Late Day Shadows

6 x 8 Oil on Archival Board

SOLD

These buildings are in the process of being renovated unfortunately...or fortunately.  I love the quirkiness or them and that tilted telephone pole.  Everything is uneven, the boards different colors, and that great bright roof.   

Fish Beach Alley

10 x 8 Oil on Archival Board

SOLD

Boats at rest at Fish Beach on Monhegan Island.  That sunlight at the end of the alley drew me right in.  Shadows and sunlight...Yeah!

Tree Trunk in Snow

SOLD

6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

Shadows and snow...That's what this little painting is all about.  As I've said so many times before,  winter is a favorite with me.  I know many of you don't share that view.  Especially those of you who are up north right now.  I think the stark beauty of the sun on the snow and the deep dark shadows are really something to behold.  This painting is a new favorite of mine :-) 

A Man and His Guide

8 x 10" Oil on Gessobord

This is my son and the Bhutanese guide that was with them during their trip.  This was painted from a photo taken by my Daughter-in-Law.  I so enjoy her pictures and look forward to her Friday photo blog (KK's Photo Friday) as well as all the other pictures she sends.  As I've said before, she has an artist's eye, and I can always immediately visualize a painting based on her photos. All sorts of colors pop into my mind.  It's so great to have a folder of possible paintings waiting by my easel.  I have to admit, this is one of my favorite paintings right now. 

Village Trio

SOLD

6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

When we lived in Greenwich Village in the 60's, there was always music being performed in Washington Square Park day and night and we hung out there a lot.  It apparently hasn't changed.  What has changed is the wonderful lighting around the Arch.  It's probably been there for a while, but our recent trip back to the City was the first in a long time.  The building we lived in was still there and looked the same, although now it has a doorman.  We would have turned our noses up at having a doorman then.  Now, not so much..:-).  The park was and still is a wonderful place with so much "life" going on.  I do miss it.  I enjoyed painting this.

Window Display with Reflections

12 x 12 Oil on Gessobord

SOLD

This display is in the window of The Electric Company Artist Co-Op, a new and wonderful venture in Bedford, Virginia.  The pottery was made by Dan Perkins and is really quite beautiful, with or without the sun shining on the pieces.  I love the reflections on the glass as well as the old building across the street. I found painting this a little bit of a struggle for me...So different from what I've done previously in oil.  I think it would have been a little easier in pastel, but I'm committed to trying new things and developing my skills using oils.

Tucked Away

SOLD

12 x 12 Oil on Gessobord

I love this cottage that was nestled in the woods in Maine, but what really attracted me to it was the play of light in and around the trees.  I've said it before, but there is something wonderful about the light there.  I think it has to do with the atmosphere and being so close to the ocean.  If it wasn't for all the snow, I'd be living there.  That being said, I sure wish Virginia would get a little...It just doesn't feel like winter without it!  I think they said it might reach the 60's this week.  That's just plain unfair!!

Mountain Shadows, Smith Mountain Lake

This image was painted from a photograph I took on the way up to the Smith Mountain Dam on our boat.  It was the beginning of September and the leaves were just starting to change color.  It has always been one of my favorite paintings.  The challenge was to keep the colors muted and give it a little of that hazy feel.  I used to be really organized in my studio and have the pastels divided into categories.  That has gone by the wayside... I plan to rearrange them once again.  Otherwise, the "right" pastel is not at hand when I need it, and the search never turns up what I have in mind.

One Large Black Dog At Rest

7 x 7 Pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

This Newfoundland attracted a lot of attention, and I think the owner was pleased about that.  I'm getting more and more into practicing shading and skin tone and really enjoying it.  I feel as though I'm sculpting with the pastels, using the darks and lights to create bone structure and placing that dash of color is just the right place. 

Dock Piling

17 1/2 x 12" Pastel on Wallis Paper, 27 1/2 x 21 1/2" Framed

SOLD

Another older painting.  I don't know why I felt the need to paint a dock piling, but I do remember how I liked the light reflecting on the walkway and the post.  I can tell I've grown artistically, because when I now look at this painting, I would like to get back in there and make the colors more vivid.  They actually were brighter on the original than they appear here, but I would still like to push the lighting effects.  I thought it would be a good example of  "then" and "now."

