Fort Matanzas National Monument is getting an Eifert painting.
I was recently in Florida, south of Saint Augustine at Fort Matanzas National Monument. Boy was it hot. So hot, some of the rangers actually carried towels to help dry off, the humidity was so amazing. Of course, a big camera is a big help, so it stayed cool in the car – and then each time I got out – BANG, the humidity would hit that cold camera and I couldn’t see out of it for five minutes.

I was there to research a mural that’s coming along now for the back or their park map. So, each year, some 650,000 people will get to take an Eifert painting home with them when they visit.

I got the job done, met some great people and came back to the cool Northwest – 30 degrees cooler – and have started down the path of building one of these big paintings. While the original idea was to show the nature of this place, an ecosystem very much like what it was 200 years ago when the fort was active, we veered course at the last moment and now I’m painting it as if it IS 200 years ago. As far as the wildlife is concerned, it’s about the same – amazing for a place surrounded by humans.

Above, I’m getting a royal tour by some guys that have been here decades. Between them, I’ll bet there’s 60 years of experience here – and the fourth was so smart I kept saying ‘ahhh’, or ‘ohhh’ when I realized she was far brighter than me. That’s a LOT of knowledge going along with me to help, and I really soaked it up. It’s what I do this crazy stuff for, the experiences – and this was a good one.

Here’s a view from the fort top, overlooking cannon that actually fire and looking out on the inlet it guarded. It’s a landscape altered by hurricanes, but it’s also the ONLY undredged river inlet on the entire eastern side of Florida. I let THAT sink in a bit, then sharpened my pencil.

Thanks for reading this week.

Larry Eifert

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