I have had such a crazy busy summer, I have been neglecting the ole blog a bit.  Thought I would check in and post a new painting!  This is a big departure from my normal work.  My goal was to try a new technique and push myself to do something different.  The process was so much fun on this one!

This painting is going to be featured in the City Hall of Winter Garden, Florida for a show featuring citrus, since this whole area where I live in Central Florida was a mecca for the citrus industry.  The show will be up from Sept. 12 through October.

When I moved to the area where I live,  17 years ago.  It was very rural and we were a tiny neighborhood tucked in orange groves.  When the trees blossomed in the early spring the smell was intoxicating!  I would always drive with my car windows down and just smell!  I always looked forward to that time of year.

Well things have changed.  All the groves have become housing complexes, shopping centers and high schools.  I guess you can't stop progress or population growth, at least our county commissioners can't because you are hard pressed to find a grove anymore.  This painting is an homage to those times I remember enjoying living around orange groves, hence the title, "Gone But Not Forgotten."  The metallic gold background symbolizes the reverence I feel for those former groves and trees.