Beach Stroll

6 x 6 Pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

$150 + s/h (Framed)

Continuing my beach theme, here's another beach occupant getting some exercise.  I'm especially happy with the way this painting turned out.  The weather here today is in the 90's...hot and humid.  I might have to start doing some snow scenes to cool off...

The Shell Seeker

16 x 16 Pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

Gone to a Lucky Winner Who Entered My Website Special

We had the most wonderful couple of days at the beach.  The weather was perfect, and the beach was relatively empty.  This woman was walking with her bag of shells, searching for more.  I'm used to the Long Island beaches, which I always thought were the most beautiful in the world.  This North Carolina beach, however, gave the Hamptons competition.  I came back with lots of ideas for paintings, so the trip couldn't have been better!

Photographer's Squat

6 x 6 Pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

$150 s/h (Framed)

I love the way this one came out!  A few of us from our art group were plein air painting at Booker T. Washington Park a few weeks ago, and one of my friends was trying to take pictures of the baby sheep in the barn.  She was really into her new camera, and I caught her in this pose.  The title really should be "Ready, Aim, Shoot!"

The Door's Open. Come in Out of the Rain!

SOLD

This was one of the first thunderstorms of the season.  It rained really hard and then the sky turned a beautiful pink in the distance as the storm passed.  The water was running downhill like a stream and the reflections of the lights on the wet pavement was so wonderful.  I took a number of shots from the open door of Goose Creek Studio looking up Depot Street in Bedford, VA.

Blue Laundry Day

7 x 7 Pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

$150 + s/h (Framed)

 

Another wonderful scene from Maine; sunshine, great shadows, beautiful clapboard house.  This was a quick study.  The blues and greens against the stark white was what interested me and made me want to reach for those yummy pastels.  I can't wait until I go back in September.  I never get tired of it!

Animal Catering

6 x 6 Pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

$150 + s/h (Framed)

 

My artist friends and I had a great day painting at Booker T. Washington Park.  The weather couldn't have been better with full sun making the color of the spring grass glow. I didn't get much painting done, but I did take some really good photos.  This particular woman who caught my eye apparently works for the park service and takes care of the animals. When I saw her here she was heading to the pigs with her buckets full.  She was leaning to the side with the weight of the pigs' food.

Sunlight and Shadows - Maine

7 x 7 Pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

$150 + s/h (Framed)

SOLD

This is the quintessential Maine.  We ate at an outdoor restaurant across from this boathouse.  The red and stark white next to those great darks was so perfect, and a painting waiting to happen.  I am going to do a larger painting of this scene so that I can incorporate more of the water reflections when I have time.   So much to do...so little time...

Morning Fog, Boothbay

SOLD

During my second trip to Maine, I woke up early one morning and didn't think I would be able to paint at all due to the fog, so I took a few photos.  I put them away for about 6 months and found them by accident when I was cleaning out my studio files.  I really liked working on this, but got frustrated half way through.  I just kept grabbing pastels and smudging everything.  When I stepped back to look, it was like a "WOW" moment.  It has since sold.  You never know! 

The FlowRider Kid

16 x 16 pastel on Wallis Paper, 16 x 16 Framed

$150 + s/h (Framed)

 

I found a brand new blue pastel and HAD to use it!  I love the color and texture.  I've never been on a FlowRider, but it sure looks like fun.  This was on a cruise ship.  I've been on many cruises, but none of them had anything like this.  Of course, it was many years ago, and at that time most people just went for the food :-)

Early Morning Sunlight

SOLD

The other morning I pulled open the blinds and saw the sun hitting the trees across the cove.  Everything glowed.  It only lasted for about ten minutes, but what a display!  I know I say this a lot, but again this was a quick study.  I have definitely learned over the past year or so that I have to be totally committed to what I am painting or it doesn't work.  One of my favorite art books is by Kevin MacPherson.  He painted the same exact scene from his window each day for a full year.  It is amazing how beautiful each painting is, and how different his perspective was.  His book is an inspiration to me.