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Adventures & Stories
Page 3 of 3
Driving Tour 2006
In August we took our
new fuel-efficient Honda on a 2-week tour of North Carolina,
Lake Champlain, Vermont, Bar Harbor, Massachusetts/Cape Cod,
then back to Florida. |
Here we are at the National Seashore - Marconi Beach on Cape
Cod. Nicole grew up in New England, but Brendan has never seen
a majestic Cape Cod beach, so it was quite an experience. |
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Brendan, with the first of several lobsters who met their demise
at our dinner table in Bar Harbor! |
11 of our 12 nieces & nephews we spent time with in
Westport, NY, along with their moms & dads -- all gathered
to celebrate Brendan's mom's 70th birthday. |
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visiting the Farnsworth Museum in Maine, we stopped by the Olson
House where Andrew Wyeth created his famous painting called 'Christina's
World'. Brendan captured Nicole doing her own rendition of the
painting! After seeing this beautiful house, we now understand
why Wyeth was compelled to paint it, with all its beautiful angles,
abstract designs, and simplicity of form and light. |
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Featured Art
Brendan with his 'Calculated
Risk' painting which was featured August, 2006 in SRQ Magazine
under the heading of 'Inspiration'. It's a powerful piece depicting
a sailfish silently following a lure -- deciding on his 'calculated
risk', so to speak. The viewer is left to wonder if he'll go
for it, or not!
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Travels out West, Round
Two
In June, '06 we traveled
to Dubois, Wyoming again for the annual Susan K. Black Foundation's
art workshop. It was another great adventure, filled with instruction
from acclaimed artists, beautiful scenery and lots of fun and
inspiration for new artwork. |
Brendan in Andrew Denman's acrylic class. He was inspired to
paint wolves after visiting the Wolf & Grizzly Center in
West Yellowstone. |
Nicole & Brendan at an authentic western rodeo.
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Nicole with sculpting instructor John Phelps. She's holding her
finished baby wood duck (commemorating the new hatchlings in
our lake at home) and John is holding the bear sculpture he created
during the 'Quick Draw' event (which was auctioned off during
the workshop). |
Brendan took a break from painting to create a mini grizzly bear
sculpture - he showed up Nicole and did it in 30 minutes, while
hers took almost three days. . .
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In WY, Brendan also created this mixed media piece of a wolf
using coffee as his medium, layering on charcoal, pencil, acrylic
and ink in an utter frenzy. Apparently, it was just something
that he had to get out of his system! Here he is with our friend,
and the new owner of the piece, former anchorman and A&E
host, Jack Perkins. |
Feline Art
Artistic ability seems to run in our family -- turns out while
we were away in WY, our cat Phoebe started drawing and, of course,
she captured her favorite subject. . . herself! |
Wedding Anniversary
April 22, 2006 marked Nicole's and Brendan's one-year
anniversary -- it went by so fast, but it's been a great year.
We marked the event by going back to the spot on Casey Key beach
where we married and we reminisced about our special day.
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Unusual Visitor. . .
Imagine our surprise while working in our studio recently and
in walked an American Egret! Here's Nicole greeting the (not
so) little visitor.
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Fishing Tournament
In early May '06, Brendan participated in the Sarasota SERTOMA
Club's annual Kingfish tournament. Even though his team didn't
catch the winning fish, it was a fun adventure for a great cause.
Shown here with friends Frank, Max and Jim as they started their
day at 5:30 am. . . |
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