Things from an estuary

Things from a Florida estuary: driftwood, nicker bean pod, cat's claw seedpods,
 oyster shells, buttonwood leaves and "buttons," and a rattle-box seedpod. 

Today was National Estuary Day!  I find estuary systems fascinating; they are the sheltered nutrient-rich birthplace and nursery environment for many species of life.  Estuary ecosystems occur when fresh and salt water meet and mingle, the best of both worlds.

I painted this last year after a visit to Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve just south of Naples, and thought it would be appropriate to share today.  These were just some of the small treasures I observed as I explored the trails through the mangroves around the bay.  

 To read more about National Estuary Day and the importance of our estuaries, please visit NOAA's website on estuaries.

Bula Baptist Mission, A Farewell

The front of the church.

Last Saturday a small group of us met at the old Bula Baptist Mission Church in Copeland, Florida to sketch this historical structure before it meets the demolition crew.  Bula Mission was built in the 1940’s of the cypress wood that was being logged out of the nearby cypress domes and strands.  You may remember that an earlier post reported my visit to a different church in Copeland last March, which is still standing over on Church Street. 

Bula Baptist Mission was built at a time when racial segregation was the norm in the South; it was a church for Black services, while the Whites attended the church down the road.  When segregation ended, Bula Baptist Mission closed, and all races attended the Baptist Church on Church Street.  Reverend Gilmore, the pastor of the Baptist Church, told us during our visit in March that their church was one of the first fully integrated churches in the county during the early 1960’s, with a congregation of Blacks, Whites, Native Americans, and Hispanics.

Our sketching group was kept small, out of respect for the surrounding residential neighborhood, and we met early to avoid the Florida heat and humidity.  I had a chance to do two small plein air paintings, one in my new Strathmore watercolor sketchbook, and one in my Pentalic Nature Sketch pad.  Both worked well with the Daniel Smith travel set I created.  The Strathmore paper has great lifting properties, so I could clean up a few mis-strokes later. 

The church itself used to be a one-room structure, with small bathrooms added later just off the front entryway.  At one time, it was hoped that the building could be restored and used for community events, but the cost is too great.  I believe the current plan is to salvage as much as possible, then demolish it.  If anyone has any information to add, please comment below, or email me and I’ll update this post.  I love old structures, and feel sad that this one won’t be around for much longer.

It was a lovely summer's day, although quite hot as the sun crept up to its zenith.  The church is overgrown with lush vegetation and there were butterflies everywhere: swallowtails, sulphurs, and gulf fritillaries.  Two red-shouldered hawks patrolled the sky overhead.  Painting bliss!  

It was an honor to be able to spend a few hours painting the Bula Baptist Mission, and I thank Karen Relish and Marya Repko for making it possible.  Thank you too, for visiting!

A bit of news

I am flattered by a fellow blogger’s review of my blog and website!  Shauna Lee Lange, of Port Charlotte, Florida posted a wonderful piece about me here.  

As I browsed Shauna’s website, I was energized just reading about her ventures.  I was especially taken by her new enterprise, The Center For Lovingly Used Art Supplies (CLUAS), a re-gifting and art donation effort.    

Thank you, Shauna, and all the best in your art adventures!

Is is fall yet?

Laurel oak leaf, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

With temperatures still in the low to mid-nineties here in south Florida, this is the question on my mind almost every day during the last half of September. I found this laurel oak leaf on the ground the other day, and it reminded me that fall is lurking around the corner.

Just in the last few days, the mornings have been a tiny bit cooler, and the air has been drier. The sky has taken on a tinge of cooler blue as the earth tilts away from the sun. Fall in Florida doesn’t have the drama and glory it does further up the northern hemisphere, but it does have a subtle splendor.

This tattered, beaten-up leaf still glowed with color, inspiring me to try to capture them in watercolor. I painted this in a new watercolor sketchbook by Strathmore, purchased at Michaels with a 40% off coupon! And since it was a low price to start, I felt I couldn’t go too wrong.

