Climbing into the Clouds

Cumulous Crescendo
© 2012 Karen F. Rose
pastel on board
20x16"

Dropping off this pastel Cumulus Crescendo for

The Summer Exhibit at the Thomas Center
Mezzanine Gallery
302 NE 6th Avenue
Gainesville, FL
which runs from July 9 to September 1, 2012.
Glorious clouds are my mountains in the Florida twilight landscape.

And speaking of mountains. I had just the best time viewing the clouds on our recent trip to Colorado. We made the vertical climb 10,360 feet to Brainard Lake just outside Boulder. Spectacular!

If getting that vertical is exhilarating, coming back down to earth can be too.
Here's a road sign you just don't encounter in the Florida landscape.

Melrose Open Air Arts 2012

My "Welcome to Melrose Bag"
decorated by an elementary school artist
photo Karen F. Rose

One of the great pleasures of participating in the Melrose Open Air Arts is to feel the community involvement to make the artists feel so welcome. At the breakfast for the artists on Wednesday morning, I was given a bag filled with coupons, a schedule and a map. 
My "Welcome to Melrose" bag was decorated by a fifth grader from the local elementary school. Don't you just love the sunglasses she drew on the sun!


Speaking of the sun, on Wednesday and Thursday of this week I got up at the crack of dawn...well, actually before dawn more like 5 am to drive out to Melrose and experience the sun rise over lake Santa Fe.

Sunrise on Lake Santa Fe
© 2012 Karen F. Rose

This is the fourth year I have painted in the Open Air Arts and my finished paintings will be hanging in the Melrose Bay Art Gallery.
Hope to see you there and bring your sunglasses!