Sun Rays

There's something magical about the sun streaming through breaks in the clouds. The old cottage by the sea in Portugal had a front row seat for nature's show.

Marmalade Cat

Can you spot the orange cat in the yard of this house in the Azores, Portugal? This structure had such an interesting shape, with its twin towers and angled walls, but it was the cat that grabbed my attention, sitting so contentedly among the flowers.

Come Boss

I doubt that's how the farmers call their cows to the barn in the Azores, Portugal, but that's how my grampa called his cows in at night. I came across this straggler on a back road on the island of Angra do Heroismo, Portugal, when the night birds were flying.

Cottontail

This little bunny spotted at a nearby lake park seemed to think he was hidden in the grass. :)

Morning Glories

I began the Virtual Paintout month in Lido a little discouraged, thinking I would not find anything interesting enough to paint there. It's pretty touristy, which is unappealing to me. But it forced me to look a little harder and I found subject matter away from the towns. On the same country lane where I found my fruit picker, below, I discovered a long row of morning glories on a wire fence. I should have remembered, paradise is everywhere!

Girl From the Lane

I discovered this girl pedaling down a country lane in Lido Di Jesolo and stopped to take a closer look. Garbed in her yellow kitchen gloves and with a full bike basket and bucket of fruit, it seems she's been picking her neighbors' fruit. The bucket appears to hold mangoes.

Sandy and Margie Go to the Beach

This bit of weirdness was painted from a tiny, pixelated screen grab from Google Street View in Lido Di Jesolo, Italy, May's Virtual Paintout location. I've spent many hours looking for inspiration there but it wasn't working for me, until I saw these ladies loaded up with beach gear. Because I could barely see them in the screen shot, I was free to make up a lot of stuff, including their backstory. I accidentally gave "Sandy" big hair and since the location's only commerce is tourism, I decided she's a hard working waitress on her day off, taking her old mum to the beach. Margie the mom doesn't get out much, so I gave her some bright red lipstick and fresh hennaed curls for the outing. It was fun but I suspect I need to get out more myself or next you know, I could be dolling up like Margie. ;)