It is the Strathmore Windpower Watercolor pad, spiral bound, with 15 sheets of cold press 140 lb. acid-free paper. I bought the small size (6 x 9 inches) for field and small study painting and sketching. I like the clear white color of the paper and the way it takes initial washes. I also like the heavier paper in this book; I used a fairly wet wash on the leaf and had no buckling at all.

What I didn’t like was the way my watercolor lifted when I attempted to add another glaze layer, but I think that is partly my choice of paint color. Still, I’m used to the Pentalic sketchbook that seems to “grab” all of my watercolors. I think I need to experiment more with getting my initial washes right, and fuss less with detail.

I sketched this first in pencil, and then painted with Daniel Smith watercolors: Quinacridone Gold, Sap Green, Raw Sienna, Burnt and Raw Umber, and Cadmium Red. Darker vein accents were a mixture of Raw Umber and Indanthrone Blue; the shadow is a mix of Shadow Violet plus Indanthrone Blue.

It’s been a lot, hot summer for many of us, but I know some of you in the upper parts of the northern hemisphere are enjoying autumn already, with cooler temperatures and even frost!

Real natural Florida

Spent Florida butterfly
orchid blooms.

Florida is a constantly changing state.  It seems as is many if the people you meet are transplants from another location, although the rare natives (those born here) can be met.  I’m related to an old Naples family by marriage, and believe me, they’ve seen a LOT of change in our little section of Florida.

To many people, Florida reflects back a kind of kitsch – fantasy theme parks, giant papier-mâché oranges atop roadside stands, cypress-knee lamps, and hot pink plastic flamingos on wire legs.  Those with a passing interest in our flora and fauna marvel at palm trees and alligators, crystal-clear springs and giant ferns. 

I’d like to invite you to slow down even more, and take a closer look at the real natural Florida. 

Leopard frog.

Florida is a long state, surrounded on three sides by salt water.  In the interior are numerous fresh-water lakes, springs, creeks, rivers, and marshes that mostly flow gently southwards.  Underneath it all is a limestone base called karst.  Karst is characterized by cracks, caves, and flowing underground water – and the reason for our famous sinkholes.

The center peninsular part of the state has higher ridges that were once coastal dunes, and much of south Florida was once part of the ocean floor.  What lies beneath also determines what lies above.  For example, a typical pine flatwoods habitat occurs on low, flat, and sandy soils.  South Florida rocklands feature outcroppings of pockmarked limestone, creating tropical hammock islands of vegetation amid lower marshy areas. 

Florida tree snail.

Cypress domes are shaped by the ground below.  A depression or sinkhole forms in the limestone, and fills with water and organic material.  Taller cypresses grow toward the center, while shorter trees grow around the rim.  Sometimes the center is open where the water is too deep for even cypress trees.  The “dome” shape mirrors what is happening below. 

Red maple,
a wetland tree.

Underneath the glamour of big city life in Miami, the Mickey Mouse ears in Orlando, and the beaches all along the 1,350 miles of coastline, beats the heart of natural Florida.  We have upland forests next to Alabama and Georgia, and subtropical and tropical swamps, hammocks, flatwoods, scrub, prairies, and estuaries.  There is a remarkable diversity of plant, animal, and insect species throughout our state.

Start with your own backyard, can you tell what was once there before your home was built?  Look at your neighborhood; are there remnants of a pine flatwoods (like mine), or a scrub oak community?  What small wonders do you see living in your area that have adapted to what is present now?  A snail, songbirds, anoles, butterflies…perhaps a stray opossum or black snake?

The drawings are in mechanical pencil on Bristol board, done years ago for an article in The Palmetto, for the Florida Native Plant Society.   

I rediscovered them while looking through some old artwork for another project.  The drawings and article reminded me that many people who live here don’t get a chance to connect to Florida’s unique landscape and history.

Barred owl.