Lucy

My cousin Ann Marie has always been a creative, unique person.  Her daughter, Lucy, seems to have the same attributes as her mom - plus a flair for drama and art!  This pastel was done for Ann, based on a photo she allowed me to use.  I hadn't done a portrait in quite awhile and I hope I captured Lucy's unique, sweet character.

16x20 on Wallis pastel paper

Hollyhocks

 16x12 pastel on pastelmat  $150.00

Summer in the Adirondacks.....filled with flowers.  Whether wild or planted, they are everywhere we look.  I loved these hollyhocks planted at the Adirondack Museum, in front of some steps leading to an exhibit.  I took the photo about two weeks ago, and when I went back to the Museum last week, they were already fading.  I'm glad I caught them at the exact right time for a pastel.

A Garden Jumble

14x11 on Richeson board - $145.00

I've had a bad cold for a week now and I've been home, trying to paint, taking it easy and hoping I'll feel better soon.  The weather hasn't cooperated at all.  It snows, then rains, then gets warm, the snow melts, the roads get icy and I don't want to move!  I went through my stash of photos and found some of the garden at my mom's complex in Mission Viejo, California.  Flowers......I haven't seen fresh flowers since the summer.  I painted this riot of flowers in the garden.  Made me feel good.  I'd love to find some flowers and paint fresh ones.  Wonder where I might get my hands on some?

At the Butterfly Garden

 14x11 - $225.00

Since getting to New York, I haven't had too much opportunity to paint for myself.  I was painting for the Old Forge Paint-Out, then for the Moose Festival in our town and now I'm actually working on a baby quilt for my soon-to-be new grandbaby. You could say, I've been busy......Anyway, this week I got the pastels out once again and did this of the butterfly garden at my mom's place - in Mission Viejo.  Some of the residents there took it upon themselves to create a beautiful oasis near their community center at Casta del Sol.   We visited it a few times this summer, each time I took photos and this painting is from one of my photos.  I'm not sure if I'm going to paint someone sitting on that chair, or not.  Have to give it some thought, but, for now, I like it the way it is.  I just wish I knew the names of all the flowers surrounding that walk!

Nancy's Bouquet

 16x12 - $225.00

Today is a sad day, remembering 10 years ago.....my friend called me this morning during the memorial services and we talked awhile about that day.  We were together, she was visiting me in California and we were enjoying some fun time in the sun - no worries, just laughs for a week.  That morning, her daughter woke us up and told us to turn on the tv - well, my daughter was living just 15 blocks from the World Trade Center and I guess I had a panic attack, right there in my living room.  Thank God Mary was there to calm me down and help me get through that day.  My daughter was fine, in most ways, but shocked and very traumatized by all she saw.  Anyway, today I wanted to paint something beautiful and natural and happy.  My neighbor, Nancy, grows the most amazing flowers around her house.  She gave me these two varieties of hydrangea and so I used pastel and painted this still life.  I never paint still life.....but it made me happy today.

Water Lillies - 20x30 - sold

We're on the road now, heading to the Adirondacks of New York from California. A week before we left I had a commission to paint - water lillies. It's nice when someone decides they want a piece of art and they want you to paint it. I'm always thrilled and then a bit apprehensive that they'll like my interpretation. The client had a photo for me and I actually simplified it for the painting.

Casta Del Sol Backyard

Yesterday my husband and I were at my mom's home in Mission Viejo. He was putting up a screen and I decided to paint on her back patio. I'm in the middle of painting a friend's bulldog, but decided it was too nice a day for that - the light was wonderful and I was drawn again to the landscape. In an hour and a half I think I captured what I wanted to, even with stopping to hold the screen door still for screws and bolts and kick plates. LOL