cry “uncle“. As I type the pool is being drained and used to water the garden and flower beds, which are extremely dry, since we haven’t gotten rain in over a month now. So I remind myself that the end of the pool is sustaining life for the plants… It doesn’t really help, but I still try 🙂
The mornings this past week have been “two robe” mornings. That’s how I judge the temperature, by how many robes I have to put on to stay warm whilst eating breakfast on the porch … Ha! During one of my breakfasts, I was joined by the white-tail deer, a mom and her triplets. It was thrilling to say the least, and two of the fawns spent half an hour right off the porch munching on small trees, grass, and acorns, before heading off into the woods. Then the mother and other fawn walked over and stood looking at me, as if we were carrying on a wordless conversation. They spent some time eating acorns and bits of green grass, as I sat very still, relishing in the magical morning! A little while later, they slowly made their way into the woods as well. Wes managed to get this photo of me through the window without spooking them.
Another morning, I began hearing leaves rustling and crunching in the woods, and at first thought it was squirrels chasing one another. Then I could hear faint clucking noises off on the distance, and within a few minutes here came the flock of turkeys. There are still at least a dozen of them and all of the babies are now fully grown, beautiful birds! They slowly walked through the woods near me, scratching about the ground occasionally finding treats, flapping wings, and chatting before disappearing into the back woods some time later. Yet another morning, as I sat in my lounge chair mere feet from the mountain, one of the hummingbirds decided it was a good morning for a bath. It flew down to the fountain and landed on the rock and began dipping its wings down on to the wet rock, then it walked directly under the spout, as if it was taking a wee shower! It was truly amazing to watch as it flapped it’s tiny wings and dipped its head, until it was obviously sufficiently soaked, then it flew over to a nearby limb and began preening. As you can imagine, I love eating breakfast in the front yard, as you just never know what you’re going to see!
I didn’t have my camera with me, but this is the hummingbird shower facility
When we were sitting on the porch eating lunch, I noticed a small green thing hop onto a rock by the fire pit, so Immediately I went out to see what it was. It was the cutest wee green frog and was quite gracious and let me get this photo of it.
Wes spotted this beautiful resident in the garden one day, so I quickly grabbed the camera and got this photo of it on its’ web.
Our neighbor told us we just had to come see her cactus that was blooming, so we walked over and were totally impressed with the large, beautiful flower! If anyone knows what kind it is, please let me know in a comment, as we are interested in knowing and she couldn’t remember the name.
One day this past week, we spent an afternoon kayaking on nearby Watts Bar lake to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous weather! It was a splendid day and we managed to stay out of the strong wind most of the time, whilst paddling along in a new area.
Wes spotted this dragonfly on top of the water flapping its wings and unable to lift from the surface. So he carefully paddled over to it, reached down and gently picked it up and sat it on his leg so it could dry out and warm up. We noticed that it had absolutely gorgeous green eyes! It sat there for quite awhile and then once it was ready flitted off back to the skies.
Although we saw several interesting sights, I thought this old fishing marina and resort was quite charming, making us feel as if we had slipped back in time many years. Even though parts of it were falling into disrepair, other parts remained as charming as ever and we could tell that at one point many years ago, it must have really been a great vacation destination. It still sells gas to boaters and appeared to have a little convince store, with an old Coca-Cola sign, and I must admit I thought it would be fun sometime to just walk in and see what it is like inside.
IN THE STUDIO
It’s been a very busy time for me in the studio this week, especially since I can no longer swim 🙂 I finished this miniature portrait the I had started earlier, and it’s headed to a miniature art show in Florida. While exploring the catwalk area above the theater in an art museum with my artist friend who has a great eye for dramatic lighting, Anni Crouter, she said let me get a photo of you in this incredible lighting. As soon as I saw the photo she took, I knew I had to paint it some day, and that day came. Although it’s not easy capturing light, I actually really enjoyed the challenge of it.
“Light”
I also started painting my latest pet portrait commission of a gorgeous Doberman named Bella, and will be sharing her progress with you next week.
Wes is delighted to have won an Honorable Mention in Watermedia at the 89th Annual International Exhibition of Fine Art Miniatures, Washington, DC .
SEE OUR PAINTINGS IN PERSON THIS WEEK
2022 Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit
October 1 to November 29, 2022: Preston Arts Center, Henderson, KY
We were delighted to learn that I won the John Stanley Hoffman Award and Wes won the John Triplett Award!
EXQUISITE MINIATURES is open at the Gadsden Arts Center & Museum, located in Quincy, FL, and it will be on display there until December 17, 2022.
An Evening with Ape Action Africa Auction
October 7th, 2022: London, UK
100% of the proceeds from the sale of our gorillas goes to this amazing organization to help fund the work they do!
Sketch for Survival with Explorers Against Extinction
October 6, 2022: The Explorers Club, New York City, NY (Online Auction begins September 16th and ends on October 8, 2022) You can now bid online and 100% of the proceeds from the sell of our paintings goes to this incredible Organization and their important work!
Francesca Anderson Fine Art, MA
Society of Animal Artists 62nd Annual Exhibition
September 24, 2022 – January 1, 2023: Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding, CA
To see our available miniature paintings as well as some upcoming shows,
visit our WEBSITE artofwildlife.com Email us
Until Next Time ~ Rachelle
Our friend Mike camped along with us and we had great fun hanging out with him whilst hiking, kayaking, swimming, fishing and paddle boarding. Even though the nights were chilly, the brilliant sunshine warmed it up enough during the day to make it pleasant to swim.
Wes’ “Rock Patrol” and my “Patterns”
Under the Magnifying Glass 