We don’t get fall in Florida per se. Okay. Some cities in the Panhandle get a version of autumn, but mostly it’s leaves falling off the trees. Not even pretty leaves. Just leaves.
Having said that, I created, “The First Sign of Fall”. I hope everyone enjoys it, but mostly it’s for Floridians who want to enjoy the colors without having to rake the leaves.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed painting, “The First Sign of Fall”.
A few months back, I became fascinated with an oversized coquina stone at our condo complex and Coquina” was born! This is a 12×12 acrylic on canvas. (Framed to 16×16) and it’s on sale right now for $85 (+$10 shipping and handling anywhere in the Continental US) Please contact me at, Deborah@DeborahBoydGallery.com if you are interested in purchasing this original work.
A little history:
The one above is located within our condo complex. It was one of the largest I’ve seen – It stands about 7′ tall; 5′ wide and weighs about 13,000 pounds. With a little research, I found that these stones are between 12 thousand and 2 million years old. The perfectly cylindrical holes are not man made – they are formed naturally.
A century ago, the rocks were used to make many of the old buildings you see in St. Augustine and the Sugar Mills in the Daytona Beach area. Some are still used as natural seawalls today. We were fortunate that many of the larger ones, like the one above, were saved when they excavated for homes and buildings. They make beautiful, natural sculptures.
If you are looking for a larger, fine art giclee print or things like tote bags or coffee mugs, please visit our other website at, www.OwnADebbie.com
It’s been a roller coaster with me: One week I’m painting 10 pieces a week; the next week I can’t finish anything I’ve started. This week, I was on a more normal painting regimen. I completed two of the three projects I started several weeks ago and the third is well on its way. Here is the first completed piece.
“Wood on Wood” is exactly that: Wood blocks mounted on wood. This is a 35″x11″ acrylic on wood. It’s a very unique piece if you have the right place to display it. Right now it’s hanging in my laundry room, just above the washer and dryer and between two cabinets. And yes….it IS for sale.
I’m still working on that other project and it looks like it’s going to take a lot longer than I thought. It’s been a case of paint….gesso over it….paint again. The trials and tribulations of an artist!
Meanwhile, I’ve added a few more “Little Debbie’s”, you know….those very affordable paintings under 5×7. “Angel Holding Flowers” is the newest.
I pick up a lot of vintage and unloved smaller frames at estate sales. That’s where most all of the frames used in “Little Debbie’s” are born. With each frame, I attempt to paint something that ‘fits’ that frame. Above, it is a silver (Yes. I know. It looks like gold, but it’s not) metal frame.
I found the vintage frame below at a thrift store. It is a heavy metal frame, made in Italy, from the 1950’s. I loved the frame, but not the color, so I painted it blue. The glass is concave which, in my mind, give it an underwater look. I think the painting of the Mahi Mahi is a perfect fit. This is NOT a Little Debbie, even though you will find it on the Little Debbie page. It is approximately 8×13, unframed. It is on the Little Debbie page because it is only sold framed and there will not be any reprints made. Because of the nature of the glass, this must be picked up and cannot be shipped.
I started working on the untitled painting below about three weeks ago. I had a plan to finish it in two weeks. Everything was moving along and then I screwed it up and my screw up couldn’t be undone. Yes. I had a mess. So I looked at it for a good week and a half and finally formulated a plan to save it. It’s now moving along with a new plan, but that means another week or two until it’s done.
But life goes on. I generally work on three or four projects at once, but I pared that down to two these last three weeks. One is a handpainted, small glass serving plate, pictured here. It has to cure for another three weeks. The other is the St. Augustine Lighthouse, a Little Debbie, which should be done in a day or two.
I rarely post pieces I’m currently working on, but today I’m making an exception. I find that one of the joys of having no formal training is my willingness to try new things. If you look through the work in my gallery, you’ll see I use a lot of different techniques. On the down side, I don’t have a consistent body of work which makes agents and galleries cringe. I need the variety, especially now when I spend so much time at home. I don’t think I will ever be able to try everything I want to accomplish in my lifetime, but I will try. I actually have a file of artistic techniques I want to try and I pick and choose every time I get a whim.
Some are more challenging than others. On this one, the acrylic and polymer mix is very unforgiving. If I screw something up that I’m working on, fixing it is very problematic if not impossible. While I have used acrylic polymers in the past, I’ve done so to give something a rough surface, like you see in, “RU A Fan”? (See below) This time, I’ve decided to do a series of beach scenes. (Yes. more than one if I like the end result.) What you see above will be the background for the sand. This took me roughly four hours to complete. So far, I am happy with the direction it’s taking. At this point, it will dry for 24 hours, then I will move onto the water and sky. When the application is complete, people and things will be added. The finished, yet unnamed piece, will be a 16×20 on canvas.
So stay tuned. This project should be done in about two weeks.
I have to say, I’m having a blast taking shapes and arranging them into very cool works of art. This was especially fun, but it presented a lot of challenges. Even so, I am pleased with the end result. I’m selling the three together, but if you would like to purchase individual reprints, please visit www.OwnADebbie.com and visit our reprints center.
I live in a condo where the grounds have a handful of these crazy sculptures. I knew they were made of Coquina, but I had no idea how they ended up here and how the perfectly formed holes and lines came into play. When they excavated to build these condos in 1990, they saved these and placed them around the property as sculptures. This painting represents the largest in my neighborhood, standing about seven feet tall. It weighs over 13,000 pounds.
These rocks have a place in Florida history. The old Florida Sugar Mills and Castillo de San Marcos, in St. Augustine are made from the solid material.
The coquina stones are between 12 thousand and 2 million years old. When they were forming, sea levels were lower, the shells and sand were exposed to rain. The acidic rainwater dissolved some of the calcium carbonate in the shells which ‘glued’ the shells and sand together. The rocks can be found along Florida’s East Coast from St Augustine to Palm Beach County.
The perfect cylindrical holes I thought were caused by the excavation. I was wrong. The holes were likely formed by rainwater eroding the rock which collected in a depression on the rock’s surface. Over time, the acidic rain dissolved some of the rock away creating a larger and larger circle with every rainfall.
Coquina is soft and easy to cut when underground, but hardens when exposed to air.
I bet you will never look at the coquina rocks in the same way
You don’t have to spend a fortune to own an original Debbie! Whether you are looking for the perfect gift or something special to sit on a shelf in your home or office, there’s a Little Debbie just waiting for you! Little Debbie’s are small original paintings, most 5×7 or smaller. All are priced under $60 and include shipping and handling in the Continental U.S. Please take a look at the Little Debbie’s at the top of this page to see some of what we have to offer. Check back often. You never know what you will find!
After many painstaking months, my virtual gallery is now a reality. “From my Studio to your Home” offers a gallery view of all my original work currently available for sale. The Gallery is open 24/7 and admission is free! Watching in the middle of the night in your jammies is encouraged! I hope you will take the time to visit all 13 collections.
Enter the Gallery by simply clicking the link at the top of this page. Grab your favorite libation and maybe a few munchies, sit back and enjoy the show!
While this gallery includes only originals currently in inventory, you can order reprints on these or any previously sold work at, http://www.OwnADebbie.com
Thanks for visiting!