S.U.M.M.E.R. Blues…

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art, beach, beach home, beach house, buy, canvas, clouds, coast, coastal, coastline, fl, florida, heaven, heavenly, heavenly light, landscape, light, maritime, ocean, online, paintings, prints, ray, rays, sarasota, sarasota beach, sarasota florida, sea, seascape, sharon cummings, Siesta Key Beach, sky, spirit, spiritual, summer, summer vacation, sun, sun beam, sun beams, sun rays, sunbeam, sunbeams, sunlight, sunset, swim, swimming, vacation, waves

I’ve got the Summer blues.  I am not talking about the sad kind.  I am referring to the azure skies and blue aqua tint of the ocean waves of Florida.  There is also the deeper blue gray of rain in the distance that tends to come around 5:00 pm each day.  I am in Venice right now enjoying the salty air and cooler breezes that provide the only reprieve from the stifling heat.  This morning we went out and swam in the choppy swells.  The temperature was perfect and the sun was hidden behind the clouds for a few hours.  I would apologize for my frequent absences from my blog, marketing and work in general.  But I am far from sorry.  I’ve worked hard for this and can finally live the life I’ve always envisioned.  I am spending as much time as possible at the beach this year. It’s just heavenly…

A Caged Bird S.I.N.G.S…

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abstract, abstract bird, abstract birds, Angelou, animals, art, artwork, avian, aviary, beach, beach home, beach house, bird, birds, books, canaries, canary, contemporary, contemporary art, contemporary bird, contemporary birds, creativity, dancing, emotional, faabest, Fine Art, freedom, hope, I know why the caged bird sings, Maya, Maya Angelou, modern, modern art, modern bird, modern birds, Music, muted colors, nature, ocean, painting, paintings, pastel, pastel art, pastels, pink, play, prints, sea, sharon cummigns, sharon cummings, sing, singing, songs, tropical, tropical bird, tropical birds, vacation, wall art, work, writing, yellow, yellow bird, yellow birds, yellow canary

 

With the recent passing of Maya Angelou, I was inspired to go through my books and find a few of hers for a reread.  A favorite is “I know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”  It has been said that a caged bird sings because it wants freedom. I’ve had a bird and he sang whenever he was in his cage, but he also sang when he was freely moving around my home.  He sang on my shoulder as he nuzzled my ear. He sang when he was having his bath.   He even sang when he was eating.  In fact, the only time he didn’t sing was at night when I would cloak his cage in darkness.  Only then did all go quiet.  I believe we are all like birds.  We sing because we must.  Whatever your song is be it art, music, writing, cleaning, building things, dancing, speaking, etc. it is something that you MUST do.  A deep yearning within that moves you without thought.   I do not ask myself why I create art.  I simply do it.

Rest In Peace Maya…

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How Do You C.O.N.N.E.C.T.?

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art, Artist, beach, coastal living, exercise, facebook followers, meditation, morning, ocean, pinterest followers, sea, seaside, self refection, sharon cummings, summer, summer vacation, twitter followers, vacation, walking, water

We are ALL connected online through Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.  But how do you connect to yourself?  Sometimes I feel like we are so involved in other people’s lives online that we forget that we have one of our own in the real world.  We wake up one morning with aches and pains and wonder where they came from.  We look in the mirror and wonder who is this person I see in the reflection?  We stop spending time alone.  We constantly borrow the thoughts of others until we forget to have any of our own.  Today I am reminding myself to get away from the black box for awhile.  To get with Nature and my own mind.  I am going to “check in” with me to see what I am up to……

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The Surprise…

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art, art prints, Artist, beach, beach art, beach house, beach prints, beach themed art, clouds, digital photography, faabest, heaven, heavenly, ocean, people, photographs, photography, photos, prints, sea, seaside, sharon cummings, sky, summer, sunset, sunset art, sunset photography, sunset prints, sunsets, vacation, water, waves

When I was a little girl, I was fascinated with photography.  I had my little Kodak Ektra camera and I would take quick snaps everywhere I went.  The most exciting part of the process was always going to the drug store to pick up the developed photographs.  Back then there was no one hour photo.  It took about 5 days and the anticipation would drive me crazy!  I would constantly ask my Mom if they were ready yet.  Then I would revel at the surprise shot.  The one that wasn’t anticipated.  A casual shot that turned out to be a “wow”.  Today it isn’t much different.  I still take snaps wherever I go whenever something catches my eye.  And then when I get home, the anticipation of downloading them on my computer is the same as when I was young.  The only difference is now I wait mere minutes instead of days.  Recently I had a beach getaway where I took over 300 shots and this was the “surprise”…the “wow” shot….

