Some things to share in Black and White.

I feel like I have been away for years, not weeks, and my poor little brain is having a very difficult time getting back into the swing of things. I'm pretty sure that the chocolate high delivered by the Easter Bunny is not helping either.

Our trip to Florida was incredible!!! There were so many amazing experiences that I can't really figure out where to begin. Our hosts were incredibly well prepared and had a long list of experiences to share - wonderful talc-y white beaches complete with beach bars filled with character and characters; art galleries and colonies, a jazz and blues club (complete with a speed painter), dog races, too many amazing meals to mention, never-ending discount shopping  and on and on and on.

Today, I will share two amazing experiences along with links so you can take a longer look:

The first was the above-mentioned speed painter at the jazz/blues club called The Flying Dog, located in an airplane hangar near the Sarasota airport. This young artist was introduced at the beginning of the evening, when the house band took a break. There were several of his finished works behind the stage where the band played, and he was selling the speed sketches for $75 and his finished works for $100 - $150.

While a song played, using a small photo as reference, he created two paintings of artists who were recognizable before their songs were over. While we were there, he painted Miles Davis and Bob Marley - in about 3 minutes!!

Here is one of his paintings of Mick Jagger, so you can understand the rest of my description:

Starting with a black canvas, he uses white pastels and paint, leaving the negative space behind and creating incredible likenesses at lightning speed. When I got home and checked his website I found that he even has a dedicated "speed painting" section there. Check out his site - if you have a fan on your list who would love one of these, he ships anywhere for about $10. (You will see sizes and prices on the website.) While we were there, a guitarist from Sudbury who jammed with the band for an hour or so bought the Jimi Hendrix painting for his music room. Incredible!!! (Makes me wish I had a music room.)

The other link I am providing is to a wonderful cafe/restaurant we visited in Towles Court an art colony in downtown Sarasota. Unfortunately, we missed the Friday Night Art Walk, so we just ventured down there on our own, After going into several studios and talking to several of the artists there, we had lunch at Shoogie Boogies, a wonderful restaurant/cafe owned by a very fabulous photographer/entrepreneur.

When you read about her on the website, you will see that she has an abundance of style in everything she does - from her fabulous photography of children to the Garden Room. This is one of my favourite photos that she had on display. (And in keeping with the black and white theme of this post, it seems.)

So now we are back! We arrived home in time to enjoy a wonderful Easter weekend and hopefully a continued easy transition into spring. Although from all appearances and reports, this was pretty much a non-winter. And no real need to escape LOL.

And now it's just a matter of settling back into my "normal" existence with lots of rug hooking, more frequent posting and other things waiting for my attention.