Fog!

Fog!, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

The weather in southwest Florida in the wintertime tends to be drier than our humid summers (also known as the rainy season). Lately, though, we’ve had an abundance of fog. Fog in the morning is not unusual, when cold landmasses meet the warmer air off of the Gulf of Mexico. But fog at 2 p.m.? Very unusual. We watched the visibility become worse as the afternoon progressed, when normally the fog is lifting and melting away with the sunshine.

I captured a composite watercolor sketch in my nature journal of the cabbage palms near the beach. Since a foggy atmosphere dampens and desaturates the color of things, I used a limited palette of neutral colors. Later I added a touch of watercolor pencil for some foggy texture, trying to add a dense feeling.

Drier days are predicted, thank goodness. Last month the fog was so thick across the center of the state that officials closed the section of Interstate 75 that connects Naples and Ft. Lauderdale (about 105 miles)!

You can click on the image caption above to see it larger on my Flickr photostream.