Summertime...

Payton II Acrylic on hardboard  8"x8"

The weather is reaching 90 degrees this week.  The garden is full of green beans.  We are canning the first batch today of five quarts.  I have been eating fresh garden picked kohlrabi, fresh cucumbers, raspberries, zucchini, and beets. I am anticipating making my first batch of home made ice cream in my little ice cream maker.  Also, we have been going through the seedless watermelons like there is no tomorrow.

Summer festivals are everywhere.  Yesterday I played clarinet in Sigs band in Forest City, Iowa for their annual Puckerbrush parade. Forest City is home to the Winnebago Motorhome annual rally.  Afterwards I played in the Forest City Municipal Band in the city band shelter as the community ate their chicken dinner in the park. It was a perfect day and I couldn't help but get a little emotional as we played our final selection of Stars and Stripes Forever.   I couldn't help but appreciate such an exceptional day, with community hovering around enjoying our music and each other.

My painting I am highlighting today is a second painting of Payton. (see July 14)  I like the abstract negative spaces in red that surround her.  I also like how she fills up the picture frame.

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