"Fall Cypress - Lake Estelle"
9" x 12"
  Oil on Board
copyright by Artist,  Brenda Hofreiter

$400

This little painting was done on the banks of Lake Estelle in Orlando, Florida.  I was driving by and saw
the beautiful colors of the changing Cypress trees reflected in the water's edge.  In Florida, even though we do have fall color in the landscape, it is very brief and a joy when it arrives, so I am always on the lookout for it and stopped to paint this scene.    Lake Estelle is right in the heart of Orlando surrounded by busy roadways, Florida Hospital, and the Orlando Museum of Art.  I was thrilled that I managed to find this view, since it looks for all the world as if I were in some quiet secluded spot when I painted it.  One of the joys of painting for me is that it has taught me to search for the quiet and hidden gems of beauty in my busy world and record them in paint for others to enjoy.  I wonder if the passengers in the cars whizzing past on 17/92 caught this lovely scene as it passed? 

While I was painting this, my back was to one of the bus stops in front of Orlando Museum of Art.  I was
spotted by a woman waiting for the bus.  She clamored down the steep bank toward me declaring
that the painting was beautiful!   She respectfully asked if she could snap a picture of me painting, which
she did.  It was nice to be able to share this moment of inspiration and beauty with someone I will probably never see again.  Like the scene I was painting, a little gem of connection in the busy world.