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Gimme A Break…

Tags

abstract art, art, Artist, earth, faabest, figurative art, girl, impressionism, impressionist art, landscape, nature, painting, play, summer, travel, vacation, women, work

The weather in Florida is really lovely right now.  It is not too hot yet.  I have been working really hard on commissioned paintings for the last two weeks and have been taking some much needed time off.  A nice stroll by some water…getting in touch with nature…..taking photographs with my husband. This is what a day off looks like for me captured in the art above titled “Summer Stroll In The Park”.  I absolutely love what I do when I am creating for myself or for a collector.  Art is my passion!  But even I need to take breaks now and again. 🙂

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So It B.E.G.I.N.S…

Tags

art, beaches, black, boating, bradenton, canvas, classy, clouds, coast, coastal living, contemporary, dramatic, fishing, florida, gray clouds, hurricane, hurricanes, keys, landscape, lido, maritime, meteorology, modern, naples, nautical, ocean, ocean living, oceanscape, photograph, photography, prints, sailor, sailors, sarasota, sea, seascape, sharon cummings, siesta key, skies, sky, sleek, sophisticated, steel gray, storm, storm clouds, stormy, stormy skies, stormy weather, summer, summer rains, tropical, tropical storm, vacation, visual, weather, white

 

So it begins…

With a boom.

A flash.

A downpour.

Summer.

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http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=142719

When In Rome…

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amalfi coast, art, art prints, bologna, canals of venice, canvas, colorful maps, colosseum, countries, country, europe, european, florence, genoa, interior design, italia, italian, italian food, italian restaurant, italy, italy map, leaning tower of pisa, map, map of italy, maps, milan, naples, palermo, piazza del campo, pompeii, prints, rialto bridge, rome, santa maria del fiore, sharon cummings, st. mark's square, travel, turin, vacation, venice, verona, wall art, wall decor, wall maps

Do as the Romans do.  I always thought that meant something scintillating, but all it really means is: It is polite, and possibly also advantageous, to abide by the customs of a society when one is a visitor.  Oh well.

Today’s map study is the beautiful country of Italy!  When I think of this place, my first thoughts are always about food.  Italian plays a part in my heritage so I can tell you that there is nothing like a homemade pasta sauce with fresh herbs and spices.  There is an art to perfect marinara. It cooks slowly all day long.  The smells that fill the house are insanely taunting.  Turns out that I have Celiac disease and all of that pasta I grew up with was tormenting my insides.  5 years ago I switched to Gluten Free fare and get to still enjoy those delicious tastes!

Some fun facts about Italy:

*  Italy is approximately 116,400 square miles (including Sicily and Sardinia), which is slightly larger than Arizona.

*  Italy is one of the most crowded nations in Europe.^a Its population is estimated to reach 58,126,212 by July 2009. The population of United States is estimated to reach 307,212,123 by that same date.

*  Italy is said to have more masterpieces per square mile than any other country in the world.

*  In 2007, a dog named Rocco discovered a truffle in Tuscany that weighed 3.3 pounds. It sold at auction for $333,000 (USD), a world record for a truffle.

*  When McDonald’s opened in 1986 in Rome, food purists outside the restaurant gave away free spaghetti to remind people of their culinary heritage.

*  Parmesan cheese originated in the area around Parma, Italy. Italians also created many other cheeses, including gorgonzola, mozzarella, provolone, and ricotta. No one knows when the pizza was invented, but the people of Naples made it popular.

*Vatican City is the only nation in the world that can lock its own gates at night. It has its own phone company, radio, T.V. stations, money, and stamps. It even has its own army, the historic Swiss Guard.

