Fort Myers Beach Sketches

While visiting my brother and sister-in-law at their getaway place in Fort Myers, we took a walk down in the small community of Fort Myers beach.  The colors and people made for great subjects for some digital watercolor sketches…..

Fort Myers Beach Street

Palm trees, colorful buildings and blue skies – what more does one need for a great sketch of a beach town?  Wandering down toward the beach in Fort Myers Beach, I was drawn to this scene and all the fun and relaxation it suggests!

Bright Beach

As I walked up the wharf along Fort Myers Beach, the colorful beach umbrellas were reminders of all that is fun and relaxing about life!  It was hard to feel a moment of worry while looking at all the cheery colors that seemed to dance in the breeze along the beachy shore!

         Day at Fort Myers Beach   

                   

This scene feels traditionally beachy to me, not because of the great blue skies, the glimpses of water, or the bright beach umbrellas.  It’s the beach grass in the foreground of the sketch that really does it for me.  I can just feel it swaying in the gentle onshore breeze.

Enjoy!

Note:  This sketches are available in a variety of sizes, formats and finishes on www.fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Snowy Cholla

We had a winter snow storm at our place, and when I looked out our back windows, the only thing I could see was this snowy cholla plant.  The homes in the distance are invisible, as are the mountains.  This sketch captures the icy coldness that was outside, and made me glad I was nice and warm inside!

Enjoy!

Note:  This image can be found in a variety of sizes and finishes at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Music of the Heart

There is something about a rose of any color that speaks to me of love.  And, from my perspective, love makes one’s heart sing!  This photo collage combines both roses and music for a soft, romantic piece.

Enjoy!

Note: This piece is available in a variety of finishes and sizes by visiting https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.

Inspiration of Winter

After a winter storm at the end of December, Jeff and I took a drive along a secondary road that I love to travel down for some photo inspiration.  The trip on this day didn’t disappoint – there were a couple of views of my favorite subject that inspired me –

Recovery and Preparation

There was an ice fog that morning, and it clouded the atmosphere at ground level.  It created this sort of ethereal effect to the scene around us.  This view of a deserted cabin that has most definitely seen better days made me think about the changing of seasons, and this quote summed it up quite well.

Rising

The scene of a cabin that has fallen down seems a bit odd to name rising.  However, when I look at the cabin, I don’t see a cabin that is in its final stages.  I see all the seasons that it survived, perhaps going through a spring repair when people lived there.  Roof, windows, and door – all of these were repaired or replaced – rising up every season for years on end.  So, let’s not judge this cabin by the present, but by all it survived over the past years.

Enjoy!

Note:  These pieces are available in a number of different sizes and formats by visiting https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg

A Tattered Life

When I saw this battered cabin with the door almost falling off its hinges, it made me stop and imagine the life that once lived there.  It seems sadly ironic that somehow, through all that had befallen this place, there still was an attempt at niceness – the somewhat fancy, perhaps even lacy curtain that was in the window of the door.  

I  imagined a woman, most likely, peeking out from behind the curtain, hoping to see her husband or lover returning from his travels.  This cabin was along the Atlantic coast, so I imagine him to be a sailor.  What letters had been written and received?  Were her hopes still alive or had they been dashed like the waves along the rocky shore.  And, how did her life turn out?  Hopefully, a happy ending and not the tattered life that was the fate of this cabin.

Enjoy!

Note:  This piece is available in a variety of formats and finishes at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/Nadine-berg    

Magical Winter Morn

Last weekend, there was an unexpected snowfall on Saturday night into Sunday.  When I saw the snow in the morning, I threw on some clothes, grabbed my camera and took off in my car to photograph the magic of a winter morn.

Winter Tree Stand

There was something about the textures and shadows of all the trees gathered together that just begged for this to be a black and white image.  Color would only get in the way of the pattern that the trees created.  Even the fence posts, with their caps of snow, and the wire fencing added to the overall textural effect of this image.

Winter Barn

On a snow covered dirt road, I happened upon this quintessential winter scene.  The snow that remained on the trees perfectly framed the old red barn, which seemed to glow in the soft morning light.  The tops of the grass still showing above the snow line adds a bit of warmth to this image and gives you the feeling of looking at it from the inside of a nice, warm home.

Early Winter Morning

The sky was especially photogenic on this winter morn.  It was shades of gray, with some almost cream color in the sky.  You can even see the sun rising just above the horizon.  It, too, is shrouded in cloud cover, so its light is muted.

Long Hard Winter

This poor little cabin has been a favorite photo subject of mine for several years, and it’s now in such a state of collapse that you wouldn’t know it used to be a cabin unless you’d seen it in better days.  It still has plenty of character and reminds me of how hard winters could be on the plains in years past.

Barn in Field

This barn just caught my eye – a bright spot in the midst of grey and other neutral colors.  I liked the texture of the fence, weeds and old grass peeking up from the snow.  I feel like altho this is a quiet moment, activity lies just around the corner when the rancher’s family wakes up.

Pale Blue Winter Sky

There’s nothing quite like the pale blue that a winter sky can be sometimes.  I liked that you can see it thru the delicate pattern of the winter trees.  The fence in the foreground serves to ground us so we don’t all float away into the blue!

Tree Line

While driving on a seldom traveled snow-covered dirt road, I noticed this different sort of tree line.  I’m not certain if someone planted them in this way years ago, or how they happened to be lined up so perfectly on the side of the road, but they remind me of soldiers lining the route of some dignitary.  That would certainly not be me!

Enjoy!

This images are all available for purchase in a variety of sizes and finishes via https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/nadine-berg.html.

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Napier Sunset

When leaving Napier, we had another lovely sunset!  We have been so lucky on this trip to see so many.  So, without further ado, let me share this latest beautiful ending to the day.

I love the way the sun is dipping behind the cloud front on the horizon.  You can really see the texture and shape of the clouds as they are silhouetted against the bright setting sun.

Things seem to quiet down, and the colors are becoming more subtle as the sun continues to set.  I also love the little wisps of clouds in the upper right of this image.

I’ve always heard about the “afterglow” when the sun sets, but never saw such a pretty illustration of that.  I felt the impression of the sun’s rays in the sky, without actually seeing them.  Just a perfect end to the day.

Enjoy!