"Bok Tower"
18" x 24"
Plein air oil on Canvas
copyright by artist, Brenda Hofreiter
This is my painting of the marble and coquina bell tower at historic Bok Sanctuary in Lake Whales, FL. The bell tower houses a 60-bell carillon and plays music twice a day. It sits amid beautiful gardens on top of Iron Mountain and overlooks Lake Whales. It has been there since 1920, and I remember visiting it as a child with my parents on one of our summer vacations. I remember fondly the overpowering smell of orange blossoms in bloom along US 27 as we drove through Lake Whales.
This is probably the most photographed view of the tower, or at least it seemed to be to me while I was painting there. I witnessed several weddings and became a part of photos of many folks who came to originally photograph the bell tower and were surprised to see an artist painting there. Although I remember having to ward off squirrels that were determined to get at the tasty morsel that must be in my trash bag, it was lovely sitting there in the dappled shade of the overhanging trees and listening to the music from the tower.
I picked this vantage point to paint because of the wonderful wavering echo of the pink tower in the reflecting pool with its golden doorway shimmering in the morning light.