*Over 50 million tourists a year visit Italy. Tourism is vital to Italy’s economy and provides nearly 63% of Italy’s national income.

Wall C.A.N.D.Y!!

Tags

abstract, abstract shell, aqua, aqua shell, art sale, beach, beach home, beach house, beaches, beautiful, blue, bradenton, california, canvas, coastal, colorful, east coast, florida, fractal, fractals, geometric, geometrical, home, house, large, maritime, miami, natural, nature, nautilus, nautilus shell, north carolina, ocean, perfection, sale, sarasota, sea, sea shell, sea shells, seashell, seashells, seasons, sharon cummings, shell, shells, spiritual, summer, tropical, vacation, water, yoga, zen

 

Wall Candy Supreme!  My popular Blue Nautilus is on SALE!  A big size:  20x24x1.5.  Luxurious Gallery Wrapped Canvas.  Ready To Hang.  

Only 25 available for only a few days!  First come first served. 🙂  

Click the link below to take advantage of this amazing deal!

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=139722

F.L.O.R.I.D.A.

Tags

bradenton, disney, epcot, florida, florida beaches, florida map, map of florida, miami, sarasota, state, state maps, state of florida, states, tallahassee, tampa, the sunshine state, the united states, travel, United States, universal studios, vacation

For those of you following my map quest, I should say that I will not be creating all 50 states unless someone requests that I do so.  Nothing personal to all of my Wyoming fans, but a rectangle really does not make for much excitement. 😉  So I’ve found myself attracted to the funky shaped states such as my own: Florida.

Known as the “Sunshine State” for obvious reasons, Florida is kind of shaped like a gun which I find somewhat fitting.  Because every time I read a news report about some bizarre crime, the scene is always somewhere in Florida.  Truly we have many interesting people here and the real crazies seem to be drawn to it.  If a man is going to eat another man’s face while he sleeps, it will happen in Florida.  If someone will be attacked with a dead squirrel….yup, it will be here.

All of the oddities aside, I love my state.  I have lived here almost my entire life and I have no desire to move anywhere else.  If you want entertainment we have Disney, Epcot, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens.  But the real attraction are our beaches.  They are absolutely stunning!  Sarasota’s powder white sands and turquoise waves equals heaven to me.  I love the lush tropical landscaping and the relaxed atmosphere of the smaller cities.

Some interesting Florida facts:

• Florida covers 58,560 square miles of area. 4,298 square miles are water.
• There are 30,000 lakes and over 1,300 golf courses.
• Florida has over 1,300 miles of coastline with 800 miles of beaches.
• Florida has a warm climate throughout the year with a rainy/stormy season in the summer.
• Florida’s capitol city, Tallahassee, was the only southern capitol east of the Mississippi River to remain in southern hands for the duration of the Civil War.  

• Amelia Island is the only location in the U.S. to have been ruled under eight different national flags.
• The nation’s oldest city St. Augustine, was settled by Spanish explorers in 1565.
• The Florida Everglades are the only place in the world where alligators and crocodile co-exist.
• Santa Rosa County’s Blackwater River State Forest area offers over a million acres of protected wilderness with miles of hiking trails and canoeing routes and has been dubbed the “Canoe Capitol of Florida.”
• More than 3,000 Seminole Indians live on six reservations throughout the state of Florida: Big Cypress, Brighton, Fort Pierce, Hollywood, Immokalee and Tampa.

Do You Believe In Eternity?

Tags

abstract expression, abstract expressionism, abstract impression, abstract impression of horizon, abstract impressionism, acrylic seascape, beach, beach house, beachy, big, blue, caribbean, hawaii, home, horizon, large, light blue, lightblue, maize, minimal, minimalism, ocean, pastel, poem, poetry, sea, seascape, serenity, sharon cummings, simple, sky, soft, soft blue, soft yellow, summer, swim, swimming, tobago, turquoise, vacation, wall art, wall decor, wall hangings, water, yellow, yellow and blue

Eternal blue

horizon’s light

calming the sea

ocean of my soul

winter

dawn

moving forward

into a knowing heart.

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Blue Eternity