Laura Riekki

I’m on a Boat

I'm on a Boat

2013
12″ x 12″
oil on canvas

As I was thinking of a title for this one, I heard a little voice in my head say, “This ain’t Sea World, this is real as it gets.” Click the link for the inspirational video. http://youtu.be/k8F3UE9qFsg

From the Glimpses show at Walk Through Gallery, Orlando, FL
May 16, 2013

When those that live outside of Central Florida think about Orlando, their first images are probably Disney, Universal, and other parks and attractions. I moved to Florida when I was fifteen, and at first, my initial impressions were of those areas, but also miles of sprawl and endless cloned shopping centers – and heat, humidity and mosquitoes. I thought I hated this part of the country.

But since then, I’ve enjoyed years of early mornings and evenings coaching crew boats on the many lakes here. I’ve woken up with Mike, my husband, and driven to the coast at 5am in December just because we could. There have been Memorial Day parties on boats with the best people I know, birthdays in canoes, days on paddle boards, great nights at outdoor cafes, and days when Orange Avenue at 10pm in the rain seemed beautiful.

I wanted to paint the scenes from my own life here in Central Florida that make up for the 103 degree temperatures, and the parts of Orlando most loved by locals.