Last week, for Illustration class, George Pratt sent us to go down to Myakka Rive State Park and paint a landscape. So I brought a small canvas and a disposable palette to make the cleanup easier. After being woken up at 8:00 in the morning thinking I had to get up at 11:30 to go, I got my drowsy ass out of bed and carpooled with other people to get there. The drive was 40 to 45 minutes. When we arrived, I met up with the teacher and went off to one of the trails to paint.

 First thing I saw when setting up other than the park being partially flooded, was that there were a few wild boar surrounding us. This being my first time I ever seen one up close, I questioned if it was a good idea to paint here. This place having one of the only benches in the park, I decided to stay until I saw a couple of alligators only a few feet away from us in the water gazing. I was nervous but stayed thinking that they would just wonder off which they did.

One hour in, and my black shirt was getting attracted to the heat and the humidity was keeping my energy low not to mention I had no breakfast  Me and the crew decided to go off to lunch at the cafeteria down the road where I had some Alligator bites that tasted like expensive greasy chicken.

In all though, it was a unique experience to be had, my painting turned out decent enough for me to be considered finish and I didn't get eaten by the ravenous wildlife surrounding me.  So I guess I would call the trip successful.